Bachelor Nation

This book pretty much capitulates all the desires I've had to intellectualize my love of The Bachelor franchise, giving the proper history, context, and – of course – juicy backstage details. I couldn't put it down.

The introduction made me wary; Kaufman's fun and approachable style – the kind you'd find in a Cosmo article (not that this is necessarily negative; after all, I do indulge in Cosmo... let's just say I have my fair share of guilty pleasures) – made me wary that this book would be another mindless capitalization of us franchise-obsessed suckers who will guzzle everything Bach-related, even if it's ditzy and objectively terrible (cough every Bachelor/Bachelorette memoir I've ever read cough) (Side note: big proponent of reading whatever the hell makes you happy to read, regardless of how dumb it is or what someone else might think of you... but pro tip: buy those ones for your kindle).

But this book did not disappoint. If anything, it blew my expectations away with an expert balance of history, expose, personal conceit, and scholarly reflection. Particularly hitting home were the words of one quoted feminist scholar: ‘It almost seems to be less about The Bachelor and more about this idea in the past few years that if you identify as a feminist, you somehow have to justify everything you consume...people really feel like their consumption patterns have to be explained as part of a larger identity.' Um – YES. Emoji clap, emoji clap, emoji clap. This book helped me come to terms with that innate need by making me realize that I don't need to come to terms with it. We're allowed to have guilty pleasures, and I reserve this as mine. Though some may scoff that I can continue watching the show knowing what I know – I will do so just as Kaufman does, because I can separate it from my intellectual and feminist aspirations. Plus, my dad and I watch it together and I just can't leave him hanging.

I came to this book hopeful, as someone morbidly fascinated with The Bachelor and other reality TV about relationships (90 Day Fiance). I think Amy does a good job of demonstrating that lots of people follow the franchise for lots of reasons. She also shows how the show blurs lines between manufactured content and real-life impact.

It was interesting to get a glimpse into the tug-of-war between producers and contestants, and the resultant ambivalence: everything is both real and fake, and the stakes are simultaneously high and low. However, I think Kaufman tries to tackle a lot all at once, and sometimes I felt the book lacked organization and analysis. It felt like it was building up to a dozen different points that in the end weren't quite made.

Hits that sweet spot in the middle of gossipy and scholarly - not so analytical/dry that it wasn't fun to read, but not so trashy that you feel ashamed for reading it (or not really ashamed, but embarrassed, whatever). Kaufman clearly loves the show and knows it inside out, while still clearly seeing its Problematic nature. Her sources are great - a lot of former contestants went on the record, and she managed to get a copy of the (27-page!!) contract everyone has to sign to be on the show, among other things. I didn't really think the book needed the “Why I Watch” mini-essays by celebrities who are fans, though; if I'm reading this book, I'm probably enough of a fan that I don't need to know why Diablo Cody or Allison Williams watch in order to justify it to myself. They weren't badly written and they didn't take up too much of the book, I just didn't think they were all that relevant. If you watch The Bachelor or are interested in the sociology of reality TV (or both), I definitely recommend this.