One of my favorite movies is 27 Dresses and the main character, Jane, is obsessed with weddings and proves powerless to her consuming love for her boss, George. Jane displays the typical OCD woman who is in control of everything, except her love life. She proves to be completely passive when it comes to confronting George about her feelings to the point where, as the audience, you become completely frustrated with her character. Movies like this give you hope since you realize how frustrating the situation is;however, characters like her exist in real life. Jane models a woman who can't function without knowing if their dream guy would approve (even if it's not relevant) and never takes action. It bothers me that she is a character consumed by a man and feels the need to wait on him hand and foot. Jane even betrays her sister,Tess(even though she kind of deserves it...) because she was so in "love" with George that she didn't want to see him happy with anyone else. These movies push us back toward our past of dependent women, stereotypes of women only dreaming of our wedding(or even being in a friend's wedding just to be apart of that world) and putting men back into the center of our lives.
I don't blame guys for dreading the moment when we answer our choice of movie for the night is 27 Dresses or some other romantic comedy. In the movies the men usually sweep the women off their feet or know exactly what to say and it creates an unfair expectation for men. Because of these movies woman seek the "perfect man" and when they pursue someone in real life (wishing their man could be more like Kevin Doyle) they become disappointed when their romance doesn't quite compare. While many guys don't like romantic comedies purely because they think it's boring, I think they also might not approve of how the men are portrayed in them as well.
All this being said I will still watch romantic comedies because it's my go to for movies/entertainment and I will continue to smile when the guy gets the girl at the end.
As a lover of 27 Dresses myself, movies of that genre are entertaining, especially after a heartbreak or for a girls night. But as you said, even if we are watching for fun, a message is being sent that a life revolving around men, particularly for dependent, super analytical women, will always end in your favor. This is a pretty unfair expectation for both men and women. Although often unrealistic outcomes in romantic comedies, everybody is a sucker for a happy ending. I really enjoyed your insights!
ReplyDeleteIn general I don't enjoy these types of movies. This is not because I don't like romance stories at all, but rather because I just don't feel that the characters really sell me the plot very often. I have never seen 27 Dresses, so I'm completely prejudging here, but just the description of the main character makes me cringe slightly. A story where a character basically obsesses over something that may or may not be good and then gets it with a happy ending just sends the wrong message to me.
ReplyDeleteI agree with Ryan that these kind of movies aren't really my type, they promote fairy tale "exceptions" rather than practical dating expectations. As you and Grace stated, they also encourage unrealistic standards for both men and women. It's also disappointing that in 21 dresses, as well as so many romance movies today, the female lead waits around for the guy to make a move. Gender equality, ya'll.
ReplyDelete