Marisa George and Ramses Prashad are on vacation in season 7 of “Love Is Blind.”Netflix provided by: IMDB.com
I don’t usually see it, but Reality TV for politics. After a day of reporting on topics like climate misinformation, crumbling democracy, and the literal death of nature, I watch reality TV to escape politics.
That’s why last week I wanted to put on my sweatpants, eat my corn, melt into my couch, and binge watch Season 7 of Netflix’s Love Is Blind wrapped in blankets and romantic fluff. . This was my safe place. At least that’s how it should have been.
In fact, love is not blind. But it’s definitely good television.
For those of you who haven’t seen this show yet, let me summarize it for you. Around 30 straight singles sign up for individual cubicle “pods” with the aim of getting engaged “invisibly” after just 10 days. The engaged couple meet for the first time in a dramatic red carpet reveal. Producers will follow them as they vacation in a tropical location, return to work, and try to date in the “real world” until they break up or get married 28 days later. With a few exceptions, most couples break up. In fact, love is not blind. But it’s definitely good television.
And like most reality shows I watch (and I watch a lot), Love Is Blind usually exists within a political bubble. With the exception of a relatively groundbreaking discussion about abortion in season 3, no discussion of politics between couples takes place when filmed. Hell, it was left on the cutting room floor, and the cast members’ political affiliations remain a mystery. (This is a warning: Spoilers ahead!)
But in a notable departure from previous seasons, Season 7 is set in the Washington, D.C., area and brings politics to the forefront. The season includes a whopping 12-minute dinner table episode about dating across the aisle, the change of heart that led to voting for Trump in 2016 and Biden in 2020, religion, Barbie and past lives, and Barbie’s role. Contains topics such as conversation. The American military in American imperialism. As Time magazine put it, it was “the most substantive conversation Love Is Blind has ever aired.”
The conversation is The story of Ramses Prashad, a 35-year-old program associate at a justice reform nonprofit, and Marissa George, a 32-year-old lawyer and former Navy veteran, begins in episode 7 as the two discuss wedding plans. It starts from. Disengaged from their Christian and Mormon upbringing, the two agree to serve as a priest for “anything but cis-hetero,” which in turn leads to a broader conversation about religion.
When George says he believes in past lives, Prashad mentions the 2023 movie starring Greta Lee and says they should watch Past Lives. George agrees, but only after the two watch the 2023 Barbie blockbuster. “Barbie made me realize that I can’t accept men who support patriarchy,” George says. “Did you need Barbie to make you realize that?” jokes Prashad.
“I was working my way towards that. I had to quit the military,” George says. “People don’t realize the kind of brainwashing that the military does.”
Prashad, who grew up in Venezuela, said the U.S. military “destabilized the whole country.” He quotes James Baldwin’s Notes of a Native Son, which states that to love one’s country is to criticize it. George responded that he doesn’t support “half of what the military does in other countries,” but that he does support individual members within the military. “I am proud of my service,” she says. “I support the military, baby.”
“I am always on the side of those who are under the hammer of American imperialism.”
In episode 8, Prashad elaborated and said that if George re-enlisted in the military, it would be a deal breaker. “We’re talking about things like Palestine right now,” he explains to three of George’s friends. “I am always on the side of those who are under the hammer of American imperialism. I sympathize with such people, so I would not consider dating someone who is actively involved in the military in the future. It’s difficult.”
As someone who has dated people across the aisle, this type of discussion felt authentic and refreshing. Producers rarely sneak social commentary into the final cut, much less spend more than a few minutes on it.
In ABC’s The Bachelor series, for example, conversations about religion and politics mostly take place in the Fantasy Suite, which is the only time contestants are not filmed. For example, Tayshia Adams reportedly ended her appearance on Season 16 of The Bachelorette, which aired in 2020. The contestant’s relationship with Ivan Hall was discussed behind closed doors due to religious differences. (ABC aired their conversation about Black Lives Matter after the series was criticized for being racially charged.) As for reality TV’s failed attempts to diversify, (Explained in more detail here.)
Two seasons ago, after HuffPost first reported that Bachelorette finalist Garrett Yrigoyen liked transphobic memes and memes mocking “left-wing women” and immigrants, he declined to elaborate. He apologized during the broadcast. “Some things have come to light about my social media,” he said during a live After the Final Rose special. Think about someone else’s feelings and things like that. ”
The only conversation I can recall on the latest season of Love Island USA that even remotely references the world outside the islanders’ luxurious, colorful villas is when 22-year-old contestant Kaylar Martin , asked Aaron after seeing his UK-based lover. Evans said in short, “Britain isn’t Europe, right?”
Admittedly, “Love Is Blind” doesn’t deserve to win major awards for broadcasting conversations about the military. Time magazine said, “This conversation does not resolve their conflict, which continues to intensify in subsequent episodes.” (I flipped through the latest episode, which aired on Wednesday, and things don’t seem to be looking too good for Ramses and Marissa.) “And there is no room for legitimate criticism of the show, including its platforming of outdated beauty standards and exploitative labor practices.”
But this plotline is nudging reality TV closer to the realization that relationships, love, and marriage are political. Whatever promise of neutrality that drew me to Love Is Blind in the first place has been broken, and my safe space temporarily destroyed. And you know what? Reality shows are a little more real, so I’m okay with that.
