In the movie Love is blind, Chris Coelen created an experiment in social science to answer the two most important questions: What is love’s power? And can lovers fall in love without ever seeing each other?
; Nick and Vanessa Lachey hosts the show Netflix reality show, a story of 30 women and men who hope to be loved by the person they are and engage in an unusual way of dating. For 10 days, singles participate in the course of speed dating inside “pods,”–private spaces connected with an opaque wall, which allows for intimate conversations. Unhindered by the visual distractions of appearance or the outside world in general and able to enjoy flirting and courtship based on deeper connections.
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Love Is Blind Creator Chris Coelen Experiment
As the CEO who founded Kinetic Content–a company that is part of Red Arrow Studios, he has been involved in social experimentation in the past, including shows like Married at first sight. “We’ve done quite a bit of work within the romance genre which is an area I’m especially attracted to,” he says, “always seeking to discover the big themes in regards to where we are as a nation or as a society.”
From the perspective of Coelen, Love Is Blind was a show that would be a hit, considering the universally applicable themes and issues at its heart. ” Love Is Blind is all about how love can conquer any obstacles that may stand out of its way in modern society,” he notes. “Regardless of the person you are or your appearance or where you’re from, what you believe you’re lacking or have, Everyone would like to be loved because of the person they are inside.”
Although there are many possibilities for barriers that people face in the highly divided age of today, Coelen felt that technology is among the biggest obstacles to the growth of successful relationships. “When you are having conversations between two people, you are likely to get distracted and check your smartphones. If you’re using an app for dating, you’re faced with many options and always looking to follow the latest one. Or focus on things that seem unimportant or others dismiss you because of something very trivial. Everyone feels a bit insignificant,” the EP says. “This show was created to tackle those issues.”
As Coelen describes, these observations into the current world of dating inspired the structure of Love is Blind as well as the rules of “very loose rules” that it created, one of which was that viewers had to be disconnected from their devices during their time in the show. After 10 days of intense discussion, the participants in the pods were able to propose to potential partners. “If you fell in love with each other and decided to be engaged, and if the proposition was approved, then you’d be able to visit one another. If not, you won’t,” the EP says. “And If you were engaged, the wedding date will be scheduled in just four weeks.”
After meeting in the beginning, couples who became married in pods went through the typical phases of a relationship faster. “We offered them an excursion with their loved ones after they got engaged and first saw one another, as it felt like they should take a break from all distractions to transform their emotional connection into an actual one,” Coelen says. “Then they settled in together and began preparing for their weddings. They could enjoy time spent with family and friends and ensure that they felt confident that they did the right thing before they were married.”
When casting the show’s first season in Atlanta, Coelen searched for people who had a desire to make an ongoing commitment or those who were interested in the possibility of creating one. By requiring prospective applicants to undergo screenings for their background and psychological tests, The EP put together an array of people who were diverse in race, age, and socioeconomic background as well as physical characteristics, and also made sure that all the couples featured were in the same region.
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“It’s an uplifting show that focuses on overcoming obstacles that could be a challenge in the form of appearance, age, ethnicity, or background in asking whether they need to be obstacles. Types of distinctions. However, we didn’t believe that the geography of our audience should be a barrier,” he says. “It seemed like if wanted to allow them to make it happen, having someone from Portland and one from Miami was maybe not enough of a bridge.”
While filming Season 1, Coelen was terrified and thrilled by the uncertainty of what would transpire during the course of the program. “It’s not a series of mistakes or producers who pull strings. There was no assurance that anyone would ever take any action,” he says. “Nobody was required to be in love; no one was required to be engaged, and nobody was required to go to the altar or be married. It was their own free will that has led them to each one of these steps.”
As they entered the filming, the singles on the show were skeptical about the idea at hand and the viability of it as a matchmaking tool. “I believe they thought, “Hey, are you sure? It’s an adventure. Maybe I’ll get to meet someone. But who is sure?” Coelen says. “I do not think that any of them believed this would occur or how it ended up happening to them, but it did happen.”
The show eventually became a phenomenon in pop culture, and the social experiment produced results that exceeded the expectations of both the creators and the participants. “The participants who interacted with each other in the pod described their experience as completely different from anything they’ve experienced before in their lives,” the EP says. “They were able to feel like they were friends with the person on the opposite end of the line more than they’ve ever met any person in their lives. They expressed it in profound words.”
Eight couples got engaged in the Season 1 premiere, and two ended up being married. The result was that the production team hit the ceiling regarding the number of stories they could weave into the 11 episodes. “[Out of] eight couples we followed, we chose six. We had to choose; however, I believe this is the most exciting aspect of this show.” Coelen says. “Again, you’re on the road as a producer without too many rails, and what happens.”
Although the sheer quantity of engagements that came from Season 1 was a surprise to Coelen off by surprise, he believes they’re evidence of the premise of The show. It’s a concept that he truly believes in. “People believe that the primary element in the longevity of a partnership is trust and vulnerability, so frequently it is the case that things don’t happen because things such as an absence of trust or the lack of vulnerability can hinder things,” he says. “Here, the people walked into this mindset. They built their relationships on this. Therefore, if you consider this from a different perspective, it’s not surprising that those who stayed with each other are still in a relationship.”
The show premiered in February. The show premiered in February. Love Is Blind was renewed for another season and a third in March. In March, the show was confirmed the show’s Season 2 would take place in Chicago. Aside from the effects of the coronavirus epidemic on production, Coelen isn’t sure of the direction of the future seasons and believes it’s an excellent thing. “This is the type of show that’s going to take us to many unexpected directions that I am not in the way of knowing at this point, ” he says, “and for me, being in a position to make sure that this change is present for us as producers, but also for the people who participate as well as the viewers, in the end, is my primary aim.”
