’90 Day Fiancé’: Fans Are Already Sick of Brittany and Yazan’s Overused Plotline
If you’re looking for wholesome relationships that will make your heart soar, then 90 Day Fiance might not be the best TV show to get your needs met. If, however, you are looking for over-the-top drama of epic proportions, the latest seasons of the hit reality show are definitely delivering the goods. From criminals to catfishing and everything in between, viewers have been glued to the screen to watch some seriously dysfunctional relationships traverse a roller coaster of ups and downs.
Even fans who are here for the drama are starting to get tired of one particular overused plotline, and they see it coming back yet again in the relationship between Brittany and Yazan.
’90 Day Fiance’ is filled with drama
The premise of 90 Day Fiance is simple enough: international couples navigate typical relationship hurdles with the added layer of cultural differences and geographical distance to decide if they’re going to move the relationship to the next level. The TLC show gets its title from the use of k-1 visas, special travel allowances that let foreigners travel to the U.S. with the intention of getting married. The permissions only last 90 days, which puts a ticking clock on the couples’ decisions about what they’ll do next.
That concept is dramatic enough, but the show constantly ups the ante by finding some truly bizarre plots to follow. One cast member’s criminal history — including kidnapping and assault charges — led to petitions for his removal. Another participant appeared to be in a relationship with a fake persona of a woman who was using him for cash, and even once she showed up in the flesh, the sense of a scam didn’t pass.
Cultural clashes are common
As might be expected for a show that’s specifically focused on bringing people from different countries together, there are often cultural clashes. For example, one plotline focused on Lisa “Babygirl” Hamme and her potential husband Usman Umar. Hamme and Umar struggled to connect, and much of the story focused on her jealousy over his attention with other women. Umar, for his part, argued that he was building a rap career in his native Nigeria and that Hamme just didn’t understand the dynamics of the cultural expectations that went along with his position.
Another doomed relationship that was wrapped up in cultural differences was the one between Big Ed Brown and Rosemarie Vega. When Brown visited Vega in her small village in the Philippines, he was clearly suffering from culture shock. The single mom didn’t own a bed, and Brown insisted he could only sleep on 1,000 thread count sheets. While it was ultimately a lack of trust and connection that tanked the troubled relationship, the show certainly portrayed the cultural mismatch along the way.
Fans are tired of one particular cultural portrayal
Cultural differences are part of the entire premise of the show, but fans are getting tired of the same simple stereotypes getting trotted out for easy plotlines. In a Reddit thread about the show, fans pointed out how often the creators rely on stereotypes about the Middle East to create drama on the show.
“Ok I have to say this – I’m getting really annoyed with Americans going to a Muslim country and acting so self righteous about their ‘independence,'” one viewer wrote. While the same commenter admitted that a relationship with traditional Muslim values wouldn’t be their own preference, the frustration over watching the American women on the show express shock about the reality is real.
Another commenter added, “I had this conversation with my daughter. If you’re moving to a country, especially one heavily religious with heavy cultures, and [your] entire thought is not conforming, you’re in for a rude awakening about how easy your life is going to be.”
Other commenters noted that the portrayal of the traditional values aren’t even accurate. “I am an American currently living in Iraq (non-military) and I’ve also lived in Morocco (coincidentally 15 minutes from Azan’s town), and Egypt, and traveled extensively around Qatar and Jordan. This show always plays up the Muslim culture clash, but cities are completely different,” one commenter added. This fan went on to say that real-life Middle Eastern cities allow for alcohol consumption and much less restrictive clothing than the show portrays.
Fans are getting tired of seeing an oversimplified version of Muslim culture played up for a culture clash when the people going into the culture should already know what to expect, and the story between Brittany and Yazan is just the latest in a long history of this overplayed trope.
