Are all films <5 years problematic in some way

[anon666]

I guess it might be a sign of rapid progress, but recently I've watched:

Pretty Woman
Dirty Dancing
Bend it like Beckham

All of which have a girl/woman falling for an authority figure. It really looks creepy to a modern eye. Or does it? Am I being too Gen Z about the whole thing?

I think this particular trope is a common one because it's a very natural human phenomena - working on something you enjoy with someone who you might potentially find attractive is a pretty classic scenario to create a romantic situation. The fact that one is somewhat more advanced or older than the other doesn't make that kind of connection less likely, and it's also something that can produce interesting situations for a story or film.

But I don't think late teens and early 20s is that odd a combination - I think often they probably are a more natural fit than early and late teens, or even early 20s and late 20s. The fact that group happens to go between two sets of tens is kind of an arbitrary distinction.

Pretty Woman is maybe the most "problematic" of the three, but it's also not really a story about prostitution, IMO - in that area it's almost more of a fairy tale, and we aren't meant to read it as realistic. I think it's more about conspicuous consumption and how that affects our relations to other people, but it's also a very light film and meant to be charming rather than heavy.

YABU for ignoring films like Thelma And Louise and Alien that have strong female leads and don't rely on that trope at all, and Princess Bride and Labyrinth that subvert it.

Alien (1979) and Aliens (1986) would be less than half the films they are if the Ripley character was male. I'm saying this as a man, for context.

The Long Kiss Gooodnight does have a younger woman and older man pairing, but it's hardly romantic and there's no way you could call the Geena Davis character naive.

The Client.

Snowcake, if you specifically want a romantic comedy without that trope.

Ek Cup Chya. Admittedly it may be a stretch to suggest your teen watches a Marathi film about the problems of corruption in Indian public utilities ...

Haven’t seen Meg Ryan in a film for about 20 years - where did she disappear to? See TH all the time.

Don’t worry, there’s still plenty of sexist drivel being made now.

It’s fine and normal for a person of at least average intelligence to think about films and how their message is influenced by society.

As always, have only ever seen the word woke used by complete arseholes. Same with ‘professionally offended’ and ‘virtue signaling’. They’re a type.

She committed the ultimate sin - she wasn’t sparkly and bubbly and Ladylike on Parkinson and then she had the temerity to have lip injections. Never recovered. They should have just burned her really

I sometimes watch that cinema therapy on YouTube and the bloke on there says something along the lines of it being absolutely fine to watch romcoms and the like because they're entertainment and nothing else: they're not and we're never meant to be guides on relationships so watch and enjoy them but keep your brain switched on whilst doing so.

Honestly, this is why we’re left with drivel like all the Marvel movies now or worse the Fricken PC/woke reboots.

Way to ruin entertainment Gen Z

It’s the movies. They’re make-believe.

If you look hard enough into any movie and tv show I am sure you can find something wrong in all of them

It is not real surley people must realise life is not the same as on screen?

And if you are modeling your life off of works of fiction, you are doing it wrong

Ever heard of "art reflecting life"? Now imagine being unable to tell which bits reflect life and which don't.

For autistic people, figuring out which parts are meant to be unrealistic and which parts are meant to be realistic is hard. Result: expecting real life relationships to be like a bad romcom. Result: in an abusive relationship at 21.

Preempting the "your SEND support staff should have helped with such life skills": we aren't all diagnosed in time to get the support to learn to distinguish the two. I was diagnosed in my forties.

Read my immediately prior post and then stop victim-blaming vulnerable young people with undiagnosed SEND.

The answer to "should we remake this film?" is always "no".

Are you seriously suggesting that Mad Max Fury Road is drivel?

@VitoCorleoneOfMNMafia it isn't just SEND it's how majority of people see films etc. and no child is really mature enough to separate real life and cartoons. This is why we should protect children as long as possible. Keep them away from knowing how shitty life is. They Should believe in Santa fairies and Unicorn magic as long as possible,

Oh let’s just allow get Z to sanitise everything shall we? God forbid any entertainment violates their safe space. Bloody pathetic.

I didn't believe in Santa, fairies, or unicorns from about five. But I did believe in love at first sight and true love and was really naive because of all the romantic shite, and that left me really vulnerable to everything from being taken advantage of (as in, sex was consensual but the guy lied about his commitment) to being sexually assaulted.

And you are right, it's not just about SEND. Every little girl wants to be a princess and have a Prince Charming. It's how women are groomed en masse for marriage, which benefits men more than us. Married men live longer than their single counterparts, for women it's the other way around.

Have you seen Twelve Years A Slave? I wouldn't call it "sanitised".

Maybe you should have watched less romcoms and fairy tails then.

Y ou know what forget it we should ban all forms of entertainment… because some people never learned the difference between make believe and reality.

I mean why stop at rom coms… surely songs, plays, and books also carry the same risk, right?

Yeah, blame me for my parents' film choices.

Blame me for being born autistic, being undiagnosed until my forties, and being raped twice whilst you're at it, why don't you?

The thing with not being autistic is that you are completely oblivious as to how the entire world is set up for your benefit.

Is it too Gen X of me to ask when we can move on from the word trope?

Not that Hollywood isn't sexist, but Meg Ryan is an okay actress. Tom Hanks is more than an okay actor.

TVTropes says "never" by basically existing. That website is a goldmine for someone trying understand films and other story-telling media.

I found this. It’s ridiculous and brilliant all at once. I love it, but only skimmed.

https://www.indelicates.com/trope/

It’s still make believe.
People go to the cinema because it’s make believe - they can escape from their humdrum, everyday, boring life.
I’m truly sorry you weren’t diagnosed until you were in your forties, but that doesn’t alter my statement or the reality of it.