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[–] 128 points 1 year ago* (6 children)

And also how often the movie is completely oblivious to that. For example it's been a while since I saw "Devil wears Prada" but if I remember right, the ending is:

Our main character has an argument with her boyfriend

Goes to a business trip in Paris

Sleeps with random guy

Returns home and makes up with her boyfriend

And the movie ends like nothing happened, she's happy, that's what's important

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    [–] 86 points 1 year ago (1 child)

    More troubling to me is how many romance movies have our protagonist stalk their love interest, who has already explicitly rejected them... and it works, because their obsession is framed as "love at first sight" and "not giving up on love".

    Oh, and the other common trope, non-consensual voyeurism... and it works, because the woman is 'flattered' that the guy finds her attractive.

    ...How good is the "pop culture detective" YouTube channel?

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    [–] 59 points 1 year ago (7 children)

    This makes me wonder how many women are quite unhappy in their marriage, and are willing to jump at the nearest opportunity.

    Kinda depressing to think about, actually.

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  • [–] 21 points 1 year ago (20 children)

    Boomer tropes exist because divorce was illegal.

    You were expected to get married and stay married. You'd have unprotected sex with your high school boyfriend, you're goddamn right you were gonna keep the baby, and you were going to live together until one of you died. Even if it meant separate beds and not asking why he frequented that bar by the docks.

    Blame Catholicism. That's usually a fair bet.

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  • [–] 17 points 1 year ago* (1 child)

    While there are quite a few people who would jump ship from their marriage, that's not why the trope so popular. It's just that a lot of people like different forms of "forbidden love". Although most don't actually dream of doing those things, it's pure fantasy.

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  • [–] 8 points 1 year ago (1 child)

    Yeah, fictional romance is more interesting when it's forbidden in some way. Otherwise, who wants to read a romance novel about a nice couple who meets at the library when they're both single, and proceeds to have a wholesome relationship? Great for real life, but boring to read about or watch a movie about.

    Many of the traditional reasons for forbidding a romance are gone in the contemporary world. Different race, different social class, same gender, rival families? Not convincing.

    So you're left with stuff that's plausible but icky, like being in a relationship already, or being teacher/student or boss/employee. Or pornographic stuff like step-family. Those are problematic and people will criticize them.

    You could set your story in a historical setting in which the countess and the gardener are truly forbidden from passion, or a fantasy world where the ogopogos and sasquatches are sexy rivals.

    Or just have a lukewarm type of forbidden-ness, like "his family's greeting-card store is in competition with my family's greeting-card store" or "we're coworkers."

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    [–] 40 points 1 year ago (1 child)

    Great romance requires a choice. It's difficult to find a choice that matters, ideally it is something they already have, but are giving up. That's why all the hallmark movies work because a big city girl is giving up her career to grow cucumbers or something. Making a choice to take a job somewhere else doesn't work because it's a future thing - giving up an opportunity is not the same as giving up a realized life situation. Infidelity really works because it's a former dream, and it means giving up stability, status, comfort for the unknown.

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  • [–] 46 points 1 year ago (1 child)

    It works from a story perspective but it sends a very terrible message.

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  • [–] 13 points 1 year ago (1 child)

    It also doesn't help that it has some heritage from courtly romance, if youve ever wondered why Guinevere and Lancelot have a thing going on in Arthurian mythology that's why. The French were enamored with courtly romance and guess who helped forge modern romance.

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  • [–] 37 points 1 year ago (2 children)

    There's so many songs, TV shows, movies, etc, that's all romance or love stories that contain very blatant infidelity.

    What tickles me is when very monogamous, very religious people talk that stuff up.... Like it's such a good song/movie/show... Ha. You have fantasies of leaving your spouse and running off with a younger, more attractive person. You slut.

    I'm not religious, but I found a partner that gets me. Guess what. I'm not fantasizing about running off with some mythical "better" or "more romantic" person. Yeah, we're living together unmarried, and we're good like that. You rushed into marriage for God knows what reasons and now you live in regret. Good job.

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    [–] 24 points 1 year ago (7 children)

    I don't mind infidelity in media when the one being cheated on is "evil" in some ways like they're abusive or not in love. Still icky though. It's just very different when it's something like that versus "I'm cheating because you're bad at sex."

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    [–] 21 points 1 year ago (1 child)

    I saw Casablanca for the first time 2 weeks ago, and yep, checks out.

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  • [–] 16 points 1 year ago

    I recently heard Docket by Blondshell for the first time and favorited it right away.

    Then I listened again more tuned in and noticed it was about infidelity and thought “aw man”, unfavorited and moved on.

    Heard it a couple more times and realized it wasn’t glorifying cheating, lines like “my worst nightmare is me”. Back on the list! Real rollercoaster.

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  • [–] 14 points 1 year ago (2 children)

    Remember when the hottest song on the radio was Follow Me by Uncle Cracker?

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  • [–] 16 points 1 year ago (1 child)

    Holy shit I just looked up the lyrics, I'm glad I was ignorant to them at the time

    I'm not worried

    'Bout the ring you wear

    'Cause as long as no one knows

    Then nobody can care

    You're feelin' guilty

    And I'm well aware

    But you don't look ashamed

    And baby I'm not scared

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  • [–] 11 points 1 year ago

    On the other hand that is also one of those things that annoys me about romance culture, the whole notion of your girlfriend/boyfriend/wife/husband being "stolen" by someone else as if your partner was just a passive object instead of being the actual person in the cheating who made promises to you (which might or might not include sexual exclusivity depending on mutually agreed upon preferences between everyone in the relationship) and should keep those promises or break up with you no matter what any third person tempts them with.

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  • [–] 10 points 1 year ago (2 children)

    Bothered me significantly in the will they/won't they dynamic of The Office.

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  • [–] 16 points 1 year ago (1 child)

    The OG premise of The Office was similar to Seinfeld. They were all supposed to be awful people. Jim and Dwight and Michael were just three different flavors of incel. Jim hitting on a soon-to-be-married woman was supposed to be off-putting and gross. The front office guys treating the back office guys like trash was supposed to be elitist and revolting.

    But because the writers needed to give you someone to root for, and because Jim was the "hot one" in a show full of normal looking people (aka the writers room from a bunch of sitcoms who thought it would be funny to have a show where they play each other's characters), they had to justify Pam breaking up and getting together with Jim. And then they had to turn the Jim/Pam arc into Friends. And then they had to turn the Dwight/Angela and Michael/Jan arcs into Friends. And by the final season they were just, like, "Fuck it, this show is now the same as Friends."

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    [–] 9 points 1 year ago (9 children)

    And most of the time it is women cheating. I think it is because these movies are made mostly for women and it is like porn for them.

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