Love stories have stayed consistent however relationships have changed. Divorce is common when it wasn’t not too long ago. Men took care of their families but now women are needed to work and help out financially. Today’s economy dictates a relationship between two people resulting in a much different direction than ever before.
Lauren very good, as our society evolves so does love and what it means to our personal identity. – Venus Echos9 years ago
This seems like a great topic! You would have to ask what love means to us now. Not an easy task, but very interesting. – dannyjs9 years ago
Just because I'm watching Parenthood right now and family dynamics are constantly changing and being compared to the grandparents "old world" dynamics, I think it would be interesting to compare TV to romantic Films with this concept. – Chelsea Weaver9 years ago
It might be helpful to look at the origins of love as we know it today. For example, when did love marriages--as opposed to arranged and political marriages--overtake their counterparts? – Kristian Wilson9 years ago
A great film to note for this discussion is Her (2013). How does technology affect the notion of love and family in today's society. Does it make people closer or push them further apart? How do film, television, and other outlets take this evolution and tell good stories from them? – Giovanni Insignares9 years ago
The Twilight series likes to believe that it is based on classic love stories (Romeo & Juliet and others). Using those two standards (Twilight now vs R&J then) might be an interesting way to approach this topic. I've always disliked Romeo & Juliet b/c the characters are hormone-driven teenagers who shouldn't be making decisions -- but when it was written, 15 yr olds *were* getting married to people they barely knew. Translated into modern times, the situation looks slightly ridiculous. Does the classic standard of expectation necessarily result in a untenable situation when applied to modern times? Or is that a failure of the translator? – Monique9 years ago
Another question that could tie into that is: are fictional stories giving us unrealistic expectations for love? Not many people seem to be happy with the love they find these days, and that could be due to the innumerable romance tales being portrayed in book and film form. – Ellencrypted9 years ago
But in the end, what are love stories? Fiction. Can we not then realize that what we see on the screen is just a story or must we take literally what the film shows us as to be real. If we acknowledge that it is a story, then is it really issue. After all isn't the story about love and not the real world? If we view everything as real and therefore needing to be changed, how can romance then even exist? After all courtly love was an artificial construction and in theory is not believed to have been practiced. Must we take the romance out of life. If divorce is common it is because usually it is not love but rather lust. Then when people change, things become complicated and fall apart. So then what? What shall we call love? Can we still find an ideal? I hope these questions and thoughts help. – Travis Kane9 years ago