The Toxic Stereotypes that Romantic Comedies Depict to Viewers
By Katie Hampton
Photo By Katie Hampton
Growing up I watched a lot of movies and my favorite genre was romantic comedies, partly due to the fact that I had grown accustomed to the "damsel in distress" plot that is depicted in Disney princess movies and partly because I love the idea of love. Now looking back at the movies that I once believed to show a beautiful love story, I have come to the realization that rom-coms were not so much romantic, but instead undermining to women.
Some of the most popular movies that are targeted for women portray a very damaging image. In movies like She's All That, Grease, and The Princess Diaries, the girls were expected to change their appearance for the guy to fall in love with her. In Sixteen Candles, Jake Ryan "gives" the nerdy boy the popular girl because he's done with her, which not only promotes rape culture, but also shows that women are perceived as objects for men to have when they want and then be disposed of after. Not to mention the trope that women exist just to help the male protagonist's to embrace life and adventure as seen in 500 Days of Summer and Elizabethtown.
Don't get me wrong, a lot of these movies are entertaining and heartwarming. I'm not saying that anyone that enjoys these movies are anti-woman, in fact the reason these films appear in this post is because I have watched and liked them. The stereotypes that romantic comedies illustrate to viewers have had their time to shine, but I believe they need to retire these tropes and find new ways to show a complex love story between two people.
By Katie Hampton
Growing up I watched a lot of movies and my favorite genre was romantic comedies, partly due to the fact that I had grown accustomed to the "damsel in distress" plot that is depicted in Disney princess movies and partly because I love the idea of love. Now looking back at the movies that I once believed to show a beautiful love story, I have come to the realization that rom-coms were not so much romantic, but instead undermining to women.
Some of the most popular movies that are targeted for women portray a very damaging image. In movies like She's All That, Grease, and The Princess Diaries, the girls were expected to change their appearance for the guy to fall in love with her. In Sixteen Candles, Jake Ryan "gives" the nerdy boy the popular girl because he's done with her, which not only promotes rape culture, but also shows that women are perceived as objects for men to have when they want and then be disposed of after. Not to mention the trope that women exist just to help the male protagonist's to embrace life and adventure as seen in 500 Days of Summer and Elizabethtown.
Don't get me wrong, a lot of these movies are entertaining and heartwarming. I'm not saying that anyone that enjoys these movies are anti-woman, in fact the reason these films appear in this post is because I have watched and liked them. The stereotypes that romantic comedies illustrate to viewers have had their time to shine, but I believe they need to retire these tropes and find new ways to show a complex love story between two people.
I have always felt cynical toward Disney films due to many of their toxic messages and views of women. They were some of my favorite movies growing up, but I can no longer enjoy watching the older Disney Princess animations without feeling disappointed.
ReplyDeleteI have watched all those movies, but never thought about the fact that they are portrayed that way.
ReplyDeleteI cannot stand romantic comedies because of most of the reasons you listed. I've never really liked them because they can be very unrealistic. I think they're trash.
ReplyDelete