IS LOVE ISLAND THE REAL DEAL? | DISCUSSION | JULY 2018
Love Island is something that all teens and twenty-somethings look forward to every June in the UK. It's quite possibly become a staple to their summer watching lists. I will admit I've watched it from the very start, but it only really got going in series 2. If you are not aware of Love Island, for reasons that you might be from another country other than the UK or Australia (the only countries that I'm aware are airing it) then Love Island is a sort of social experiment (viewed as a game show in a lot of ways also) in a lot of ways. In the start there are about 10-12 males and females put in to a villa on a hot island in the Mediterranean (what a perfect summer), and what the ultimate goal is for the contestants is for them to 'couple up' with someone and find 'love'.
But with anything there are some social issues that some people question. Yes, it's an entertainment reality/game show but some of it raises questions about society and what message it's putting out. First of all, most of the female contestants bodies are of one shape/type. They are small, they aren't plus sized but I suppose that some of them could be classed as 'curvaceous'. But for the majority that are put on the show, they are petite and small. As a teenager and young woman myself, this raises questions about what it's showing young girls and boys; to what an attractive woman is, and therefore putting pressure on them to look a certain way and maybe even specifically the smaller you are the more attractive you are to other people. This could hugely affect a young persons view on their bodies and what they 'should' look like. It might be the same as for boys as well, but I think there's a bit more diversity there with what the boys look like as well, in terms of their bodies and how their perceived to look. But another thing that is hugely prominent is the racial diversity on the show, there's very few black contestants on it, so it doesn't represent society as a whole, does it?
It comes to show a lot of inequalities and double standards between men and women, which is still obvious however strong the characters of either gender are. It's been aired for quite a few years now, and the contestants from most of the shows have become quite the celebrities in the entertainment industry, so part of me thinks that all they want is the fame. It's quite obvious with some of them, for e.g. I think Megan is only really looking for the 'fame' aspect of it and luckily I think the public can see right through her. She's quite obviously used a few of the male contestants, and played with their emotions. But rightly so, we as the people watching in don't actually know what goes on behind the scenes, and what it's like in the villa.
Many older generations may hear about it or watch it and wander why and how times have changed. Social media is a massive part of the 'dating scene' these days, whether it be on Instagram or Tinder. I actually HATE that it's like it, and would rather go back to when people actually talk to each toher face to face, and that's really what Love Island is. People get to know each other by talking, and swanning about in a villa, in bikinis, so it could be seen as the opposite of I've been saying 'our generation' and the influence of social media has done. Another thing is apparent from watching the series over the past few years is how people treat each other. It's slightly shocking that people can treat other people so awfully, and just blatantly not care about their feelings, or how their actions would consequence on someone else. I don't think the audience would 100% emphasise with them because they will never know how it feels to be in a villa with ten other people, and how fast relationships move in there. One day you could be 'coupled up' and getting to know osmeone, and then you could move on to someone else, without any questioning. But in real life it's almost frowned upon for moving on that quickly. Feelings are involved but half the country is watching as well, so you do question if the producers are setting things up just to entertain. I mean it's all been very entertaining, but wouldn't it be boring if everyone stayed with their original couples, and the people being brought in didn't turn any of their heads? That would be hilarious because then they've put all their compatible people in together. Anyway I'm going off on a tangent now but my main point I am going to make about Love Island is the sexist, double standard, idealistic representation of our society. It reproduces this image that a relationship is always perfect and you have to be with someone to be happy, like without that person you have no right to be content with your life. Some of these people on the programme are young, like twenty years old, in my opinion you haven't really lived, so to even think about just settling down it just feels a bit weird to me. But each to their own. With the double standards of men and women, I think it's obvious that it's changing but very slightly. There's a lot of evidence that the 'louder' characters in the villa this year are the women, they intimidated or overpowered by the men. Quite the opposite in fact, the men are quite placid in fact and the women are being intimidating and bitchy towards each other. Another main point is the representation of womens bodies. In my opinion there's only really one body type in the villa; petite. You don't see a variety of body types, because in reality not every girl will look like that. They do not look like that in real life. For e.g. it's alleged that this years contestant called Megan has had £40,000 worth of cosmetic surgery to look like that, and she's the most admired by the boys. So that could send out the message that girls need to change themselves to feel good about themselves. Another thing is that they need men to validate their worth for being fancied.
I just think, even though it is an entertainment show, it just promotes the wrong sort of representation for girls and boys in the 'real world', thinking that what they're seeing is the 'reality' when it's not. Not everyone will look like Laura, and not every lad will look like Wes. This year I think it's evident that a lot of it is set up, and editing has a lot to do with it, and lets face it they want people to watch they're not going to just let everyone couple up without sending a few bombshells in, but I mean they coulld at least get the editing right, and not actually patronise the audience in to being so passive that they're not doing to notice.
