Expectations vs. Reality

In this modern day of age the notions of “true love” and “happy endings” are prevalent. Even at a young age we are introduced to Disney’s Cinderella, where the conflicts are always resolved by a generally handsome prince in some form or another. Aside from the rare cases such as “Shrek”, the beast usually turns into an attractive man who ultimately saves the damsel in distress. This idea of chivalrous strong men and weak dainty woman has been played out through the ages as the “normal” fairytale and desire. At a young age we have been programmed with the idea that woman are to be saved and should therefore always be waiting for her prince charming to arrive. Janice Radway explains that this patriarchal idea is something that has been assumed about the woman reading romance novels. The statistics look at the fact that the subject surrounds this patriarchal idea, rather than representing what women are actually taking away from reading these novels. By the time we as a society are reading romance novels we have gained a lot more experience with reality and the world past our original “happy ending” time warp. This idea of reality is better represented in the film “500 Days of Summer” where the main character is introduced to the reality or lack of fairytale endings in his relationships. Women know that in life prince charming rarely arrives in the same manner and perfection as romance novels and by reading them we are not clouded into thinking so. Radway states that many believe that literary readings are the result of a complex; however I believe that the complex doesn’t revolve around the fact that fairytales aren’t true, but rather that from birth society has programmed us to think otherwise. That’s one reason why I found “500 Days of Summer” extremely refreshing because it represents a modern take on romance, and most often the disappointment of failed expectations. This YouTube video gives an overall view of the film and emphasizes how the romantic novel’s stereotypical roles are opposite; instead the man chases the woman.