All You Need is Love

Hmm. I just read the Joseph Campbell articles on chivalry that were given in the 10th blog prompt, and I found them to be quite strange. How is it that the idea of chivalry has changed so drastically since it was first brought about? In its original form, chivalry was apparently a crazy revolution of love, going against all conventions to give people a unique "person to person" experience, according to these articles. Women were given the upper hand instead of being treated like weak little flowers who needed men to wait upon them. Things have changed so much since then, and not always for the better. We have these absurd notions of what "real" women and men should be like, and this travels over into our conception of romance. Take a look at the typical romantic comedy. Boy who is dangerously handsome, smart, and funny, meets Girl who is quirky and unique, but still beautiful and feminine. Boy likes Girl. Girl doesn't like Boy. Boy chases Girl. Things are nice. Boy screws things up with Girl. Boy chases Girl again. Boy and Girl live happily ever after, defying any realistic problem that has arisen between them. Please.

I guess it's apparent that some of Campbell's ideas about chivalry live on in the romantic comedy. The boy still has to vie for the attention of the girl, who ultimately still has the upper hand in the matter(if she doesn't want to take him back, then he's out of luck). But something is different. It often seems almost as if the boy isn't so much doing nice things and trying to get the girl because he is desperately in love with her as much as because he likes the chase. It's unrealistic and not about love at all. It's ridiculous.

Why do we let the media tell us how to act? We can deny all we want that we don't, but let's face it. If we dont' fit into the media's standards of what a girl or boy should act like, we're going to feel out of place. If our relationship with the boy/girl of our dreams isn't what the media says it should be, we're going to worry that our relationship is dysfunctional or even that we're doing it wrong. It's scary. The media is ruining our conceptions of love and relationships, and I hate it. Something needs to change.

There you have it. Yet another bitter rant from yours truly about the evils of media. You know you love it:)