Instead of watching scripted shows, we can now poke our noses into people’s ‘real lives’ and enjoy the voyeuristic nature of the shows. Because what’s there is ‘real’. Every love, every argument, every person you witness is experienced in real life.
PREPARER: İREM NAZ GUVEL
Relationship programs have appeared in different formats since the invention of television. We have witnessed different reality relationship programs, from opening screens to blind dates, from island getaways reminiscent of Survivor to the house of chaos, Kısmetse Olur. Of course, Netflix also caught wind of this and made more than one relationship show. He tried to prove with Love Is Blind that couples can get married without seeing each other, putting their appearance in the background. On the contrary, he also created a work like Too Hot to Handle, in which he paired people with high libido. And by shooting versions of these on a country basis, he showed that the love language is different in each culture, but they have the same purpose.
Caricatured characters, drama-filled relationships, competition and passion combined to arouse curiosity every time. We can relate to them and be more able to defend or judge their actions. When ‘Kısmetse Olur’ started airing in 2015, viewers believed everything from the contestants staying in a house for 12 hours to the couples actually being together and living in a real house. Votes were held for their love interests and fan clubs were established. The stages and actions of a relationship were watched on the screen. When we look at it from the contestants’ perspective, we became their Big Brother. Everything from the couples’ relationships to which person they turned to was manipulated. However, years later, we learned that neither the house nor the loves are real. Even though there is no physical scenario, everything is just a fiction. We should have realized that the audience was actually taken in by the footage of the fight accompanied by classical music.
Chaos, the main food source of reality programs, is served as the main course in relationship programs.
We love watching contestants go through ugly situations in hopes of finding their true love. The problem is that happy relationships are considered boring. Couples on the verge of separation, love triangles, fractured friendships and as many unexpected surprises as possible are wanted. The Japanese version of the intrigue-filled ‘Love Is Blind’ and the South Korean production ‘Single’s Inferno’ attracted less attention than the others. Because there was no chaos and intrigue. From here, we get clues that Asians live their relationships calmly.
On the other hand, in other competitions, especially the producers choose people who will cause a stir, causing high tension. It’s clear that their goal isn’t to help contestants find true love or choose the best partner. All the glamor behind relationship shows is a fantasy of true love and seemingly happy endings. Viewers watch these shows and turn them into symbols of hope, with their dreams of perfect dates, dazzling dramas and happy endings.