Bachelor Nation

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.