美国国家公共电台 NPR 'The Bachelorette' Concludes Landmark Season As Rachel Lindsay Gives Final Rose

 

ARI SHAPIRO, HOST:

ABC's romance-reality series "The Bachelorette" finished a landmark¹ season last night as star Rachel Lindsay finally sifted² through 31 suitors to get her marriage proposal. But NPR TV critic Eric Deggans says the show's three-hour live finale left an important question unanswered. And a very important spoiler alert - this story will reveal the results of last night's episode.

ERIC DEGGANS, BYLINE³: This may have been the most diverse "Bachelorette" finale in the show's history. But romance was the couple's priority when chiropractor Bryan Abasolo produced an engagement ring Monday, repeating live the same marriage proposal he first made in Spain months ago.

(SOUNDBITE OF TV SHOW, "THE BACHELORETTE")

BRYAN ABASOLO: I was in love with you when I proposed to you on top of that castle in Spain. And every single day that has passed, I fall deeper and deeper in love with you. And I never want you to take this ring off your finger ever again. Will you remarry me?

(LAUGHTER)

RACHEL LINDSAY: Yes.

DEGGANS: Rachel and Bryan were sitting in a Los Angeles studio watching pre-taped footage. And the success of their relationship must have left ABC executives popping open champagne⁴ bottles to celebrate. "The Bachelorette" and "Bachelor" franchises⁵ are often criticized for their lack of diversity, but this "Bachelorette" cycle found success with its first black woman serving as the star. And she chose a Spanish-speaking man of Colombian heritage as her fiance, ensuring that the show's trademark⁶ happy ending was as inclusive as possible.

For a show that seemed ready to reflect the conversations happening in the world about race and romance, however, "The Bachelorette" season led by Rachel seemed just as uncomfortable as ever broaching⁷ the subject deeply. Indeed, race wasn't much of a topic in Monday's finale. Third-place finisher Eric Bigger, the last African-American male in the running, was shown the door early in the finale. Instead, viewers saw Rachel torn between eager Bryan and Wisconsin native Peter Kraus, who kept saying he wasn't sure he could propose marriage so quickly. Peter spoke⁸ to Rachel live Monday after the program aired footage of their breakup recorded months ago.

(SOUNDBITE OF TV SHOW, "THE BACHELORETTE")

PETER KRAUS: I still care about you deeply to this day. And watching that, I was just crying backstage. I come out here, and I - I'm not going to lie. I feel attacked.

DEGGANS: This is the power of so-called reality TV in shaping the perceptions of viewers. Peter's position that he wasn't comfortable proposing marriage after dating someone for a few weeks on a TV show makes perfect sense. But the show treated his hesitancy as a jarring flaw. And Rachel spent lots of time assuring viewers Bryan wasn't just a consolation⁹ prize, though it sure seemed that way from the footage.

The biggest success of "The Bachelorette" this season was making a star of Rachel, a poised¹⁰ attorney from Texas who seems ready to capitalize on her heightened profile, appearing on the cover of People magazine and elsewhere. She expertly navigated¹¹ the expectations of viewers in ways that made her seem like the Obama of bachelor nation. She remained authentic¹² and compelling, even while challenging some people's notion of who a black woman could and should choose to love.

In the end, this season of "The Bachelorette" retained the materialism¹³, manipulation and princess fantasy stuff that's always made the show so damaging. But it did widen - maybe just a little bit - the image of who can stand at the center of the show's romantic fantasies. So let's put this question out there - will producers take what they've learned from Rachel and the men of color who dated her to present the franchise's first black bachelor? I'm Eric Deggans.

(SOUNDBITE OF POOLSIDE'S "EVERYTHING GOES")

1 landmark   

n.陆标，划时代的事，地界标

参考例句：

• The Russian Revolution represents a landmark in world history.俄国革命是世界历史上的一个里程碑。
• The tower was once a landmark for ships.这座塔曾是船只的陆标。

2 sifted   

v.筛( sift的过去式和过去分词 )；筛滤；细查；详审

参考例句：

• She sifted through her papers to find the lost letter. 她仔细在文件中寻找那封丢失的信。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• She sifted thistles through her thistle-sifter. 她用蓟筛筛蓟。 来自《简明英汉词典》

3 byline   

n.署名；v.署名

参考例句：

• His byline was absent as well.他的署名也不见了。
• We wish to thank the author of this article which carries no byline.我们要感谢这篇文章的那位没有署名的作者。

4 champagne   

n.香槟酒；微黄色

参考例句：

• There were two glasses of champagne on the tray.托盘里有两杯香槟酒。
• They sat there swilling champagne.他们坐在那里大喝香槟酒。

5 franchises   

n.（尤指选举议员的）选举权( franchise的名词复数 )；参政权；获特许权的商业机构（或服务）；（公司授予的）特许经销权v.给…以特许权，出售特许权( franchise的第三人称单数 )

参考例句：

• TV franchises will be auctioned to the highest bidder. 电视特许经营权将拍卖给出价最高的投标人。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• Ford dealerships operated as independent franchises. 福特汽车公司的代销商都是独立的联营商。 来自辞典例句

6 trademark   

n.商标；特征；vt.注册的…商标

参考例句：

• The trademark is registered on the book of the Patent Office.该商标已在专利局登记注册。
• The trademark of the pen was changed.这钢笔的商标改了。

7 broaching   

n.拉削；推削；铰孔；扩孔v.谈起( broach的现在分词 )；打开并开始用；用凿子扩大（或修光）；（在桶上）钻孔取液体

参考例句：

• Before broaching the subject of this lecture, I should like to recall that the discoveries of radium and of polonium were made by Pierre Curie in collaboration with me. 在开始讨论这次演讲的话题之前，我还想回忆一下，镭和钋发现是皮埃尔·居里与我合作完成的。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• A: Can you use broaching to make a gear? 你能用拉削技术制作齿轮吗？ 来自互联网

8 spoke   

n.（车轮的）辐条；轮辐；破坏某人的计划；阻挠某人的行动 v.讲，谈（speak的过去式）；说；演说；从某种观点来说

参考例句：

• They sourced the spoke nuts from our company.他们的轮辐螺帽是从我们公司获得的。
• The spokes of a wheel are the bars that connect the outer ring to the centre.辐条是轮子上连接外圈与中心的条棒。

9 consolation   

n.安慰，慰问

参考例句：

• The children were a great consolation to me at that time.那时孩子们成了我的莫大安慰。
• This news was of little consolation to us.这个消息对我们来说没有什么安慰。

10 poised   

a.摆好姿势不动的

参考例句：

• The hawk poised in mid-air ready to swoop. 老鹰在半空中盘旋，准备俯冲。
• Tina was tense, her hand poised over the telephone. 蒂娜心情紧张，手悬在电话机上。

11 navigated   

v.给（船舶、飞机等）引航，导航( navigate的过去式和过去分词 )；（从海上、空中等）横越；横渡；飞跃

参考例句：

• He navigated the plane through the clouds. 他驾驶飞机穿越云层。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• The ship was navigated by the North Star. 那只船靠北极星来导航。 来自《简明英汉词典》

12 authentic   

a.真的，真正的；可靠的，可信的，有根据的

参考例句：

• This is an authentic news report. We can depend on it. 这是篇可靠的新闻报道, 我们相信它。
• Autumn is also the authentic season of renewal. 秋天才是真正的除旧布新的季节。

13 materialism   

n.［哲］唯物主义，唯物论；物质至上

参考例句：

• Idealism is opposite to materialism.唯心论和唯物论是对立的。
• Crass materialism causes people to forget spiritual values.极端唯物主义使人忘掉精神价值。