Ideology and myths of romantic love in dating shows. Audience study of La isla de las tentaciones

Abstract

Romantic love and its myths are risk factors when it comes to gender-based violence; an idealised, all-powerful love, based on gender mandates and the idea of the partner as private property, so it is best understood in liberal and capitalist terms. Given this, and knowing the educational function of the media, Western society, where this model of love has taken root, must ask itself whether its audiences buy into such myths and ideology. Following the success of La Isla de las Tentaciones, this study aims to analyse the programme’s audience in relation to two aspects: (1) myths assumed and rejected, and (2) the ideology with which viewers define themselves. To this end, a methodology consisting of a focus group and a survey has been applied, allowing us to glimpse, for example, how the myth of fidelity or omnipotence are primordial for viewers.