If you had
asked me, two months ago, to watch Love Island, I probably would have questioned
whether you knew me at all, but now here I am, almost a week after the final, still
tagging my friends in those hilarious polar bear Chris memes. Some 3 million
viewers watched Kem and Amber being crowned the ultimate couple on Monday
night’s finale alone and most of us have no shame in turning down plans to
instead turn on the TV at 9pm, but what exactly made the hit series, that even
Stormzy loves, so addictive?
One of the
main things that play into the nation’s addiction for the show is simply the
fact that we’re so incredibly nosy. It almost becomes a thrill to watch others
in their most personal and embarrassing moments and this way, with all the
cameras, there’s no one to tell us were being absolute gossip queens.
‘On paper’
(prepare for a lot of puns in this one), all the contestants are doing is tanning
out on sun loungers in one of the most stunning villas in the Balearic Islands
whilst being treated to luxury dates.
What could be easier than that? However, being enclosed in the same
provinces with the same people and little to no contact with the outside world
can definitely lead to a build-up of strong emotions in such an intense atmosphere.
As we saw with Camilla’s journey, in particular, the format of the show forced
contestants to tackle their emotions and issues head on with nowhere to escape
and this definitely pulled on our heart strings as viewers. A large majority of
the audience were made up of teens ranging from 15-18 years and I believe part
of the reason for this demographic was due to the mirroring between the villa
life and school life. By being shown how contestants faced up to their dramas
in a very restricted environment the way we, as students, sometimes are in the
confines of our classrooms and common rooms, it’s very clear that teens across
the country were able to relate to the various issues surrounding the villa,
whether it be Gabby’s confidence knock or shocking amount of drama unearthed in
those challenges. The cliques formed, the screaming matches, and even the
secret text conversations all added up to form some sort of high school
environment, barring the sex and smoking of course.
Along with
relating to the situations that the islanders found themselves in, viewers
often subconsciously identified with one or more of the contestants. By doing
this it allows us to become all the more excited for the highs, such as Montana
finally being attracted to someone, as well as causing us to be particularly
angry when someone ‘pies off’ our favourite islander. This all draws us further
into the show and leaves us wondering what we would have done if we were in
their shoes. Not only are we relating to them, we’re also comparing ourselves
to them. We get the chance to measure ourselves against the islanders thinking,
“I’d never say that about someone on camera”, “I’m glad my boyfriend doesn’t act
like that”, or even “I could do a much better rap than that Chris and Kem”. From
all of this alone, it’s fair to say that Love Island stimulates far more topics
than love alone.
And finally,
perhaps my most favourite part of the show, the islanders of 2017 have gone a
step further in including their viewers and truly giving us the Love Island
experience with their incredibly amusing vocabulary. Like the rest of us, I’ve
made countless jokes about someone being totally “muggy” or having someone’s “eggs
in my basket” over the last seven weeks. Not only does this allow us to incorporate
the Majorca villa lifestyle into our own, it displays a certain type of
togetherness between the contestants. They have quickly developed a shared
language, accepted by all, indicating a degree of likeness in their thinking
and making them all the more lovable for it. I don’t know about you, but I've fallen for Love Island and I’m
certainly going to miss hearing the islanders shout “I’ve got a text” across
the garden.
So don’t be
a ‘melt’ and go catch up on Love Island. You won’t be disappointed.
Thank you for reading!
Aman
(Thanks Niku for the very creative title)
Thank you for reading!
Aman
(Thanks Niku for the very creative title)