Manal Hasan
I’ve read enough blog posts about how I should save my money or how bachelor degrees are basically useless now because their value has been reduced to a high school degree. So let's talk about another type of bachelor. The Bachelor. (Also I should mention that the title is a little misleading, I don’t really talk about a bachelor’s degree any more than just that one pun, my bad, it was just funny in my head. Carry on).
Reality television can be seen in one of two ways- either it’s completely trash to you, or it’s your only reason to wake up every Monday morning. No matter how you view it, the facts are irrefutable: reality television is a powerful economy-shaping tool that 68% of people ages 18 to 29 watch and love. One of the most tweeted about shows in reality TV history is also one of the most controversial shows of all time. The Bachelor. Some say the show encourages viewers to consume and engage with patriarchal views and adopt the ideology that women must cater to a man in order to live a fulfilled life. I am one of those people. But I also say it’s frickin’ funny! Victoria P is annoying and should have gone home WEEKS ago, Tammy is a word I can’t say without getting flagged, and Pilot Pete is probably the worst Bachelor of all time. I say all this because despite my distaste for the values of the show, it’s still fun to watch, and I’m not the only one who’s stuck in this love-hate relationship.No matter what I say, people like me still consume the show for all it is. In fact, our consumption has caused the multi-show franchise to garner a stable $187.3 million for ABC in advertising alone. Clorox, a household producer, became a sponsor of the show in 2012 and in order to better connect with consumers. From when their campaign started, their social engagements doubled from 4% to 8% with more that 1.1 million likes on Facebook. People watch the show raptly and care and are willing to invest in the products the show supports. Another aspect to consider is that from 2012 to 2016, the audience has consistently remained devoted in finding out who will accept the next rose: 8 million viewers tune in every Monday night. You’d think teenage girls with nothing better to do would be their main demographic, but the median viewer age is actually 53 years old, so really, it’s just middle-aged women with nothing better to do. And Mr. Reuter.
The fact is though the show isn’t exactly the most accurate depiction of reality, reality isn’t as important as entertainment. Consumers can just look out their window if they’re looking for real life. Instead, reality TV provides a method of escape that allows people to turn their brain off and focus on what they would do if they were in the Bachelor’s shoes. In fact, casting is a main component of the show and makes or breaks whether or not the audience will continue to engage with the show. Picking the right contestants allows for consumers to connect emotionally with the people they see on screen and make viewers feel represented. If you can see yourself on the show, you’re likely to advocate for that contestant to make it through and watch until the final rose is given out. Of course, most contestants are white and social media influencers, but a little bit of representation goes a long way.
Creative industries led by Hollywood like The Bachelor account for 3.2% of US goods and services, or about $504 billion dollars. Though there is little way to measure the impact of culture and art on the economy, there is no way anyone can deny that consuming is a part of human nature. People talk about what they watched last night and though that can be a negative externality for some, the fact is, if you aren’t a part of the conversation, you’re on the outside of it. The only way to stay in the loop is to succumb to the societal pressures and give in and watch the dumb show anyways, which only forces the cycle to continue. To that I say, no matter how much I hate Pilot Pete, you can’t hate the player. Just hate the game.
Works Cited
"The Bachelor, " "The Bachelorette", et al. “The Business of 'The Bachelor' Franchise.” CNNMoney, Cable News Network, money.cnn.com/2017/06/15/media/bachelor-business/index.html.Allan, Kate. “Reality TV Changed the Economics of Television, and Now It's Paying for It.” Business Insider Australia, Business Insider Australia, 4 Apr. 2018, www.businessinsider.com.au/reality-tv-changed-the-economics-of-television-and-now-its-paying-for-it-2018-4.
Poggi, Jeanine. “Coming Up Rosy: Inside the Business of 'The Bachelor'.” Ad Age, 12 Oct. 2015, adage.com/article/media/business-bachelor/300852.
“Reality Is America's Least Favorite TV Genre -- Yet People Are Still Watching.” Morning Consult, 27 Nov. 2018, morningconsult.com/2018/11/27/reality-is-americas-least-favorite-tv-genre-yet-people-are-still-watching/.
Tesler, Rachel. “Why It Pays to Be on 'The Bachelor'.” Fox Business, Fox Business, 14 Aug. 2019, www.foxbusiness.com/media/why-it-pays-to-be-on-the-bachelor.
This article was really creative and of course I was immediately intrigued when I saw it was about the Bachelor. I know that reality television is a big part of the U.S. economy, however, I would be curious to see how the numbers have changed for reality television ever since online streaming services have become popular. Additionally, I also wonder how much money "The Bachelor" alone has spent over the many years this franchise has existed, since it is such a popular show. Nonetheless, it is sure to have contributed immensely to our economy due to its wide-ranging fan base, and I agree that this show has become a part of our nation's culture.
ReplyDeleteOne, I love the subtle (or I guess they aren't really) jabs. Two, this is a very well done piece. You brought up how it is a love hate relationship and I would be interested to know whether this plays an effect on the way people view themselves and their self image? In other words, do people understand that the show is not an accurate representation of reality? Cause if they don't, that could be contributing to some other issues in society regarding image and how relationships work.
