Tuesday, March 1, 2011

Bachelor LOVE

I know, I know. Reality TV  shows - specifically those centered on love - are "of the devil" and should not be watched by anyone who dares to call him or herself a God-fearing Christian. Whew! There ... I said it. Now the rest of you (whoever 'you' are) don't have to judge me for what I'm about to write.

**Disclaimer: If you believe that, then this blog is not for you.**

With that out of the way, let me say this: I am LOVE(ing) this season of The Bachelor! It is unlike any season I have ever watched, and I've watched most of them - including The Bachelorette - from the show's inception. There were a couple seasons where I just didn't care for the Bachelor and had no interest in following his particular journey. But this season? It truly is different, and it's because I'm watching a redemption story:

[man] goes on show four years ago.
[man] chooses no one at the end.
[man] gets intensely skewered by the public for breaking two hearts.
[man] retreats from public eye to learn from his situation.
[man] re-emerges after four years of intense counseling as {MAN2.0}.
[man] gets another shot at love from the very place he failed at years ago.
[man] displays an open heart and a more-than-honest approach at real communication this time around.
[man] falls in love. [she] falls in love too.
[man] is engaged to [her].
[man] may very well have found his Ever After and be living out [his] Redemption Love Story.

Remember my disclaimer? If you're still reading against your better judgment, then don't get up in arms with me using the 'redemption' word because it's not centered around Jesus.

I know that Jesus paid the ultimate price for our lives, and His is the ultimate redemption story, and we are the recipients of the greatest gift of all time. But! I think we miss out, as a society, when we don't allow the plethora of love stories out there to stir our hearts to something bigger and better - and even more pure - than what we're watching or hearing about in the first place. [Boy ... please excuse the fact that that sentence was 46 words in length.]

In former seasons, especially the past few, the trend was all about showing the physicality between the Bachelor and the ladies. Who had chemistry? Who had that spark? Who would be kissed first? Etcetera, etcetera ... BORING! Can we move on, PLEASE?!?!

This season, the producers have finally gotten it right! They are allowing the viewers to witness the unfolding of a LOVE story, not a hook-up story. And honestly, with a mostly female demographic, I say "It's about time!" Mr. Male Producers.

Women don't care about the hook-up. They care about falling in love. Women don't want to see one womanizer after another choosing the hottest girl at the end, only to watch them break-up mere months later because hot does not a relationship make.

Ultimately, when all is said and done, we're watching The Bachelor because we want to see a love story play out before our eyes; only we get to watch it unfold over the course of several months on TV instead of during a two-hour theater matinee. We want the happy-ending: the proposal, the debut of the ring, her "YES!" and Forever After. We want to cheer them on and celebrate the joining of two hearts. After all, this is about love and love kidnaps hearts like nothing else in this world. And love changes people like nothing else can.

So, there it is. A blog without a deep, moral point at the end. This is simply my way of allowing love - a story of that connection between a man and woman - stir my heart for something bigger and better than what I'm watching.

1 comment:

  1. I really liked your thoughts on this friend. They made me think! :)

    ReplyDelete