Of all the stupid reality dating shows, I have had the unfortunate fortune of being dragged into watching Love is Blind the most. If you haven't watched Love is Blind, it's a reality dating show where the contestants, or whatever they are, all go on dates in "pods" where they cannot visibly see each other.
Everyone is expected to propose to someone within a pod, before ever seeing their new fiancé. Only after an engagement do all the couples get to see each other in an overly dramatic fashion which either ends in the guy eating the girl's face off, or in a painfully awkward scenario where someone is not too attracted to their newfound partner. The couples then date for a few weeks before having a wedding, and only at the wedding is the true fate of the potential marriage revealed (the divorce doesn't come until after the show). The show's premise is to prove or disprove its name; is love truly blind?
And just like the bachelor, or any of the other similar options, it has you cringing the whole way. The entire season of the “reality” show, you are just thinking to yourself that there is no way the contestants are this dumb. There’s no way they would say something that stupid, or misunderstand someone that much, or be that arrogant, or even be dumb enough to come on this show. The whole thing has an air of fake and shallow. Yet we watch. But why do so many people give it views? Maybe because it’s an art form of its own.
I know, I hear the voice in my own head, “you can’t call that art!” And as much as I hate the show, I’ve come to the dreadful conclusion that I have to call it art. All art tells a story, and Love is Blind apparently tells a good enough story to capture the attention of most of the females I dare to talk to. Somehow, caging a bunch of desperate insane millennials with each other until they decide to propose to someone, is art.
How is Love is Blind telling a story? Believe it or not, it contains many of the key elements to a good story. For starters, interesting characters. While we despise the contestants (or whatever they are) for being in it, we watch it and root for the nice ones and hate the mean ones. Or make fun of the girls that think they have “it” when they really don’t. Or make fun of the guys who say they are genuine but are just players.
And not only do we have these characters, but the characters have a very clear goal and pretty intense obstacles. The goal, obviously, is find love and marriage. I would say the biggest obstacle is that anyone who goes on that show has to be mentally unwell. But the show’s creators do something smart, which is have a unique and opportune obstacle: getting engaged without seeing someone. This creates so much anticipation and drama leading up to a major story point when the couples finally see each other.
I could go on, but I think that gets the idea across. Story is a powerful thing that connects all humans, past and present. And the power of a stupid show like Love is Blind, is that with the line of real and fake being so hard to determine, the viewer gets to create so much story in their own head. From simple shots with quick lines and funny looks, we get to decide who a person is, who they aren’t, and why their romance makes sense or doesn’t. And we see just enough to get connected to a character and keep watching to find out if they find a potential divorce or not.
So, what can be taken from my questionable opinion. That one can create whatever the hell he wants. The art you want to make, the story you want to tell, has a place. If a stupid dating show has a good enough story to tell, then surely your art coming from your life’s story is worth creating.
Not everything we want to make is credible in the Hollywood sphere right now, and it could never be. But if it is valuable to the maker, then it is worth making. And who knows, one day whatever you want to make may have room in a sphere of entertainment/business success. Of course, if you’re creating solely for financial gain then you probably already lost. But maybe creating something is valuable simply based on the creator and his joy or satisfaction in creating something (plus counting on at least a small sphere of humans to enjoy the art).
Maybe one day, you will have an idea stupid enough to match the success of Love is Blind. And maybe not. Go find out. Write something that no publisher would publish and self-publish it because you want to publish it. Do a podcast in a noisy area where other people’s voices are heard, because you want to. Make post-hardcore music because you like it (looking at you Samuel, if you ever read this). What you create may never make money, but that doesn’t mean it won’t be valuable. And if you look back at life to see that you made the stupid thing instead of not making it, then you are looking back at something fuller and better... maybe.
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