Television portrays love in many different ways. Sometimes, it’s two people attached at the hip who have just been this way for as long as anyone can remember. These always happen to be background characters–the parents or the friends who are always spewing out advice. Other times, you follow a complicated story filled with drama, grand gestures and the idea of “fate” being tossed around. These are the centerstage relationships that we follow, care about and tend to even root for. For as long as we’ve been able to dream up fantasy lives, we have looked up to fictional relationships, using them as a guide, because in reality they’re completely unattainable and idolized. They bring into question the idea of destiny–the idea that our existence …show more content…
While this may be the case, it risks putting any relationship in danger. The overexposure of Ross and Rachel is what let’s them believe they have to end up together. In the episode “The One With the Prom Video”, Ross and Rachel seem to think any prospects of another relationship is unrepairable after their friend, Chandler accidentally reveals to Rachel that Ross has created an outwardly offensive list of reasons not to date her. Phoebe then chimes in saying they are each other’s lobsters, claiming that “lobsters fall in love and mate for life” which encourages Ross and Rachel to reevaluate their relationship and ultimately …show more content…
Even when Ross and Rachel aren’t officially together, there are romantic undertones that contribute to their lack of happiness anywhere else. The truth of the matter is “there [are] no grand theories at play on what a relationship should actually mean; the happenings [are] just symptomatic of selfishness and self-obsession” (Martin and Olah 10). Ross and Rachel continue to fight for each other because they are the only people that put up with each others’ irrationalities. The message that a relationship should just be two people who “put up with each other” rather than work in tandem to achieve mutual happiness is toxic to spread to an impressionable audience with romanticized ideals of what a relationship should be already engraved in their
At the start of the books, Cammie and Zach disliked each other. However, soon their relationship becomes neutral, then they become friends. Finally, they start to love each other. I think that this is supposed to show, as I mentioned before, how love really is. It’s no secret that Zach and Cammie's love each other - it’s obvious to anyone who read this series. However, after seeing how long of a path these two characters travelled, you can see that there has to be some amount of symbolism in there. What I found was this: their relationship showed the ups and downs of love, but it also taught the readers that if love was true, it stayed strong.
As foolish as that comes across as, Gabler asserts that the viewers make as if the characters are their friends in in order to feel good about themselves and not overthink about their alienation (357). This is the ultimate relationship; the characters are always close by; there is no turmoil; and they are very amusing. Although there is no interaction, the viewer still is under the impression that the characters are their friends. This relationship is really comparable to social media because people may never truly chat with their “friends” but they are able to “interact” through a screen. A friend from a television show may appear to be like the best relationship, but the ones that occur between the onscreen characters is indeed better.
Not all characters get a happy ending, and a particular character’s husband turned out to be someone much different than who she believed to be marrying. Through dishonesty, confusion, and chicanery, each character had a helping hand in dishing out each other’s fate, but nonetheless, the relationships that resulted in a law-binding marriage beat destiny and overcame every hardship standing in the way of love and happiness.
Much like Lorraine Hansberry, Madeleine L’Engle believes that “the growth of love is not a straight line, but a series of hills and valleys.” Lillian Hellman’s The Little Foxes, Tennessee Williams’ Cat on a Hot Tin Roof, A Streetcar Named Desire, and The Glass Menagerie, and Robert Harling’s Steel Magnolias use the idea that even through struggles their characters show that love always endures. Although loving someone, who is not particularly loveable, is one of the most difficult parts of being human, it is possible by remembering that addictions can be reversed, blood is forever, and a ring is more than just an object.
The fairytale depiction of love and romance seems to no longer exist in society. With the growing divorce rate and the increase of loveless marriage, it is rare to find an honest depiction of twenty first century love. Using the relationship of Carol and Howard as a hyperbole to modern day romance, Mavis Gallant explores the theme of algorithmic relationships to develop a commentary on the lack of love in modern day relationships. The characterization of Carol and Howard as an engaged couple lacking love and the use of abstract ideas, analogies, and hyperbole, “The Other Paris” tells the dismal future of relationships.
Everyone wants to find that special someone. The idea of love has become an obsessive fascination among modern society. The Bachelor, is a reality TV show that appeals to that obsession. The entire premise of the show is centered on the notion of finding love. Such a simple concept has created an empire for ABC. With a diehard fan base that calls themselves “Bachelor nation” , thirty consecutive seasons, three spin off series, and on average 11.7 million viewers (Mullins,2013) , it is no surprise this show has social consequences. The bachelor has unparalleled entertainment value. With systematically placed drama, and too good to turn off plot twists the show is a smashing success. The Bachelor franchises in particular the bachelor, indorses
After a more detailed examination of the stories, however, it becomes evident that each individual is striving to find love. Though love is a universal goal, each person's criteria for a meaningful, fulfilling and loving relationship varies. This is clearly demonstrated by the different situations in which the characters find themselves. The conventional, stereotypical, and almost cliché demonstration of love can be seen in stories A & D, where the characters simply "fall in love and get married".