I'm probably just analysing this way too much, as it is supposed to some light entertainment for summer, but it's just what I think about the show. It's extremely successful but for all the wrong reasons, in my opinion.
Thanks for reading!
Rose x
But with anything there are some social issues that some people question. Yes, it's an entertainment reality/game show but some of it raises questions about society and what message it's putting out. First of all, most of the female contestants bodies are of one shape/type. They are small, they aren't plus sized but I suppose that some of them could be classed as 'curvaceous'. But for the majority that are put on the show, they are petite and small. As a teenager and young woman myself, this raises questions about what it's showing young girls and boys; to what an attractive woman is, and therefore putting pressure on them to look a certain way and maybe even specifically the smaller you are the more attractive you are to other people. This could hugely affect a young persons view on their bodies and what they 'should' look like. It might be the same as for boys as well, but I think there's a bit more diversity there with what the boys look like as well, in terms of their bodies and how their perceived to look. But another thing that is hugely prominent is the racial diversity on the show, there's very few black contestants on it, so it doesn't represent society as a whole, does it?
It comes to show a lot of inequalities and double standards between men and women, which is still obvious however strong the characters of either gender are. It's been aired for quite a few years now, and the contestants from most of the shows have become quite the celebrities in the entertainment industry, so part of me thinks that all they want is the fame. It's quite obvious with some of them, for e.g. I think Megan is only really looking for the 'fame' aspect of it and luckily I think the public can see right through her. She's quite obviously used a few of the male contestants, and played with their emotions. But rightly so, we as the people watching in don't actually know what goes on behind the scenes, and what it's like in the villa.
Many older generations may hear about it or watch it and wander why and how times have changed. Social media is a massive part of the 'dating scene' these days, whether it be on Instagram or Tinder. I actually HATE that it's like it, and would rather go back to when people actually talk to each toher face to face, and that's really what Love Island is. People get to know each other by talking, and swanning about in a villa, in bikinis, so it could be seen as the opposite of I've been saying 'our generation' and the influence of social media has done. Another thing is apparent from watching the series over the past few years is how people treat each other. It's slightly shocking that people can treat other people so awfully, and just blatantly not care about their feelings, or how their actions would consequence on someone else. I don't think the audience would 100% emphasise with them because they will never know how it feels to be in a villa with ten other people, and how fast relationships move in there. One day you could be 'coupled up' and getting to know osmeone, and then you could move on to someone else, without any questioning. But in real life it's almost frowned upon for moving on that quickly. Feelings are involved but half the country is watching as well, so you do question if the producers are setting things up just to entertain. I mean it's all been very entertaining, but wouldn't it be boring if everyone stayed with their original couples, and the people being brought in didn't turn any of their heads? That would be hilarious because then they've put all their compatible people in together. Anyway I'm going off on a tangent now but my main point I am going to make about Love Island is the sexist, double standard, idealistic representation of our society. It reproduces this image that a relationship is always perfect and you have to be with someone to be happy, like without that person you have no right to be content with your life. Some of these people on the programme are young, like twenty years old, in my opinion you haven't really lived, so to even think about just settling down it just feels a bit weird to me. But each to their own. With the double standards of men and women, I think it's obvious that it's changing but very slightly. There's a lot of evidence that the 'louder' characters in the villa this year are the women, they intimidated or overpowered by the men. Quite the opposite in fact, the men are quite placid in fact and the women are being intimidating and bitchy towards each other. Another main point is the representation of womens bodies. In my opinion there's only really one body type in the villa; petite. You don't see a variety of body types, because in reality not every girl will look like that. They do not look like that in real life. For e.g. it's alleged that this years contestant called Megan has had £40,000 worth of cosmetic surgery to look like that, and she's the most admired by the boys. So that could send out the message that girls need to change themselves to feel good about themselves. Another thing is that they need men to validate their worth for being fancied.
I just think, even though it is an entertainment show, it just promotes the wrong sort of representation for girls and boys in the 'real world', thinking that what they're seeing is the 'reality' when it's not. Not everyone will look like Laura, and not every lad will look like Wes. This year I think it's evident that a lot of it is set up, and editing has a lot to do with it, and lets face it they want people to watch they're not going to just let everyone couple up without sending a few bombshells in, but I mean they coulld at least get the editing right, and not actually patronise the audience in to being so passive that they're not doing to notice.
I'm probably just analysing this way too much, as it is supposed to some light entertainment for summer, but it's just what I think about the show. It's extremely successful but for all the wrong reasons, in my opinion.
Thanks for reading!
Rose x
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