ReplyDeleteI love the Bachelor and therefore I was immediately intrigued by this post, and I found the Bachelor pun kind of funny. I think this is a really good piece and the way you present the love hate relationship. I wonder what's the net worth of the whole show currently.
ReplyDeleteI love this article! it is so creative and interesting. This is a very relevant article because a lot of people are sort of invested in this show currently (as well as a lot of other reality TV shows). I am not a huge fan of this show, but it can be interesting to watch it from time to time because as you said it is far from reality. I am curious how much this show has invested in some of the exotic dates they sand the bachelor/ bachelorette on however. Since this show has been going on for such a long time, it has become quite popular so i'd imagine that they would have spent a lot of money. Overall you did a really good job with the creativity in this article!
ReplyDeleteThis article was very interesting because I thought as first you were going to talk about the bachelor degree but you didn't. I really like how you did that and switched up the topics a little bit. You did a really nice job with telling us the facts about the bachelor and how much money they increased over the years, how their show has gained popularity, etc. Overall you did a really good job and it was a fun read.
ReplyDeleteI myself have never tuned in to an episode of the bachelor, but according to my friends, I’ve heard it’s super addicting to watch. Although most of my friends (including myself) also agree that the program “encourages viewers to consume and engage with patriarchal views and adopt the ideology that women must cater to a man in order to live a fulfilled life.” (as stated in your post), many of them are hooked. I find it interesting that this side of media production contributes to at least 3.2% of US goods and services. Despite this country’s (slowly, but surely) rising sense of gender equality rights and rejection of sexism ideals, the demand for content (such as The Bachelor) in this industry still continues to grow. Will this mean that more forms of media production will debut in hollywood, or will it simply stop at the current amount of shows such as The Bachelor/Bachelorette? As demand for increasing equality rights increases, will the amount of these types of programs will increase, affecting the economical side of the film industry, or will we tolerate this type of behavior portrayed in the media?
ReplyDeleteI thought that this article was very interesting because it takes something that we consider to be just a normal show for us to watch, but looks at the more economic part of this idea of reality shows. Reality shows, like you stated in the article, are actually a economic effect in the TV industry, and it is interesting to see that because of the type of show it is, and the diverse audience it attracts that it can bring in such a large dollar amount.
ReplyDeleteManal, you never fail to put a smile on my face with your jokes and humor, and once again you were able to show that through this post. It was really cool to see the other side of reality tv for a change and I haven't really thought of that before. Do you think that many reality tv shows are as successful as the bachelor or is there something special about the idea of love and marriage that draws viewers in?
ReplyDeleteTaking something that is so prevalent in our society like reality TV and tuning in to the parts we don't think about is a very interesting topic. Many people watch this show and don't even think twice about how it helps/hurts our society. It can be very beneficial to our economy because of the revenue it brings in, but can cause issues in peoples values.
ReplyDeleteAs much as we pride on the advice of "oh, I trust those TV ads" and "I won't buy something it's on yv.", it's rather the opposite. We, as a society, are constantly bombarded by ads from our entertainment shows, which influences on what we by. I think the way you showed the stats is very informative of how we, as humans, function in the world of consumerism.
ReplyDeleteI thought this article was super interesting because I love the bachelor. I tune in every night not to watch the love story or fall in love with Peter but because it is so funny. I never knew how much money they make off the show and even in just the commercials alone. Even though the show is going farther and farther from reality itself since the rose ceremonies take hours to film and you aren't even allowed to eat on the dates, more and more people tune in every year. The producers behind this show seem to have cracked the code of reality television and have made it a huge money maker. Seeing the statistics behind the show put a perspective on how popular it is and what kind of money it has been able to bring in.
ReplyDeletePersonally, I do not watch The Bachelor but a lot of my friends do so I can relate to this blog in some type of fashion. This is definitely a change in blogs from what we usually read about and it is needed for a little humor aspect. Similar to what Lewis said, I also thought you were going to talk about a bachelor's degree but that wasn't the case. I really need to inform myself on the Bachelor and maybe I'll start watching it next season.
ReplyDeleteTo begin, this article proves how relevant Economics is to literally everything that goes on in day to day life - including the Bachelor! I agree with Brynn that this article was really creative. I knew that Reality TV shows similar to the Bachelor and other reality shows such as Keeping Up With The Kardashians, game shows, etc. make up a large part of the U.S. television economic sector, but I wonder how streaming numbers relate to TV ratings, as I feel that overtime we as a country have moved towards different ways to view our favorite TV series.
ReplyDeleteWhile I genuinely don't see the point in The Bachelor, I respect the amount of effort you put into this to connect vaguely econ topics to our daily life. While it might have been a stretch at times (negative externality?), these are the types of blog posts and conversations that make economics feel more applicable to our lives outside of academia. Great job!
ReplyDeleteI love the article. I do not personally watch the show, but from what I heard, it is not really accurate to real life, and how things really work in relationships or reality. I really was interested in you talking about a Bachelor's degree, but the article ended up being a lot better without bringing it up much.
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