The Bachelorette (Elena Ajluni)

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 The Bachelorette season 15: Meet Hannah's guys | EW.com

In Nick Couldry’s chapter he explains media rituals as “ritual behaviour for a media saturated age”

(Couldry). Many people across the world tune in to reality shows every week as part of a ritual. These

shows are captivating as they are real, containing an aspect of liveness and demonstrating peoples

unedited reactions. An example of this is The Bachelorette, an American reality TV show which is a spin

off of The Bachelor. The show gathers a group of 20-30 single men for a woman to meet and get to know

in the hopes of finding her husband. Every week she gives out a decreasing number of roses resulting in

sending a few guys home until the last week where she chooses her husband. In the U.S., is very common

for girls to gather weekly for a “Bachelor/Bachelorette night”. This consists of a group of friends watching

the show with snacks and champagne waiting to see who the Bachelorette gives her roses to each week.

The show is captivating because it is filled with unedited drama and competition between the guys. Every

week the Bachelorette goes on group dates and individual dates with the guys and gets to know them a

little more. There are cameras recording these events and times where each contestant shares what they

are feeling or their personal commentary to the audience. At the end of each episode the viewers get to

watch a live reaction of guys getting rejected. The appealing aspect of liveness that the show

demonstrates is, according to Couldry, a way that as a society we can “achieve a shared attention to the

realities that matter to us as a society” (Couldry 99). This ritual is a very common one for girls in the U.S..

It is something that unites them and they can discuss on Friday’s (the day after each episode airs). The

show is something that many girls can relate to and enjoy watching. Eventhough it is filled with stupid

drama, it is an excuse to gather and drink with your friends. Ritual actions like these are something that

societies crave and celebrities and television thrive off of. 


References

Couldry, N. (2003). Live ‘reality’ and the future of surveillance. Media Rituals A Critical Approach.

        Routledge, London. 


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