Is reality TV actually real? Recent Bachelor scandal draws controversy

By VICTORIA GRANT

Staff Writer

Is reality TV real? A recent controversy on the hit show “The Bachelor” has brought this question further into debate. This season’s Bachelor, Arie Luyendyk Jr., proposed to Becca Kufrin in November, but in February broke off the engagement and all of it was filmed unedited for us viewers to watch.

The camera people even used dual screens when airing the breakup during the finale of the show so we could see both Arie and Becca during this difficult and personal conversation.

Becca was blindsided by Arie and the producers on the show as it was all being filmed and she had no idea what was about to happen when Arie sat her down to talk. However, everyone around her did and they were there ready to film her reaction. Becca just thought she was going to have a nice weekend with her “fiance”.

The worst thing is that he broke off his engagement with Becca to propose to the runner up, Lauren Burnham. This was a shocker to all of us watching the finale at home.

Because this was so dramatic and was a huge plot twist in the show, the question of if this was real or not has arised. The producers of the Bachelor could have easily made up this whole idea and had everyone except the viewers in on it.

But it is unlikely this breakup was staged because Becca’s emotions and reaction seemed too real for her to just be acting.

If this whole ordeal was just staged, reality TV has gone too far. This subject is so touchy because it has to do with messing with the emotions and leading to heartbreak for the viewers, Becca, and Arie.

The breakup has definitely lead Arie to be portrayed as the bad guy and a lot of fans of the show have gone against him and made negative comments about his actions.

In an article from E!NEWS written by Tierney Brickner, Arie said, “I always read the not-so-nice comments, but I laugh at them. I think they’re really funny, they’re really creative.”

Apparently the comments aren’t phasing Arie and he just wants the show to be entertaining for the viewers, but many Bachelor fans are upset and are mad at the show for airing the breakup.

If this was all fake, it’s hard to see why Arie would agree to it because of all the negativity that has naturally been thrown his way because of all this.

In Becca’s case, she got a lot of sympathy from fans and everyone definitely felt bad for her as we watched her react to being told her engagement was off. Becca was a fan favorite from the beginning.

Becca Kufrin was named the newest Bachelorette for season 14 of the show and hopefully she finds happiness a second time around on the show.

It is common for couples that were on the Bachelor to break up and that is no shocker to anyone who is a fan of the show. It is the fact that the breakup was filmed and was made into such a dramatic two episode finale that makes it feel a little staged.

If the producers of the show did in fact do this all for attention, it sure worked. This dramatic finale reeled in viewers and had us on the edge of our seats waiting to see what would happen or be said next.

Even if you hadn’t really kept up with the season or been paying much attention, you wanted to see what the finale was going to endure.

If this unexpected ending was fake, it went over the line and was too personal and emotional to play with feelings in that way.

I believe that reality TV has its moments where it can be fake or staged but I don’t think this particular moment was one of them. Becca deserves better and hopefully season 14 of the Bachelorette brings her just that.

When watching reality TV in general it is often difficult to decipher if what you’re watching is real or fake. Sometimes producers will twist what actually happened into something juicier to grab the audience’s attention.

There are no scripts or lines to memorize when you’re on a reality TV show but somehow people’s words get twisted and the plots turn into bigger stories.

I personally love to watch “Keeping Up with the Kardashians” and I can tell when things on the show have been staged or were made up to be more dramatic.

Conversations shown on the show sometimes seem unnatural and a bit forced. Most likely the producers set up the “fake” conversations and had lines for the people involved to look off of instead of just having a normal conversation.

An episode of the Kardashians where Kim was reacting to her house being toilet papered by her mom and sister is reportedly said to have been staged. Kim reacted way out of hand and so dramatic that it was obviously fake. It was a situation that had an easy solution but was blown out of proportion for the attention.

“The Bachelor” and “Keeping Up with the Kardashians” are just two examples of reality TV that have had noticeable “fake” moments. Maybe next time you’re watching your favorite reality TV show it will be easier to pick out the staged and not so staged parts.