As a little girl, I remember being exposed to Disney movies that promoted chivalry. Some (snow whilte, sleeping beauty, and cinderella) portrayed the classic "damsel in distress." While Joseph Campbell addresses this as a misconception of what chivalry should be, the theme is woven throughout many stories, and gives us a picture (even if it is an incorrect picture) of how romance between a man and woman should function. Other Disney films have stronger felmale heroines (Pocahontas and Mulan,) but in they still maintain validity because of the connection that the female character has to the male hero. Each sends the message to girls that "someday my prince will come."
This idea places too high an importance on romance in the eyes children, especially little girls, at too young of an age. These stories have become staples in our popular culture and are sending a tweaked version of truth. As Scott Farrell wrote in his essay discussing Joseph Campell's ideas about chivalry "the Code of Chivalry was originally a radical concept that shook the very foundations of European society." The Disney movies that we are exposed to as American children have adapted and changed this original code of chivalry into something different. I believe that this leads to mixed messages about romance that the media sends to older target groups such as teens and young adults. People in these age groups are searching for love, and finding that the stories they were told when they were yonger were in esence, lies.
So, we see two different "tricks of media" develop. The first is that of female empowerment. This is portrayed through shows like "Commander in Chief," the media's hype about Hillary Clinton's run at the presidency, and a varitey of magazines, clubs, and even tv broadcasts created to help young women. While promoting female success scholastically and in society is a good thing, it also has an impact on our idea of the romance myth. Women who have realized the flaws of the Disney movies they grew up on may try to aviod being let down by a lie by becoming powerful and successful, and ignoring natural instincts to desire marriage and a family life. The second media trick is that the media continues to play on our desires for a relationship that will fulfill the idea of romance that we saw in films as kids. Movies such as these generally fall under the category of "chick flicks." Some of these would include Pretty Woman, Maid in Manhattan, and Two Weeks Notice. These all portray women (and men) who are incomplete until they find that perfect someone that they can live happily ever after with.
It's easy to see how these two different messages, or tricks, can lead to a rather confused culture. We're being told not to give up hope on our dream of the "perfect" romance, yet at the same time we're being told that it's wrong to put a romantic relationship at a place of value higher than our careers.
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