I knew it

[victorianist]

news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/uk_news/scotland/edinburgh_and_east/7784366.stm
Rom-Coms are bad for you. I've had this feeling for a while. I've been steering clear of them because they make me feel sorry for myself for not having a significant other, but will occasionally indulge myself. I made up my mind after watching 27 Dresses that I was going to avoid

Comments

[ext_137191]

Kelly! :) Thanks for the link, I posted it on my facebook, actually. It's the same with Korean dramas, also. They are so addicting, and often very fun, but they do begin to mutate one's expectations to an unrealistic degree. I usually see myself as down to earth, but after watching romantic comedies or romantic Asian dramas, I do feel that tinge of wanting such things to happen to me, so in that sense suspension-of-dis-belief can become something of a habit that carries on outside of the fictional story.

And you have a cat? I've forgotten if you've mentioned it or not. :)

[victorianist]

It's my Mom's cat, really. And then there's the 16-year-old crazy cat who we keep outside. And then there's the dog too. And my youngest sister is bringing home her new kitty. Pet funness!

[ext_137191]

Oh yes. I remember this cat, I think. I've seen pictures of her, right? She's the small one... or at least she *was* small. And your bearded dog! Aw

[brideofbeowulf]

Interesting study. Sounds like it polled the effect on viewers short-term -- it would be more interesting to hear about the results of long-term exposure. I'm sure it's true to some extent. In York I encountered the book "Reading the Romance: Women, Patriarchy, and Popular Literature" by Janice A. Radway, about women who read lots of romance serials... very interesting book, she mostly concludes that even the more modern romances with "empowered" women encourage women to wait for something to come to them and settle for what they get.

Yes, Romantic comedies often make me feel rather sorry for myself too. Especially since they tend to portray the perfect relationship as something that will cure all the problems in your life at once, which is so silly. What do you think of other kinds of movies that involve romance -- say, Jane Eyre, Pride & Prejudice, Brokeback Mountain? Are they just as bad?