Flavor of Love...& The Bachelor

The Bachelor is a reailty television show where a man is introduced to a large group of women from which he is to pick his future soul mate.  The bachelor decides which women stay by handing out roses.  In the final episode one women recieves an engagement ring.  Another reality show entitled, Flavor of Love also focuses on a man discovering love through meeting a group of women.  The main character of this show stays the same, his name is Flavor Flave.  Flavor of Love is the only black focused love story in reality television. An article, Performing Race in Flavor of Love and The Bachelor, by Rachel E. Dubrosfky and Antoine Hardy analyzes the differences in these two reailty television shows focusing primarily on race.

As mentioned before the bachelor chooses his women by handing out roses whereas Flavor Flave chooses his women by handing out giant clocks.  Dubrosky et. al. reflecting on how in Flavor of Love's women prove themselves through multiple challenges and displaying roles of identification and actively claiming the role.  The opposite is for The Bachelor because women reveal themselves through unseen race and unmarked.  An example of this is when Flavor gives out names to the participants based off of their personalities and physical attributes.  This moment is an opportunity for the women to stand out.  When the women on the Bachelor are introduced to the bachelor they arrive in a limo and formally introduce themselves. Furthermore the women who are of white race on Flavor of Love are nicknames reflecting this such as "Vinella".

Flavor's Nicknames and introduction:
http://www.vh1.com/video/shows/flavor-of-love-3/208358/in-flav-we-trust-full-act-2.jhtml
The Bachelor's introduction:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wdzZZTAQTco

Another aspect of the article, which intrigued me, was the confession and authenticity references.  The women on Flavor of Love mention the other women, references the show as a competition, and question other women’s realness.  Realness in the article is related to the term ghetto in that it reflects hip- hop culture diverging into the reality television genre.  These references are viewed as gatekeeping in which the audiences are opened to the ghetto references such as “keeping it real”.  On the bachelor the women focus on their feelings and how they relate to the bachelor.  This is another reference in the article that depicts one show as being more respectable than the other due to down playing the black race.  Also, the Bachelor being predominantly white does not reference their identities through their race yet, the women on Flavor of Love do.

Dialect of the show is another facet to be discussed through there differences.  An intense level of slang is utilized on Flavor of Love unlike that of The Bachelor.  Humor is expressed through the slang which I agree with the other is opposite of the Bachelor.  Feelings of sincerity, empathy, and love are exemplified through the women of The Bachelor. The programs differ in the use of dialect through slang but also in the depth of emotion.  In my opinion this creates a feeling of respect towards the overall message conducted in the Bachelor more than that of Flavor of Love.  Dubrosky et.  al. discuss how the women on Flavor of Love act upon these dialects by seeming as if to be characters acting more than being realistic.  This is a symbol of how media creates Caricatures from minorities such as African American women.