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90 Day Fiancé: Before the 90 Days has consistently delivered high intensity interpersonal conflict and dramatic story scenarios by placing a spotlight over very specific situations involving relationships that start at very far distance due to several specific conditions which tend to always create deep rifts regarding cultural clashes; that unique scenario offers many points of exploration especially when dealing with matters outside romance, because at its very core, its very existence revolves around real people making choices based on their limited information or past values, which makes those choices not just dramatic but also truly important to fully analyze and examine in detail as we all ( viewers included) tend to bring personal biases, pre-conceived ideologies when observing those same relationship and story arcs. Today let us do exactly that by examining some key aspects over what transpired throughout Season 7 with particular interest on what happened with Sunny and Veah but also comparing those to similar issues by looking over Faith & Loren’s segments of those same season arcs for a greater understanding of what motivates people in difficult, often culturally charged situations.
Sunny and Veah's story on 90 Day Fiancé: Before the 90 Days serves as a prime example of the tension that can arise when personal beliefs conflict with established social or familial structure (in this case religious tradition) while Veah initially travels to Bangladesh seeking a relationship with Sunny, she soon confronts the challenge of not just navigating a new culture, but also a very serious pressure to conform with Sunny's strong religious values and practices.
Sunny's request for Veah to convert to Islam ( especially since he sought her based purely on traits he deemed her own which are against that very structure ) creates a clear imbalance in their relationship dynamic, showcasing some early character limitations for him as an individual because this does raise ethical problems when someone specifically selects another party with pre-conceived external characteristics in an overt rejection of pre existing personal or inherited systems; that contradiction reveals his character core concepts right there as he shows some inability to recognize his flaws even before all challenges are presented. The matter comes across less about some genuine desire to ‘share values’, it does lean more heavily onto seeking a form of external validation that is based on shallow observations of culture by an individual who, despite adhering strongly to a system, appears unwilling to follow all aspects equally; these complex issues can be often missed on quick viewing due to highly charged emotionally driven reactions.
Also The fact that Veah is from a different culture, is not treated simply as just a unique characteristic of the relationship, its instead treated (from the other party) as something that must ultimately conform, this not only underscores cultural disparities but puts extra pressure upon a person who travels out of the comfort zone. Veah, instead of being presented a choice to participate, finds an overt attempt of converting her which then completely undermines any previously discussed themes about personal freedom or individuality as Veah's needs or preferences ( like honoring family members with tattoos which are explicitly rejected due to 'religious purity standards’) are dismissed entirely, in an extremely self centered behavior.
In contrast (if also similar under different context) to the issues with Sunny and Veah, the challenges experienced by Faith and Loren are different. While Faith comes to appreciate certain cultural specific behaviors and long term traditions, unlike with Veah and Sunny, here she is not pressured into becoming a ‘new version’ of herself. However even with her acceptance, Faith’s individual character flaws tend to put those relationships in high tension and in more difficult and volatile territories as her individual problems ( insecurity as well as low tolerance over her life partner’s family interference ) make the overall show and story setting all the more complex . This is further explored by long term fans who watch past seasons carefully . Unlike many who would try to use that past or that trauma to grow this serves as limitations for Faith who seems unwilling to break that cycle or do anything meaningfully different ( also common trope throughout all shows that use “real people’ in a non-scripted environment)
What also appears critical regarding both those segments is that while their underlying conflicts seem entirely separated with Veah facing issues stemming from mostly cultural conversion with Sunny, and Faith facing similar ethical challenges regarding family ( all that comes to be, from underlying limitations from her previous choices), what both segments share, is the willingness of one person to ask ‘change’ to occur from others instead of making effort to understand from a place of respect or by adapting by their own to be in accordance with pre established rules. That also means many ‘accepted behaviours’ that normally are accepted ( like religious intolerance or highly volatile family members being disruptive at an engagement party), gain a new light which sets the tone of that entire season when discussing that within the grander scale of shared themes, across those many distinct episodes that are part of that specific format.
The underlying themes explored by both cases, are deeply linked with individual values about concepts of power and how the willingness of one party to alter or control another ( or to even fully dictate terms ) within the shared partnership dynamic creates all of the main focus, those core problems create both interesting ethical considerations about self control and also provide a strong message on what to often avoid. This seems to always be at front and centre at all those narrative driven scenarios; the individual actions become secondary but as it provides further contextualization; as if the entire process is always ‘by design’ to allow those viewers to focus more specifically on motivations.
Authenticity in both segments is shown by the core individual motivations by all leads, with Faith showing all limitations with an almost endless source of passive aggressiveness that is directly tied with how she feels internally which always comes through as some form of outside interference over personal choice. This is also mirrored by Sunny who presents himself one way and actively tries to make another party conform to something that is simply a fabrication of his own wants or ideas. These aspects on display show how those small flaws can potentially completely dominate the entire relationship's ability to progress despite clear romantic interests in a way which showcases a far better view over the true difficulties that people go through as compared with scripted dramas which lack the underlying complex human components and this all is achieved due to consistent story designs over each series production .
By dissecting and carefully examining the interpersonal conflicts from Veah and Sunny with later context from Faith & Loren’s dynamics; this format does offer various discussion points regarding the complex issues of relationships. What’s also crucial here and often skipped with many casual approaches from a single isolated watch is: despite a specific goal for 'love’, 'companionship' or even acceptance as the stated underlying ideal motive, that rarely appears through simple linear approaches. These individuals make choices that undermine those goals and those issues become the major drivers to maintain audience long term interest.
What this ultimately creates, as observed, is a greater emphasis regarding personal power and individual choices that can completely disrupt even the most common goals due to that specific lack of flexibility or adaptation as all of those small flaws accumulate and take a prominent position through any viewing section. That provides 90 Day Fiancé with a viewing aspect far beyond a simple dating reality show as the program then seems to transcend even it’s genre becoming instead a format focused on exploration over complex, highly diverse characters who ultimately struggle with internal demons as much ( if not more) as exterior conflicts in the pursuit of long term goals that ultimately are defined by very distinct set ethical compass, a feature that puts many aspects of the show in high regard among serious production analysis circles.