{"id":160197,"date":"2021-02-22T12:38:38","date_gmt":"2021-02-22T17:38:38","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/?p=160197"},"modified":"2021-02-22T12:43:48","modified_gmt":"2021-02-22T17:43:48","slug":"reality-tv-can-serve-a-purpose-but-last-week-it-failed","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/reality-tv-can-serve-a-purpose-but-last-week-it-failed\/","title":{"rendered":"Reality TV Can Serve A Purpose, But Last Week, It Failed"},"content":{"rendered":"<aside class=\"mashsb-container mashsb-main mashsb-stretched\"><div class=\"mashsb-box\"><div class=\"mashsb-count mash-medium\" style=\"&quot;\"><div class=\"counts mashsbcount\">22<\/div><span class=\"mashsb-sharetext\">SHARES<\/span><\/div><div class=\"mashsb-buttons\"><a class=\"mashicon-facebook mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/sharer.php?u=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.conservativenewsdaily.net%2Fbreaking-news%2Freality-tv-can-serve-a-purpose-but-last-week-it-failed%2F\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Facebook<\/span><\/a><a class=\"mashicon-twitter mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/intent\/tweet?text=&amp;url=https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/?p=160197&amp;via=ConservNewsDly\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Twitter<\/span><\/a><a class=\"mashicon-subscribe mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"#\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Subscribe<\/span><\/a><div class=\"onoffswitch2 mash-medium mashsb-noshadow\" style=\"display:none\"><\/div><\/div>\n            <\/div>\n                <div style=\"clear:both\"><\/div><\/aside>\n            <!-- Share buttons by mashshare.net - Version: 4.0.47--><div><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/02\/6B546CC1-A50A-47DA-8CC5-382FE0D27A7F_1_201_a.jpeg?w=1200&#038;h=800&#038;ixlib=react-9.0.3\" class=\"ff-og-image-inserted\" \/><\/div>\n<p><span>Last week, the reality television show<\/span> <em><span>The Bachelor<\/span><\/em> <span>was the source of much controversy. Concerns were first raised over the past actions of a contestant, but the situation turned into a much larger debacle when the object of public fury became the 19-year veteran host of the show, Chris Harrison.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span>The contestant in question, Rachael Kirkconnell, faced accusations of racism, especially after photos surfaced of her attending an \u201cOld South\u201d plantation-themed sorority party in 2018.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span>Public scorn soon turned to host Chris Harrison after an ExtraTV interview with Rachel Lindsay, a former<\/span><span>\u00a0\u201cBachelorette\u201d on the show\u2019s twenty-first season.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span>In the<\/span> <a href=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/watch?v=9hmY1gSAuRk\"><span>interview<\/span><\/a> <span>with Lindsay, who was the first black \u201cBachelorette,\u201d Harrison was asked what he thought about the allegations against Kirkconnell. He didn\u2019t defend her outright, but he did say that she deserved a chance to speak and be heard. Apparently, this was not acceptable.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span>He began the interview, saying,<\/span><\/p>\n<blockquote>\n<p><em><span>\u201cFirst and foremost, I don\u2019t know. I haven\u2019t talked to Rachel about it. And this is again where we all need to have a little grace and a little understanding and a little compassion\u2026Again, this judge-jury-executioner thing where people are just tearing this girl\u2019s life apart and diving into, like, her parents and her parents\u2019 voting record\u2026Its unbelievably alarming to watch this. I haven\u2019t heard Rachel speak on this yet and until I actually hear this woman have a chance to speak, who am I to say any of this? You know, I saw a picture of her at a sorority party five years ago and that\u2019s it. Like, boom, like okay, this girl is in \u2018this book\u2019 now and she\u2019s now in \u2018this group,\u2019 and I\u2019m like, \u2018really?\u2019\u201d<\/span><\/em><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n<p><span>Lindsay pushed him on the issue, saying \u201cit\u2019s not a good look,\u201d and asking what she, as a black woman, would represent if she went to that party. He pointed out things were viewed differently a few years ago. \u201cI don\u2019t disagree with you. You\u2019re 100% right in 2021,\u201d he said. \u201cThat was not the case in 2018.\u201d Multiple times, he repeated that he wasn\u2019t defending Kirkconnell or her actions.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span>Lindsay actually agreed with Harrison at one point, saying, \u201cI think that\u2019s the problem\u2026you\u2019re right, we weren\u2019t looking through those lens [in 2018] and we should have been\u2026and just because it\u2019s a popular party doesn\u2019t necessarily make it right.\u201d She said, \u201cI believe you\u2019re right, in a sense that, you know, maybe there should be some\u2026 \u2018hey\u2019 understanding of, like not everybody knows everything\u2026\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span>Lindsay went on to describe her frustration with Kirkconnell for not coming forward to deny the claims made against her.