A Big Lie

On reality television the other day there was a man whose girlfriend was complaining about his lack of chivalry. He turned toward the cameramen and said "I blame Hollywood." The "big lie" in Hollywood is closely tied to the notion of living "happily ever after" and the gender roles that are misconstrued because of it. This woman on television fell victim under the thought that this man should be undeniably charming, sweeping her off of her feet. The romantic relationships constructed in Hollywood and romance novels are probably completely foreign to this man. Implicit in this example is the fact that most relationships are more like the couple on reality television than in romance novels. I attributed most of this to temporal differences. Successful films often last around 2 hours. Successful relationships take much longer. Making note of this allows us as viewers to enjoy "the big lie" and the idea of "living happily ever after" while adapting its' values and goals to our own daily lives.