If you’re Albanian, then you must know and love “Perputhen”. It’s the new show to watch on Albanian TV. Featuring a group of young boys and girls, Perputhen is a reality show that has contestants go on dates with one another, whist commentator Arian Konomi offers insight and breaks down common romantic stereotypes and pitfalls in Albanian dating culture. Did I already say that I love it?
But why, I hear you ask? Honestly, I don’t know. Maybe I love it for the same unknown reasons all 1 million other Albanians love it (the show gets over 1 million views on YouTube on every. daily. episode! And that’s just on YouTube!). Maybe I love it for the same reason that people love the Bachelor / Bachelorette series. I couldn’t tell you!
A part of me thinks I love it because, ever since watching “Indian Match Making” on Netflix, I’ve had this secret wish to enter into the match-making business. And while I’ve tried my luck here and there, I think I tend to get overly excited and scare my clients away, boys and girls. Nonetheless, I digress.
One thing I’ve noticed while watching it, is that I have a pattern of always rooting for the under-dog (and I don’t think I’m the only one). I told my boyfriend once that even when I was a young girl, I would always say that Buttercup was my favorite PowerPuff Girl just because I knew she probably was nobody’s favorite. Seriously, she was this odd green color and had short hair and a boyish personality. I’ll bet you nobody preferred Buttercup over Blossom and Bubbles. I always felt bad for her (an inanimate cartoon, yes) and so, I falsely claimed her as my favorite, so she would feel less bad.
This tangent connects back to Perputhen because even there, I’m stuck rooting for the underdog. I’m rooting for Antonela and Mevlan at the moment. I like Antonela, because she’s just so damn funny, and the recent backstory she shared of her growing up, had me in tears! It’s not a quality that men necessarily look for in a girl, but I think her sense of humor brings a lot of lightness to the otherwise dramatic show.
I like the show because, like I said, it’s fun. The contestants are Albanians from all over: Albanian, Kosovo, Macedonia and even Italy and Germany! You get to see stereotypes come to life and get shattered in the same episode. You get to see how we’re all just the very same: insecure, impulsive and very capable to forgive and forget. Now isn’t that beautiful?
I’ve made it a routine where I watch it with my mom every night, and lately, even my dad has been joining in on the fun. Every night I also text my friend Jonida for a post-Perputhen debrief with her. She’s also a fan!
Have you seen “Perputhen”? Are you also a fan? Let me know!
Rrita
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