Corporate America's lack of shame is clearly evident in a new reality game show called "Who Wants to Marry a U.S. Citizen?" The show is banking on America's love affair with reality TV and the national debate involving illegal immigrants to stimulate interest and consequently high ratings. However, exploiting an intense emotional issue and taking advantage of vulnerable people longing to immigrate to the United States is a despicable display of U.S. capitalism gone wrong. Morality and sympathy apparently play no role when they are pitted in a fight against the almighty dollar.
"Who Wants to Marry a U.S. Citizen" does not address the emotional turmoil surrounding the immigration issue. In fact, the shows producers do not even guarantee U.S. citizenship to contestants, or marriage for that matter. According to Reuters, the show's creator, Adrian Martinez said that, "It's this generations 'Dating Game,' but with a twist - it aims to show that love knows no borders." Martinez, who sounds like he's reading a catchy slogan, was referring to famed "Dating Game" show, in which a contestant asked various questions to other contestants he or she cannot see, then based on those answers, he or she picked a potential mate at the end of the show. This would be the same basic setup for "Who Wants to Marry a Citizen?" except it would involve people who have temporary visas and would otherwise be sent home if they didn't get married. Though the show uses people with temporary visas, it is obviously exploiting the debate over illegal immigration. Martinez went on to say that marriage and legal status are not guaranteed, but Morusa Media, the company backing the show, will pay for the wedding party and honeymoon should a marriage result.
The con that is "Who Wants to Marry a U.S. Citizen?" conjures up memories of other reality shows that displayed poor taste. In 2005, Fox trotted out "Who's Your Daddy?" to the chagrin of adoption agencies everywhere. The premise of the show was that a woman had to pick her birth father from a field of seven contestants for $100,000. "The Bachelor" and "The Bachelorette" series pretend that love can be found when prize money is at stake. "The Flavor of Love," VH1's hit show starring Flavor Flav of Public Enemy, and stupid clock wearing fame, pretended that Flav could even find true love. Despite their tackiness, the contestants on these other dating shows really have nothing at stake, except for their dignity. It has become an American rite of passage for people to sell out their pride and morality for fame and fortune.
However, "Who Wants to Marry a U.S. Citizen" demeans an issue where there is a lot more at stake. There is a reason there are so many illegal immigrants in the U.S. - hope. America offers hope to these people that they can improve their lives. The ramifications of failing to become a U.S. citizen can mean that a family can be stuck in a cycle of poverty for generations. The American standard of living is so much higher, that people are willing to leave behind their families, risk life and limb, work for meager wages and possibly subject themselves to horrid working conditions in the hope that they can earn enough money to lift their families out of poverty.
Most importantly, the show runs the possibility of forwarding stereotypes and hatred towards immigrants, especially illegal ones. The show is not representing the full demographic of people that hope to immigrate to the United States. If they did that, they would have to have contestants from all over the world. So far, Martinez has signed up contestants for six shows and most of them have been Hispanic, although there is one from the Philippines. It would only forward the stereotype that all immigrants are illegal, bad for our country, and searching for every possible way to sneak in. And though illegal immigration is a problem, and immigration reform is necessary, parading these people out like cattle for ratings, only serves to dehumanize them and provide ammunition for bigots, racists, and conservatives to espouse when arguing for immigration reform. It promotes the notion that these people do not deserve to be here and are only here because of a stupid game show.
As immigration reform becomes a hotly contested issue in the presidential race, fervent discussion is sure to increase across the country. A show like "Who Wants to Marry a U.S. Citizen?" only exploits the situation by taking advantage of people in desperate situations. A show like this is one that many Americans should despise. People are not products. So far, Martinez has not found a network that will produce the show, and lets hope it stays that way.
Weekly Columnist Greg Pivarnik is a 7th-semester molecular and cell biology major. His columns appear on Mondays. He can be contacted at Gregory.Pivarnik@UConn.edu.
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