Thousands of women and hundreds of millionaire men applied when they heard about Fox's newest show "Who Wants to Marry a Millionaire." On this show one lucky millionaire got to choose his bride from among fifty final contestants. At the end of the show an authentic wedding was held to legalize their marriage in front of millions of television viewers. The contest resembled a beauty pageant as the women paraded around in swimsuits and wedding gowns. In the end Darva Conger, a nurse from California, was chosen by Rick Rockwell to be his bride.

Thirty-six hours later Darva announced that she would be seeking an annulment. We broke the class into four groups and presented each group with different information. The groups were asked to attribute the reasons behind the behavior that was presented to them. The first group was given the basic information concerning the show and the monetary rewards the winner would receive in addition to marrying the multi-millionaire. The group cited that these women were motivated by money because of the internal factor of greed and they were also motivated by the desire to have their "fifteen minutes of fame." The second group was presented with the situation that Darva was asked to be on the show and she decided to participate because she had endured a difficult year of personal problems. The show sounded like fun to her because of the all expense paid vacation in Las Vegas. Based on this information the group believed her decision was based on the situational factor of money in combination with the internal factor of escaping from her troubles and having fun. The third group was given Darva's quotes about why she went through with the marriage even though she felt nothing positive when she was chosen to be the bride. This group felt the situational pressure of being on television and everyone expecting her to act a certain way was the reason behind her behavior. The fourth group was given comments from the host about how serious Darva was about winning the competition. They were also given the final answer from Darva on the show, "I'll be your friend, your lover, and your partner…. You will never be bored." Based on this information, the group attributed Darva's behavior to her own internal factors of really wanting to win. Because of the many possible ways to view the situation, it is almost impossible to accurately attribute the behaviors to any single factor.

    The class discussion then centered around why the show was so popular. Twenty-three million people watched the show although no one seemed to approve of it. The show was created to feed off of the popularity of the "Who Wants to be a Millionaire" show. People in class thought these shows were so well-liked because the economy is good and everyone likes the idea that a normal person can win or marry into a million dollars. We live in a country that is driven by wealth and these shows are a result of this orientation towards monetary success.

    Another topic was the gender role implications of this show. It is hardly a surprise that the millionaire was picking a bride and not the other way around. Originally there were plans for a sequel in which a millionaire bride was to choose the groom, but of course it started out with the millionaire being a man. One student suggested that the reason behind this choice was that this is a male driven society. Since males are mostly in charge of major corporations television seems to reflect their own attitudes and ideals. Another student thought it reflected the belief that women cannot be successful on their own. They must marry to achieve the American dream of wealth.

    Although many people did not agree with the gender implications and the morals involved with marriage that this show presented, they still watched the contest out of curiosity. The show was compared to a car accident that no one really wants to look at but everyone does anyway. Nobody thought the show had a romantic element or was a good way to start a marriage.

Back to Top
Back To Psy 324 Home Page
Back to Psybersite