The love that Maria and Tony have shows their willingness to sacrifice for each other no matter the circumstances. Despite being from two different gangs, Tony and Maria go through great lengths to see their relationship blossom. In the musical, there are several instances when Tony and Maria meet secretly without their friends or families knowing. Understanding the consequences of being caught, they still felt a profound love for each other that could not keep them apart. Maria sacrificed her entire life with her family and friends to run away with Tony. Her love was the priority and nothing else mattered except Tony. Tony was also willing to sacrifice for Maria as he puts her before his family, friendships, and values. Love brought these two together made their relationship strong against the will of others in their lives. In the musical West Side Story, and play Romeo and Juliet, Tony and Romeo display many similar
Everyone knows and loves the enchanting childhood fairytales of magic, princes, and princesses, but very seldom are privy to the detrimental impacts of “happily ever after” on the developing youth. Fairy tales are widely studied and criticized by parents and scholars alike for their underlying tone and message to children. Peggy Orenstein, feminist author, mother, and fairy tale critic, has made it her personal mission to bring these hidden messages to the surface. In the article, “What’s Wrong with Cinderella?” Orenstein dissects the seemingly innocent tale of love and magic, and the princess many know and love, and points out its flaws and dangers. Fairy tales, Cinderella in particular, are not suitable for children because upon deeper evaluation,
In Full House there is a scene in one episode where the family’s dog, Comet, ran away and went missing for several hours, throughout the episode there are short messages about not giving up and believing that if Comet loves them he will come back. At the end of the episode comet finally appears at night when the family is huddled around in the backyard hoping to eventually find they’re dog and just when they decide to go in, Comet comes running up and barking in excitement to find all his family in one area celebrating his return. In Friends throughout the different seasons, Monica, Joey, Rachel, Ross, and Chandler are usually caught up with relationships. To give an example of just how much drama goes on in this show, Joey has been in a relationship with Rachel, Rachel has been in a relationship with ross, Phoebe has been in a relationship with Joey and Chandler gets married to Monica after an on and off
In Margaret Atwood’s short story, “Happy Endings,” the central theme of fiction provides several different kinds of marriages and relationships that ultimately result in the same ending. The “Happy Endings” shows that it’s difficult to have complete control over day-to-day events. No matter how hard society tries to achieve the perfect life, it does not always go as planned. It doesn’t matter if the characters are bored and depressed, confused and guilty, or virtuous and lucky; the gradual path of version A is not always in reach.
Steven McCornack, the author of “Reflect & Relate” describes friendship as “a voluntary interpersonal relationship characterized by intimacy and liking.” (McCornack, 355). As Cady begun high school, she quickly made real friends with Janis and Damian. The friendship wasn’t necessarily driven by shared interest at first because Cady was new girl to the school, who loved math and shy, while Janis and Damian are outspoken, love art, and don’t quite fit. But, they develop a shared interest when they are trying to take Regina George down, they meet every day after to create plans, Cady shares everything that Regina does or say and they find it funny. This produces an agentic friendship and communal friendship between Cady, Janis and Damian because they help each other achieve a common goal, such as ruining Regina’s life, but they are also invested on spending time with each other, doing activities like watching movies, eating lunch together and they provide emotional support when needed. Janis and Damian also accept Cady has she is, they didn’t try to change her, and were very hurt when Cady blew them off to throw a house party, which she didn’t even invite them too. A Cross-Oriented friendship is displayed between Janis and Damian because Damian is gay and Janis is a woman. It doesn’t damage their relationship because Janis accepts and supports Damian, she evens makes little remarks that Damian isn’t offended by
English fashion model Georgia Jagger has made the bold statement that “Reality TV rots people 's brains”. This seems to be a common opinion among many people. Which leads one to wonder why these reality programs are still created year after year despite all of the constant criticism. The reality T.V. show that continue to reel in audiences on a weekly basis seem to be those which have to do with finding love. These types of shows can, and are often, altered to keep the genre from going stale, but essentially they all serve the same purpose. Dating shows aim to match up complete stranger in an attempt of finding “true love”. Although most shows recycle the same program with slight differences, their audience does not seem to go down. The reason
Penny has a school friend called Meghan, although she isn’t much of a friend at all. Meghan is never happy for Penny and tries to make every conversation about herself. Even when Penny opens up about her anxiety to Meghan, she acts like its nothing and Penny’s problems don’t matter. But their relationship hasn’t always been this way, they used to hang out all the time and get along perfectly.
Today, romance is one of the most popular genres to watch on television. Unlike most, romance is a genre where the plot revolves around the love between two main characters as they experience the highs and lows of love. “Common themes that revolve around romantic movies are kissing, love at first sight, tragic love, destructive love, and sentimental love” (Taylor). These themes appear in many historical films and the pattern still continues in modern films as well. Watching romantic movies has a giant negative influence on the viewer's analysis of what love and relationships should really be like. These films give the wrong impression of reality when it comes to dating, marriage, having children, and even how to manage a relationship in the first place. Even though romantic movies are commonly watched, there are many effects on personal real-life relationships after watching these types of films.