Manufactured Love and Reality TV

Manufactured Love💘 and Reality TV🎬 

By Christian J. Weddington

Pop the Balloon or Find Love is a Black reality internet series where an eligible bachelor or bachelorette is introduced to a group of 8 potential candidates. Each candidate holds a balloon that they can pop if they are uninterested in the eligible bachelor or bachelorette. The candidate whose balloon remains un-popped at the end wins the prize of going on a date with the bachelor or bachelorette. Within Episode 11, which premiered in June, the bachelor, Aaron the plumber, displayed the highest level of stereotypical hypermasculinity, arrogance, and pettiness. As a result of this, he got into loud arguments and aggressively dismissed all the female candidates which created an array of viral content that allowed the show to reach new audiences. This ultimately shaped the show's format and has allowed it to become a pinnacle within modern entertainment. Although the nature of the show is problematic, it has been successful through taking inspiration from the iconic reality television series The Real World by mimicking reality and utilizing diverse cast for the sake of entertainment.



Photo of Aaron Sloan "Aaron the Plumber"


Reality television has the ability to capture large audiences because it constructs a narrative that feels somewhat authentic and relatable to viewers. The audience interprets the content of shows such The Real World, Pop the Balloon or Find Love as real and genuine, but in actuality, they are a manipulated version of life that allows viewers to be entertained. Within The Real World, they live in a picture-esque Soho loft that matches the aesthetic of a Disney channel bedroom with luxurious features that most people could not afford. In accordance with Pop the Balloon or Find Love, a contestant walks out, and there is a line of eight beautiful black people, which is not the reality someone would face when dating. These two tactics are used since the reality of six people living in a rundown apartment barely suited for two — now crammed with six — would not be very interesting to watch. In addition, viewers online would not be engaged in watching someone endlessly swipe on Tinder and Hinge without ever finding a match.


The SoHo Loft used in the The Real World and The set for Pop The Balloon or Find Love

Media companies like YouTube, Netflix, and MTV have to craft unrealistic set layouts and other tactics that mimic reality for these shows that cause consumers to romanticize this narrative. People watch reality television to take a break from the present and not necessarily have to think. They do not want to ponder the social dilemma of dating caused by social media or the harsh reality of how expensive it is to live in NYC. Because of this, viewers would rather see a romanticized ideal that will keep them engaged. This enables these large companies to utilize these tactics to keep people watching which continues to generate money and has enabled The Real World and Pop the Balloon or Find Love to be successful.



Photo of the Cast of Season 1 of The Real World NYC & Julia Gentry

Furthermore, The Real World appealed to large audiences by having a diverse cast on the surface. This strategy consisted of various racial, cultural, and socioeconomic backgrounds for the sake of engaging viewers through tension and drama. Julia, who is from Birmingham, Alabama, when first introduced while home, has a gigantic red confederate flag on the screen. She immediately makes her presence known as being naive and ignorant by making a terrible joke to her roommate, Heather B. who was African American, asking her if she is a drug dealer when a pager goes off. Although she didn’t mean it in a negative way, it became apparent that her southern heritage and innocence would be used for the sake of creating issues around ignorance and racism.

Within the context of Episode 11 of Pop the Balloon or Find Love, they utilize this model established by The Real World to cast a wide variety of women whose personalities would clash with Aaron, the plumber, to create drama. For the lineup of women, two were type A, very calm and relaxed, while the other six were type B and very driven, assertive, and argumentative. In addition, some women were very confident in their bodies and wore more form-fitting clothing, while others were more modest. As a result, when Aaron made unprecedented judgments and assumptions based on these women's appearance and outfits, he was met with a group of type B women who defended themselves.



Image of Type A and Type B women in Episode 11


An example of this is Aaron the plumber telling a woman who popped her balloon, "I don't deal with women who have more hair on their arms than me, you ain't qualified baby," and another woman rebutting saying, "You kind of look like a ninja turtle, you're not that cute, you need to relax, you stocky as hell" while other women clap, and joined into the argument. Although this type of commentary is problematic, especially within the context of a show that was focused on promoting Black Love, it enables viewers to be entertained and viral content to be produced. Reality television only exists based on the creation of drama as a display of Love where everyone is kind and respectful would leave consumers disengaged after a very short period. Moreover, all of these strategies used within reality TV allow them to construct something that mimics reality and leaves viewers engaged while having a high retention.







Cartoon of Aaron the Plumber as Ninja Turtle


Sources:
The Real World. Season 1, episode 1, “This is the True Story…,” MTV, 21 May 1992. Paramount+, www.paramountplus.com/shows/video/umu1Yk4XBC0HTocUAsfePxW3JlvGsbdu

Amuli, Arlette, host. "Episode 11: Pop the Balloon or Find Love." Pop the Balloon or Find Love, YouTube, uploaded by Arlette Amuli, [date], www.youtube.com/watch?v=VSCIPEc4bS0.​