Too Hot to Handle: How it Addresses Casual "Hookup" Culture
While most people long for a call or text from their crush, they find themselves stuck with the angst of having to endlessly swipe right or left through dating apps. Establishing a genuine, heartfelt relationship with someone you meet off the street seems nearly unattainable at times. With the introduction of raunchy reality TV shows that explore modern-day hook-up culture, the situation is not getting any better. Developing minds are being influenced by the kinds of behavior they see exhibited on these shows, and as a result are translating these behaviors into their relationships. With that, let’s unpack the new season of Too Hot To Handle.
The first episode starts off with 10 sexy singles, all of who have over-inflated egos, arriving to a show they think is called Paradise Island. They’re completely convinced they’ll have free reign to do whatever they desire, including all sexual activity. And, considering this is a group of players and highly sexually charged individuals, they are completely convinced they’ll get away with it.
Once the infamous cone Lana announces what show they are actually on, the contestants throw their hands since they cannot have sex without the consequence of losing money from their $100,000 prize fund. The purpose of this punishment is so that contestants can learn to form deeper connections with one another instead of being influenced purely by physical attraction.
In order to steer the contestants away from their physical desires, Lana conducts self-healing workshops with the intention of them maturing – but many do not take the process seriously. In one workshop, the contestants were separated by gender and were asked to write their insecurities on a canvas. Many simply laughed it off and said they would still continue to break the rules.
This microcosm of a “paradise” island mimics the real world, as women have seen enough pictures of male genitalia to last a lifetime and men wonder if it's possible to just have a “quickie” and leave. The contestants have spotlighted exactly how self-absorbed someone has to be to communicate strictly through selfies and nude photos. Also, the type of beautiful people you see on the show are probably the 1% you see on dating apps. This idea that you have to get the “perfect” photo with perfect lighting has taken over the world. Most daters even forgot how to interact and instead learned how to advertise themselves through five photos and a witty description.
With this idea of having the contestants stay celibate, Netflix might have hit the jackpot. Maybe, just maybe, this idea will translate to viewers, especially college kids, encouraging them to take things slow in the early stages of developing a connection. Though the contestants are reeling from the news that in order to make money they will have to say “no” to hooking up, some have actually made immense progress, proving you can’t necessarily judge a book by its cover.