It is no doubt that romantic movies have taught us some things about love. As young people or kids we have used them as reference to express love or a medium which provided expressions and flowery lines. No matter how much we deny but at some point there would have been a movie or any particular scene that might have made you thought about how perfect things were in it and wish you had a similar experience. It is normal, we all think and try to imagine different scenarios and try to play them in our minds with us being the actor and actresses. A very large number of groups with people from different ages like romantic movies and for some it is their favourite genre. Romantic movies are not portrayed similarly across different culture also the way in which they are understood is very different. People have different ways of making and forming a meaning of these movies, not only these movies but in almost everything. It can lead us to various answers if we think about the entire role that romantic movies have been playing in influencing the way in which we perceive love. Not only that how people try to enhance their experiences by using what they have seen and been fascinated by. Apart from these things aren’t they a perfect solution to fix any fight with your partner and to feel special for each other?
When we talk about love, it is an abstract concept. There have been various meanings that are present for it. From centuries people have been trying to philosophically paint the understanding in such a way that it compromises of a universal definition. It can be real task to do so as people code and explain love not on the basis of these meanings but from what they observe and learn about it from different models, one of them being romantic movies. We all need love, for each of us it is important as it as an important part of our life. Again it can be subjective and have distinct choices. There have been time when romantic movies have taught the required lesson about hope, faith and trust, but there have been times in which it has left us with unrealistic expectations and glorification of toxic behaviours. There have been instances where we might have thought or said that this is completely unreal and things or stories like that do not happen in real life. All that stuff seems to be highly sugar coated and for some at the same something which cannot always match with the existing understanding of what one has formed. Romantic movies are not just of one type there are various subtypes under this category and it is simply there so that different audiences can be targeted. Such movies exist because there might be a need or simply because people want to learn about love and what else can be better than observational learning? Is this even the way that can make us succeed? We all might have had a thought of love at first sight. Soul mate, love can happen anytime and it has to be grand and more than life. Does that make an entire sense if we look in real life? We do not know but such messages keep on operating at a subconscious or an unconscious level. Sometimes we don’t even know why we are thinking in a certain way but we do. Romantic movies can make our perception a bit fictional because loves is romanticized at each and every level and it can be unrealistic as there are so many people who cannot come up with a song to make thing up after a fight or for that matter for anything. Also it makes us set some standards when it comes to finding someone in real life as we knowingly or unknowingly take references from such stories. Everything is perfect in reeel life but in real life it is not like that. Forming standards by taking cues from fictional characters and their lives can make it difficult to see a person in real life that the up to the mark. Also what if those standards created are not even what we truly like. People can find it very difficult to find the perfect match if those standards are created on fallacious ideas. Also keeping in mind the cultural difference it is not portrayed in the best possible manner. There have been representations influenced by the gender biases. Not only this but stereotypical portrayal of a girl and a boy also led to misinterpretations that have made people of different genders to believe that should be a particular set of characteristics in order to love someone or just to have the ability to love. It can make people to identify with those traits and try to become what they are not. Romantic movies has contributed in glorifying of toxic behaviours such as stalking and being obsessed with an individual. Having an exposure to such behaviours at a young age can seed the chances of imitating in real life which is not at all healthy as it ultimately invaded the person, mental and physical space of an individual.
Have you ever thought that why do we need love? Why do we have this want to be loved? We all need love and we all have different wants and needs, but it is important to ask ourselves that why we need love? Is it because we are lonely or is it because there are people together all around us. Is it all we need? Or do we need it at all? Looking at it from scratch it is a biological need to make us procreate. Evolutions have made it appear interesting and colourful by adding the layer of romanticism on it. There have been a lot of researches by scientists and psychologists to understand it entirely. There have been various philosophies attached to it that have attracted us from time to time. For instance Plato suggested that ‘love makes us whole, again’. He explored the idea that we love in order to become complete. A German philosopher named Schopenhauer stated that ‘love tricks us into having babies’. A Nobel Prize winner, a British philosopher named Russell stated that ‘love is escape from our loneliness’. According to Buddha ‘love is a misleading affliction’. Lastly a French philosopher Beauvoir stated that ‘Love lets us reach beyond ourselves’. These all were different theories attached with love by different philosophers. These theories have their significance according to the subjective needs of an individual and it is not always true that this is the ultimate reality when it comes to love. It is never easy to think about those things which requires you to get out your comfort zone, but sometimes it can be an important thing. We all have different ideologies and concepts that we promote. When and the way in which we apply those things in our lives can help us in a positive or in a negative manner. Same is with romantic movies. Enjoying them and having a good time is what is expected when we watch a movie, but better do we know that it leaves an impact on us that we might not be even aware of. One can always think and question the degree to which it is fictional. It is important for us to remember the value that we have assigned to the necessity of love and it’s idea. This can make us think and relate to our experiences and then create a picture of our needs and wants.