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span>Harrison made the point that speaking out is a \u201cslippery slope,\u201d noting that it\u2019s impossible to please everyone or answer to everybody\u2019s attacks. He continued, \u201cI saw something that said \u2018this person was a registered Republican. Therefore, they are \u2018this\u2019\u2019 and I\u2019m like \u2018woah woah woah\u2019\u2026\u201d before Lindsay interjected and said \u201cyeah, that\u2019s ridiculous.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n<p>In the days following the interview, Harrison received severe backlash from BIPOC (Black, Indigenous, People of Color) participants on current and former seasons of the show, while Lindsay has since appeared in several interviews, including an appearance on <a href=\"https:\/\/www.cnn.com\/videos\/entertainment\/2021\/02\/16\/rachel-lindsay-chris-harrison-bachelor-racism-sot-ctn-vpx.cnn\/video\/playlists\/cnn-tonight-highlights\/\">CNN Tonight with Don Lemon.<\/a><\/p>\n<p>Regarding Harrison\u2019s comments, Lindsay told Lemon, \u201cI was shocked. I thought, maybe he misspoke. But then when he continued down this path, I thought \u2018oh no, this is really what he wants to say.\u2019 And I felt I needed to let him say it.\u201d<\/p>\n<p><span>Reality television is a frustrating entity. It isn\u2019t necessarily \u201cgood\u201d for society to watch other people fight on TV or be entertained by the woes that come from extravagant lifestyles, and t<\/span><span>here is an argument to be made that it doesn\u2019t always move the culture forward in a positive way.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span>However, it does serve a purpose.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span>Reality TV brings everyday conversation onto the screen. It places marriages, families, or politics on center stage from within peoples\u2019 homes. It creates scenarios where Americans watch someone else\u2019s life, live vicariously through them, and start these conversations in their own households.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span>When a group of women on a<\/span> <em><span>Real Housewives<\/span><\/em> <span>episode argue about something one of them allegedly said, friends can turn to one another in their living rooms and debate who is right or who should be treated differently.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span>Reality television is \u2014 at its best \u2014 at the will of reality. Take the most recent season of <em>The<\/em><\/span> <em><span>Real Housewives of Orange County<\/span><\/em><span>. The show<\/span> <span>was upended halfway through because of the coronavirus, so the stars transitioned to filming themselves from inside their homes, and audiences watched as quarantine began and the world shut down.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span>Reality television plays to a certain base level of humanity. It acts as a modern-day colosseum where we watch various contenders compete against and interact with each other. We make bets, maybe \u201ccast lots.\u201d We pick our favorites and have strong feelings towards those who are characterized as the villains. It\u2019s a game.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span>And that is why the participants\u2019 past and current lives are brought to the forefront, especially on shows like<\/span> <em><span>The Bachelor.<\/span><\/em> <span>It\u2019s how living-room conversations can happen.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span>But it stopped being a game when it turned against its own.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span>On<\/span> <em><span>The Bachelor,<\/span><\/em> <span>the accusations made against Kirkconnell came up and people voiced their concerns.\u00a0<\/span><span>Then, Chris Harrison, the (formerly, perhaps) beloved host came onto the scene, playing the devil\u2019s advocate role he has established for years. He\u2019s the one in the room who sticks up for someone, who loyally has the bachelor or bachelorette\u2019s back, and is there to facilitate important conversations.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span>Harrison did the same thing he has done in the past. He said he didn\u2019t know what the right answer to the situation was, but he was willing to hear both sides. Then he became the target.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span>The culture pervaded the show, but this time, the worst of the woke statutes seeped into the arena and instead of them resulting in conversations, their laws became a rallying cry against the very person who was willing to hear out both positions of the issue. And then, Harrison apologized.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span>First, he <a href=\"https:\/\/www.instagram.com\/p\/CLIjt2IgzOo\/\">admitted<\/a> that he had caused harm \u201cby wrongly speaking in a manner that perpetuates racism.\u201d A few days later, he posted another <a href=\"https:\/\/www.instagram.com\/p\/CLPmjrFgEv8\/\">statement<\/a>, saying that \u201cBy excusing historical racism, I defended it.\u201d\u00a0<\/span><span>He said that he was wrong to use the term \u201cwoke police\u201d and that he is \u201cdedicated to getting educated on a more profound and productive level than ever before.