The Proposal: The TV Show that Made me Cringe

Confession: Ever since I watched Big Brother Africa about 16 years ago, I have grown to like some reality shows and been watching several of them on both local and satellite television. Mainly out of curiosity, I have seen (and continue to see) Fear Factor, America’s Next Top Model, The Voice (UK), Hell’s Kitchen, Chopped, Come Dine with Me and several others. I love the competitiveness and the seeming ‘realness’ of ordinary people on TV who may be working hard to win a prize/reward. I also love the critiquing sessions by the judges, although I feel they are sometimes unfair. Other negatives in some of these shows are the foul languages that are used (Hell’s Kitchen) and the vices which are portrayed as the norm.😕

This week, I discovered two reality shows that have kept my mind buzzing. I saw an episode of The Proposal and it had a number of women providing reasons to a mystery suitor on why he should select them for a prospective relationship. The mystery suitor got to see the ladies because he had a screen that showed what was ongoing on stage while the ladies did not have that luxury. The ladies answered questions posed to them by the mystery suitor, wore swimsuits, modelled and kept convincing him (the mystery suitor) to select them over the others. 🤷There were elimination stages, spearheaded by the mystery suitor and influenced by the ‘chemistry’ he thought existed between him and the ladies/contestants. The ladies who made it to the final round got to see the mystery suitor (and whether they liked his appearance of not were stuck to him). The man then finally selected his preferred girl (I have only seen an episode but I hope other shows have women as the mystery suitors with men as the contestants and the men also model in swimsuits so the woman chooses who she likes from the bunch). 💁 I also saw two episodes of Take Me Out which has a similar concept to The Proposal. Several ladies try to get the attention of the man/celebrity for a possible date to Fernandos. They try hard by acting silly and being loud for the celebrity to choose and take them on a date to Fernandos.😂 At least on Take Me Out, the women can press the buzzer if they do not like the man at any stage on the show, which is better than The Proposal.

Seeing The Proposal and Take Me Out got me thinking and asking several questions including the reality of such shows. They are so full of drama that is likely to keep you glued to the TV even though they may not be real, but, what if shows like The Proposal portrayed what was happening in the real world? Are people/women craving badly for relationships or to get picked up by someone to go on dates? I disliked how desperate the women were portrayed in these shows, especially, how they acted even when they had not seen the suitor. Maybe I am just an old-fashioned Christian who thinks a lady should be pursued and she should have the luxury of selecting who she wants to be with. Yes, a woman can make herself noticeable but not to the point of wearing bikinis to model on television in order to be selected by a suitor (one of the ladies actually did a cheerleading routine in her bikini for the mystery man.) ☹️ That was the point that I said “Oh God, please don’t let this be real. Let them be actresses. Don’t allow anyone to believe this.”

These television shows are mostly rated ’13’ and I’ve been wondering how they are likely to influence the younger generation who keep seeing them.☹️ In order of importance, Comedian and Entertainer, Trevor Noah, joked that Americans ranked Sports first, the Kardashians second, their President third and their troops fourth. Even though it may sound funny, that is how some entertainers and forms of entertainment may be influencing a whole generation. 😥

Have you seen any television show that made you cringe? What was it about? Let’s get talking. 😊

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