Next time your guy whines about not wanting to watch a sappy movie, he may argue that he's got scientific backing -- the movies could well ruin your life (or at least your love life). Psychologists at Heriot Watt University in Edinburgh say that the more people watch and enjoy romantic comedies, the more likely they are to have unrealistic expectations in their own love lives. And when life doesn't live up to the movies, they feel disappointed.
Romantic Research
The study authors had one group of people watch "Serendipity" and another group watch a twisted David Lynch flick, then questioned them on their attitudes about love and life. Those subjected to "Serendipity" were more likely to say they believed in fate.
Click here to read more about what the researchers found.
The researchers then analyzed 10 years' worth of romantic comedies from the likes of Jennifer Lopez ("Maid in Manhattan," "The Wedding Planner"), Meg Ryan ("You've Got Mail") and Julia Roberts ("Notting Hill," "Runaway Bride"). They found consistent themes that don't bode well for real-life love: Sex is always perfect; your true love knows what you want without having to be told; you click instantly and "know" when someone's right for you. (Oh, and canceling your wedding at the last minute has no consequences beyond true love. Right?!)
Ten Super Sappy Hollywood Romances
The Bridges of Madison County
There isn't a camera on the market with enough soft-focus for these love scenes.
Everett Collection
The Notebook
All right! Jesus. You're a bird.
New Line
Ghost
Just a few notes of "Unchained Melody" and we unchain our lunches all over our laps.
Zuma Press
City of Angels
An angel falls in love with a woman, gives up his immortality for her... and then she dies.
Everett Collection
Up Close and Personal
An older, wiser journalist shows a cub reporter the ropes in love and network news... and then he dies.
Getty Images
Sweet November A sprightly, devil-may-care young woman teaches an uptight guy to live again... and then she dies.
Warner Bros
A Walk to Remember
Oh!.. She dies, too.
Warner Bros.
Love Story
So does she!
Everett Collection
The Way We Were
We WISH one of them died.
Everett Collection
Titanic Celine Dion! Celtic flutes! Awful dialogue! A tragedy of historic proportions indeed.
Zuma Press
Kimberly Johnson, who worked on the study, told BBC News, "Films do capture the excitement of new relationships, but they also wrongly suggest that trust and committed love exist from the moment people meet, whereas these are qualities that normally take years to develop."
More Multiplex Findings
So is watching horror and action flicks better for your love life? Maybe, but it depends on whether you act scared. According to other research, men and women use horror movies as a way to act out social gender roles.
"In one study, when a female participant watched a horror movie and displayed distress, the male she was watching with enjoyed it more," says Silvia Knobloch-Westerwick, Ph.D., an Ohio State University professor who's researched how men and women use media. "And when a guy displayed mastery, females enjoyed the movie more than if the male displayed distress."
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Comments:
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Friday 19 December
By Erin
If Chick Flicks give us unrealistic perceptions of romance then Porn flicks give us unrealistic perceptiosn about sex. If you are going to tell men that watching Chick Flicks is unheatlhy, watching porn flicks is just as unhealthy.
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Saturday 20 December
By HonestKitty
I totally agree! At least chick flicks give us something to reflect about. & they make you feel good inside! porn is just a disgusting brain drain and waste of film.
Friday 02 January
By Rocky
You twit! The study was pointing out that chick flicks have these fairy tale, unrealistic views on love, and they try to make the viewer believe that 'This is love, anything else ISNT"
Pornography is video recorded sexual intercourse. There's no falsifications there. Penis goes into orifice, orgasm occurs. It's pretty cut and dry.
So before you go and claim that you know more than a scientist (yes, SCIENTIFIC STUDIES are performed by SCIENTISTS!) think about what you're saying just because you're a feminist idiot.
Friday 19 December
By K.K.
Why is that 'chick flicks' almost ALWAYS involve someone having to settle for ONE lover?! Can't we have at least ONE polyamorous 'chick flick' where a woman decides there's room in her life for two equally caring men? Or a man can have two equally caring women?
While we're at it, there ought to be a rule that actors that have had more than one divorce can't appear in 'chick flicks'. That leaves the entire genre open to Cusack and maybe two or three others.
K.K.
www.rockherworld.net
Reply
Saturday 20 December
By ak
I watch movies to be entertained. I want something unrealistic or funny and crazy. I get enough REAL in real life!
Reply
Thursday 01 January
By Mitzi
I totally agree a.k. I hate chick flicks...and being a chick myself, I get many odd looks. I love action and horror and...even porn. No, I am not gay. I just like being entertained. Like you said, I get enough reality living my life. How about a break from reality?
Monday 22 December
By Rob
I knew it!
Reply
Thursday 01 January
By Serra
The same thing could be (and is) said about Childrens' classic Disney Movies.
