The toxic rom-com ‘tropes’ people are tired of dealing with in real-life relationships
It’s no secret that rom-coms and their fluffy, flirty world of meet-cutes, oh-so-predictable ‘lightbulb moments’ and montages (usually featuring a laughing woman frolicking through a field or rolling around under a bed sheet in slow motion) actually influences how people act IRL.
From the dishy princes of Disney flicks that set our expectations ridiculously high to the fairytale endings, grand gestures and overarching narrative that a couple in love can conquer all, we’re conditioned for disappointment basically from birth.
Romantic films have a lot to answer for, particularly their long history of normalising potentially harmful tropes: for example, changing yourself for a partner (Grease); sacrificing your life for love (Titanic – literally); relentless pursuing, i.e. stalking (The Notebook); and falling for unavailable men (The Wedding Planner). Oh yes, not to mention the proliferation of emotionally stunted ‘bad boys’ the protagonist desperately tries to wrangle into a relationship when in reality, leopards (or toadstools) rarely change their spots.
