Misogynistic Representation Of Romance In The Media

Women's representation in the media has a long way to go in general, however, some movies and TV series have gone very far to normalise certain experiences that belittle and disrespect women, especially in the romance genre.

To start off, many movies and TV series, (especially when writing out a romantic plot line) simply use women as objects that move the story along instead of having them be independent charctars, for instance, the entire plot of the 9 seasons of How I Met Your Mother, revolve around the main male charactar telling his story, and in the process disgarding and villifying countless women, for things that were completley normal and understandable, such as, speaking their own mind, knowing what they want out of life, admitting to wanting commitment...etc.

Moreover, many movies and TV series use kidnapping as a plot device in order to get the main characters together quickly, and later having the female lead view bare acts of humanity as romance, (which could be argued to be Stockholm Synrome, however due to the complexity of the topic, it should be discussed on its lonesome). This leads many women who were exposed to such stories to view the bare minimum as acceptable, for example, in the movie Passengers (2016), the male protagonist desides to wake the lead woman who infatuated him out of her slumber and dooming her before they could reach their destination, robbing her of making her own decision, and in the movie Stardust (2007), the male protagonist kidnaps the lead woman and forces her to go back to his home so he could present her as an offering for his beloved. The issue with these stories, is that they defend these actions against women in the name of fate and love, leading to unhealthy attitudes in people's dating lives.

More to the point, there has also been many movies and TV series which not only tried to normalize rape, but went as far as tried to romanticize it, e.g., in the movie Blade runner (1982), the protaginist keeps the lead woman from leaving and forces himself on her by slamming her against a wall, and when this happens romantic music starts playing to signal to the audience that this is to be percieved as a love scene.

Recently, upon the release of the movie Promising Young Woman (2020), some critics criticized the director Emeral Fennell, for the "graphic and intense" rape and violence scenes in her movie, however, she stated:

"that there's literally nothing in it (including the worst thing in it) that we havent seen in comedy and laughed at."

At times it can be dificult to pick out these scenes, given how desensitized audiences have gotten to them. Director Fennell, goes on to talk about how the main issue isn't just men, it is the culture that everyone is submerged in, which makes sex seem as the ultimate prize to be won, and unfortunately by any means available.

There's an entire new generation of young people being exposed to media everyday, they should have better material and be exposed to healthier views regarding sex and relationships, in order for society to become a safer place for everyone.