The End of Romance: The Demystification of Love in the Postmodern Age

Abstract

We focus on the changing understanding of romance in contemporary American society. Through an analysis of romantic comedies and dramas produced in Hollywood between 1930 and the present, we demonstrate how the decline of the romantic drama is due to significant social and cultural change, the most important of which is the weakening of norms governing the choice of romantic partners. The romantic comedy, however, has more than compensated for the decline in dramas, with the decade of the 1990s seeing more romantic films produced than in any previous time in the history of filmmaking. Although the contemporary romantic comedy almost invariably reinforces the most conservative tendencies in our culture, we argue that these films nonetheless work effectively to reinforce a usable cultural script governing romantic behavior. By depicting ideal culture as a real possibility, the romantic comedy nurtures the utopian wish of “slipping one over on modernity.”

Conjugal Love from a Sociological Perspective: Theorizing from Observed Practices.

“…Notwithstanding current and past transformations, the traditional love imaginary still plays a major role in Western social relations and intimate bonds. Traditional semantics are transmitted by literature, movies, TV shows, and more generally by mass media (Dowd and Pallotta 2000, Hefner and Wilson 2013, Reinhardt-Becker 2015. They are also endorsed by counselors and specialists (religious and spiritual guides, therapists, psychologists, sexologists, journalists, etc.)…”

Happily Ever After? Exploring U.S. Collegiate Women’s Understandings of Love as Impermanent and Timeless in the Age of Capitalism

“…The varying research on types of love and intimate relationships can suggest the presence of concurrent ideologies that support two otherwise disparate models for intimate relationships. Contemporary generational shifts, thus, bring an increase in what may be referred to as “liberal” views (e.g., increased acceptance for interracial and lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, and queer [LGBTQ] marriage; Taylor 2015), even while the same individuals in this age group may hold less idyllic views of marriage (Dowd and Pallotta 2000). Although specifically in relation to college students, Danielle Currier’s (2013:722, 708) research highlights such tensions as she argues the hook-up culture, based on casual physical encounters, is also based on a gendered form of self-protection to maintain social status as “good girls” and “real men”—even while they still seek “emotional connectedness” in these relationships and through pursuit of traditional dating models.…”

“…U.S. popular culture and media products emphasize the centrality of love within women’s lives, selling cultural scripts that women want to get married (Clawson 2005; Dowd and Pallotta 2000). Chrys Ingraham (2009) goes so far as to argue that marketing strategies for the Western marriage industry brainwash audiences, helping to promote the culturally embedded fairy-tale ending of “happily ever after.” This barrage of messages about romantic love and marriage can, therefore, perpetuate expectations for women to be preoccupied by love and marriage.…”

“…Even so, research from multiple perspectives suggests that the current economic and cultural context has led to disruptions in life transitions, such as marriage (Beck 1992; Duggan 2003; Giddens 1991; Harris 2004; Ingraham 2009; Illouz 1991). Rather than resulting strictly in economic shifts, such as privatization and economic rationalism, researchers concur that these market-based shifts also contribute to solidifying an emphasis on individual responsibility and insecurity in the private realm (Dowd and Pallotta 2000; Illouz 1991). While theorists agree that distinctions between the private and public realms continue to be blurred, more research is needed exploring how individuals negotiate this phenomenon.…”

Tie-Up Cycles in Long-Term Mating. Part II: Fictional Narratives and the Social Cognition of Mating

“…Such mutual adaptation needs to prove its adaptive value, by ensuring the continuity of the process of inter-generational transfer of genetic endowment, material resources, and knowledge [152]. It is no wonder, therefore, that the theme of couple formation takes on such a central place in narratives, also in social contexts characterized by a strong relativism as to the existential meaning of romantic love [153]. The possible formation of a …”