Reply
Friday 02 January
By Erin
Very mature response Rocky. The opinion of another adult can always be taken seriously when that adult resort to name calling like the were in 5th grade instead of actually taking a stab at arguing their points intelligently. You made yourself look bad, not me.
If you don't understand the unrealistic fantasy elements that go into pornography, then I think you aren't being logical in your assement. Just as you think chick flicks tell women that this is the only way you can have love, porn flicks tell men that this is how sex should be and this is how your woman should look and perform. And really, I don't remember seeing one porn movie that was truly about bringing pleasure to the woman. I've seen plenty that the woman was acting like she loved it but no real evidence that what was being done with her/ to her was about her pleasure. It is all called "acting". If you don't understand that, then I truly feel sorry for you. And if you actually read any scientfic studies, you would clearly see many that present the case that porn negativly effects both men and women perceptions about each other, sex and the other gender. Most porn flicks make men look like moronic brutes that know nothing and care nothing about women. If that's how you like men to be protrayed, that's your business. I certainly don't like to see it because it's insulting to my father, brother and boyfriend. And it makes women look like simpering idiots that love nothing more then being used and bringing so much pleasure to men at the cost of her own even. Hate to burst your own fantasy bubble, but porn is a fantasy. As is romantic movies often. You don't need a degree in science to understand that if a romantic movie effects us a certain way, so will any other typoe of movie....especially something like porn. But please, do a search and you will find many scientists that will say how porn negatively has and will continue to effect men and women. Sadly enough.
Reply
Saturday 03 January
By Riddles
I do believe for the most part chick flicks may display a unrealistic veiw about love, however it is a movie of 1.5 - 2 hours. If you cant mimic that "fantacy" for at least that long, then you probably need more than a movie to show you what love "really" is. I like chick flicks (being a girl) and I watch them when I do want that "awwww thats so cute, why can't I find a guy like that" feeling, but then when I leave reality takes place again and I face the fact that it is a movie.. If a person can't seperate themselves from reality and movies, then maybe they had a Psychoilogical issue that took place before they started watching chick flicks. Then again let's face it ladies were never saticfied anyways. Probably cause we don't even know what we want, or we are forever changing our minds cause we want so much, Not so fast men, you will never be able to please a woman totally, cause you are emotionally inequipt and for the most part think with the wrong head. So bottom line... Men ARE from Mars and women ARE from Venus, that being said just when you find someone you are happy with more than unhappy with and get along for the most part just enjoy your time together and stop trying to change everything about each other....
Or just be single forever and find a "rent-a-man" when you are lonley:-)
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Friday 02 January
By riddles
Perhaps if you think chick flicks diplasy what "real live/love" whould be there was an underlying psychological issue prior to the movies. In addition, a movie is 1.5 -2 hours long. If in a relationship you and yours cant mimic a movie at least for 2 hours per week, maybe your in the wrong relationship to start. Besides if people find the reality of love from a movie, maybe they should do some soul searching and think about that they can activly do to make a change themselvs. Ladies let face the facts here, do we really know what we want? We set these unrealistic goals for men calling them inadequit but we change our minds so much how can anyone get it right., I mean until we know what we want we can;t expect a man of all creatures on eart to figure it out or mearly get it right, They are doing the best they can with the little brain that actually gets directed to something other than sex, sports and alcohol. So If you can't beat em join em. Besides maybe the single life is healthier and you should just find a "rent-a-boyfriend" to spend time with when you are in the moon for a boyfriend. Set the ground rules for him and when his time is up send him on his way and theres nothing to complain about on either side. He goes back to is bachelor lifestyle and you go back to your undisturbed ways. After all relationships are a game we play, its about possesion and who had the most control... If your trully inlove you will except everything about each other and would not seek a lifelong "unrealistic perfection" from a 2 hour movie:-)
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Tuesday 15 June
By Melissa
I agree that chick flicks do put an unrealistic view on love and relationships. Have you ever noticed how in these movies how the woman is always the one who is in the wrong? The man is never wrong-----She is always messing up....but Mr. Perfect sticks by her side. REALITY: A man would leave a woman if she was always wrong.....These movies make a woman feel good because it gives them some kind of faith that there is a good man out there that is perfect---but a person/man can only take so much. Also when a man watches these movies, he probably feels like he is worthless and probably thinking "I can never be like this guy" and starts feeling bad about his relationship....That is why I think chick flicks cause bad relationships....Lets get started on porn! Worse thing ever!---Sex should be special, but porn makes it look like it is nothing. They make them look like horny animals. In porn, the men don't care if the woman are hurting....they're just getting what they want. They punch, choke, slap, and many other things to the woman. That should never happen to anybody....They also catch many STD's while filming. Nobody wants that!!! Because many men watch porn, and it seems like the woman is enjoying herself......in reality men do it! Sex should be fun and enjoyable between 2 people who love each other!
But...those are my opinions.
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