\u201d It\u2019s fine to apologize for unintentionally hurting someone\u2019s feelings, but Harrison is apologizing for even questioning the mob\u2019s edicts, for even saying that Kirkconnell deserved a fair trial before she was cast out.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span>As a brief note: \u201c<em>[insert adjectival noun] police<\/em>\u201d is a metaphor for enforcers of specific rules. See: \u201cgrammar police,\u201d \u201cfashion police.\u201d The \u201cwoke police\u201d are the ones who enforce the \u201claw\u201d of \u201cwoke-ism.\u201d And enforce it, they certainly do \u2014 as is clear from Harrison\u2019s apology to the woke police for calling them the \u201cwoke police.\u201d The concept that this is somehow derogatory is unfounded, and people who are angry over being called \u201cwoke police\u201d are being called such <em>because<\/em> of their fury.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span>Kirkconnell has also since <a href=\"https:\/\/www.instagram.com\/p\/CLK5YDHHDQT\/\">apologized<\/a> for her past actions, saying that her \u201cignorance was racist.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span>The fact of the matter is that <em>Bachelor Nation<\/em> in itself is built off of a premise that has arguable ties to ancient notions and practices of selecting one\u2019s partner from a group of people.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span>If it is racist to go to a southern-themed party, is it misogynistic to be on a show that takes its theme from ancient patriarchal practices of a privileged person selecting their mate from a group of many eligible suitors?<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span>No. It isn\u2019t. It\u2019s a reality television show in 2021.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span>And while it centers on superficial ideas and concepts, you are not a sexist if you are on the show and you are not a sexist if you watch the show. You might be sexist for other reasons, but being on a show (or being a fan of a show) does not condemn you.<\/span><\/p>\n<p>Making past mistakes or doing things that you regret shouldn\u2019t condemn you, either. It should be an opportunity to talk about our culture \u2014 where it has been, where it is, and where it can go. Maybe going to that party was a mistake \u2014 maybe it wasn\u2019t \u2014 but talking about it is the right course of action, not excommunicating the very person who wanted to have the discussion.<\/p>\n<p><span>Maybe <em>The Bachelor<\/em> isn\u2019t a great show and doesn\u2019t promote wholesome ideas about how we should view dating, sex, and marriage. Maybe it encourages the wrong mindset about important, fulfilling ways of life, at times advancing superficial stereotypes. But maybe it\u2019s also fine to have a fun game show to watch on a weekday and talk about with your friends. And maybe not. But I\u2019m here to talk about both sides all day.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span>If reality television silences dialogue and eliminates contestants at the first scent of imperfection; if we<\/span> <span>can\u2019t have these conversations about the morality of a television show and the actions of the people on it, then we won\u2019t be better humans. We\u2019ll just stop talking to each other.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><em>The views expressed in this piece are the author\u2019s own and do not necessarily represent those of The Daily Wire.<\/em><\/p>\n<p><em><span>The Daily Wire is one of America\u2019s fastest-growing conservative media companies and counter-cultural outlets for news, opinion, and entertainment. Get inside access to The Daily Wire by becoming a<\/span><\/em> <a href=\"https:\/\/www.dailywire.com\/subscribe\"><span>member<\/span><\/a><span>.<\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Last week, the reality television show The Bachelor was the source of much controversy. Concerns were first raised over the past actions of a contestant, but the situation turned into &#8230;<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":2273932,"comment_status":"close","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_mo_disable_npp":"","fifu_image_url":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/02\/6B546CC1-A50A-47DA-8CC5-382FE0D27A7F_1_201_a.jpeg?w=1200&h=800&ixlib=react-9.0.3","fifu_image_alt":"Reality TV Can Serve A Purpose, But Last Week, It Failed","footnotes":""},"categories":[],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-160197","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry"],"fifu_image_url":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/02\/6B546CC1-A50A-47DA-8CC5-382FE0D27A7F_1_201_a.jpeg?w=1200&h=800&ixlib=react-9.0.3","fifu_image_alt":"Reality TV Can Serve A Purpose, But Last Week, It Failed","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/160197","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=160197"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/160197\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/2273932"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=160197"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=160197"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=160197"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}