The Bachelor 2012-Ben Soon to Pick His True Love, Predictions, Thoughts, Snark

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Women tell all and the demonization of Courtney

So I watched the "Women Tell All" version for BenF's season with The Bachelor. It was a fine job of the demonizing of contender Courtney, which was an ongoing theme this season, which was all scripted, as I assert.

I also assert, as I always must, that scripting on these reality shows is minimal to invasive and there's nothing wrong with this. Some of these more emotionally based reality shows don't have the thrill of dumping red paint on contenders as they race to win some sort of episodic coveted prize. The Bachelor(ette) is really nothing but a great big trumped up dating show and there's nothing wrong with this.

I'd recently challenged that The Bachelor might be the competitive reality TV show's example of speed dating and I argued there's nothing wrong with this.

I consider this series and its ilk as a kind of wrestling tournament. Wrestling isn't real, at least the outrageous "plots" that the producers come up with that has them angrily throwing chairs and bashing opponents' heads with tables. But real or not, there's a talent to concocting and enacting storylines that amuses/outrageous/fools the viewers while also incorporating the main concept of the talent then being displayed.

The bachelors on The Bachelor don't have any kind of serious talent save being single, actively looking for a life partner, and in most cases, being somewhat handsome. Still and so, THAT is the talent of the show and mostly women tune in across the fruited plains with dreams of a similar man out there awaiting to enter their lives and love them forever.

As an aside, if I hear Ben say of one of the contenders even one more time…"I can see spending the rest of my life with …(insert random contender name here)"...I shall run screaming into the night.

Having a bunch of women vying to win the sole devotion of one guy is the theme of this show. It airs for an hour and a half every week. There's the rose ceremony and some footage of group and solo dates. Beyond that, you got to have some kind of drama to keep the viewers coming back.

Enter Courtney.

Courtney is a contender for Ben's hand and one of the final two with a fifty percent chance to be chosen next Monday as the finale of The Bachelor BenF's season begins. And yes I have some thoughts as to who will get chosen to ostensibly be Ben's wife. She is very pretty, allegedly a model. She also has the personality of a snake.

At least that's how Courtney's personality is scripted on this series because I don't buy this Courtney drama, at least to the extent it is presented, for a minute.

First I have seriously not heard Courtney do anything so awful to the other women sharing the house as they wait for Ben to cull down his female choices. Oh she says some snarky things. Once a contender was eliminated and Courtney said something to the effect…"Good Riddance". Another contender, Emily, one of the shrillest and nastiest of the contenders based on last night's "The Women Speak" episode, apologized to Courtney for being a bit catty to her. Courtney refused the apology.

Well that's not nice but it's also likely a staged scene.

Let us not forget that there is someone with a camera during all those scenes we watch during that show. Going out on a limb here, but I think sharing a home with a bunch of women all wanting the same guy would be a breeding ground of cattiness. Courtney's snarky "Good riddance" was RECORDED. Are we really so stupid to believe that none of the some 25 other females living in that house never said anything so catty, likely cattier.

Just the fact that these sorts of scenes are recorded should cast doubt in the minds of viewers. We all tend to behave better when the camera is on us, come on. Refusing a sincere apology, IN FRONT OF A CAMERA RECORDING SUCH UNGRACIOUSNESS, is just not that likely. Oh it will if you've got a director urging you to turn down the apology, that'll it'll have the viewers tuning in next week to see how it goes.

Same thing for the infamous skinny dipping scene. And yes something about that episode popped up last night that should have had us scratching our heads.

I expressed doubt that the whole skinny dipping episode, that had Courtney sneaking up to Ben's quarters and urging him to join her for a midnight swim to taking off her clothes when he agreed to Ben also removing his clothes at Ben's urging.

First, come on, I'm quite sure they have rules to keep those women in their assigned places. If not, why wouldn't they all be up at Ben's quiet spot, beating down his door and begging him to come here or go there or whatever? Courtney had to have somebody's permission to do this.

Second, again, there was somebody with a camera recording that skinny dipping scene. It really seems unlikely that two people would strip off their clothes and run with wild abandon in their birthday suits into the water for a grand bit of fun. Bearing in mind that the presence of a camera in this instances means likely airing of these antics across the fruited plains and into millions of homes.

Much less, as is hinted, having sex, something no one knows and that's how it's meant to be. Us viewers are to ASS-U-ME Courtney and Ben had sex, it's never said and I argue it likely didn't happen. The skinny dipping scene did happen as I got eyeballs and saw it. But again, some clever producer probably thought it would be a great part of the storyline so they set it up to allow Courtney and Ben to film the scene.

The other women in the house allegedly did not know about the skinny dipping incident, at least as the show was being filmed ongoing. On the women speak show last night, the skinny dipping scene was mentioned. Several of the women expressed contempt for Courtney sneakily engaging in it. Yet not a single one of them chastised Ben, who did make an appearance, for too being a part of it. I mean who could have any respect for a guy who goes screwing one of the contenders even as they wait with great hope that they will be his wife someday?

It just has too many disbeliefs to me to have not been a scripted scene, yet one more bit of drama to make Courtney the bad bitch.

I'm not condemning and like people who think wrestling is real, there are likely large swaths of young women who believe everything on this show is impromptu and natural. Having one disliked witchy female of the group of contenders is part and parcel of this show and it's nothing new.

As for Ben's final choice, I really don't think Ben is going to pick either Courtney or Lindzi. It's happened before but that time it was because the bachelor couldn't make a commitment. This time I think Ben's going to be presented as a really nice guy who couldn't possibly choose one of the final two as both, as us viewers can plainly see, are unacceptable.

We've already got a fine reason to accept Ben's rejection of Courtney as she's been played as the woman with the heart of stone who would kill if someone got in their way.

As for Lindzi, well she's a really nice lady, yes she is. Way I figure, Lindzi might reject Ben. Or else something will come up to make a match-up of Ben and Lindzi impossible. Maybe Lindzi has to move overseas or some such, I dunno.

I could be wrong, of course. It's just that Chris Harrison keeps remarking how it will be a shocking ending (though he does always say that). AND such as love and eternal happiness was not mentioned on the show last night. Usually the Bachelor(ette) will go into a rapturous rant about how he or she has found eternal happiness, that life is wonderful, that the choice has been made and joy is his or hers for a lifetime.

The idea is that after listening to the bitching of the rejected contenders the viewers are relieved to know that happiness has come to he or she who they once cherished and we will definitely tune in to see who it is. This did not happen last night.


Other posts on this Blog about BenF's Bachelor episodes:

-Bachelor Ben Begins His Search Anew After His Rejection by Ashley


Bachelor Ben F Continues Quest to Find Love; The Prettiest Contender of All


Bachelor Ben Begins to Hone In On His Future Wife. The Real Skinny on the Skinny Dipping Scene.


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