The average couple dates for two to three years before getting married. But on a new show, six people will marry each other on thefirst date. Arranged marriages are back, and this time they're on TV! It's all happening on the reality show Married at First Sight.
Matchmakers will use science to find the perfect match for a few willing singles, and those brave souls will meet each other for the first time at their wedding. We'll get to see their first weeks together and find outwhich marriages stand the test of TV-time and which fall apart under the pressure.
Now what could possibly go wrong in this scenario?!?
I am very, very nervous for all these people. The pressure! Not only are they trying to make an arranged marriage work, they're trying to make it work on camera. I wonder, do any of them even stand a chance?
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Let's take on the arranged marriage part first. I can see how the right experts could select a mate for near-perfect compatibility. And compatibility matters a whole lot in a relationship. Contemporary culture doesn't really go in for arranged marriages anymore, but it's an age-old tradition that has worked for many families. It's not all child brides getting hitched to old men, either. Real matchmakers can get it right. And anyway, what are all those online dating apps but technological matchmakers?
Still, using a matchmaker to find someone to date is one thing. Using a matchmaker to find someone to marry, sight-unseen, is another. As important as compatibility is, I still think you need that special spark for a relationship to really "take." And that bit of magic is hard to predict and even harder to manufacture.
So there's the arranged challenge to this show. And then there's the reality TV anxiety. Are couples going to be on their best behavior while the cameras are rolling? Will that make them act more carefully than they otherwise would in private? Or will the filming break them and make people more irritable and more sensitive? I think everyone will react to being televised differently, but you can't deny that it will have an influence one way or another.
Here's another tantalizing question -- if we see some of these couples make it, will that make more singles curious about arranged marriages? Imagine if this takes off and becomes a major new trend.
Whatever happens, we can't wait to see this crazy social experiment for ourselves! Married at First Sight premieres Tuesday, July 8 on the FYI network.
Do you think any of these couples will last more than a few weeks? What about long term?
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