Do you ever find yourself annoyed when everyone is paired off in movies, tv shows, and books?

[Dark General]

Hey, so I've noticed that a lot of times in movies, tv shows, and books that everyone is almost always paired off. There's never anyone that stays single. I've found that this annoys me to a huge extent, especially if there are no female characters that stay single. I feel like it annoys me because it plays into the common message that nobody can be happy or fulfilled on their own and that everyone needs someone else to be happy. I guess you could say that I really dislike the pairing of spares. To be honest, it gets old after a while seeing everyone in the story becoming the boyfriend/girlfriend/husband/wife of another character. Does anyone else feel this way or is it just me?

[Lord Jade Cross]

No. I too find it tiring to see the "everyone must have someone" cliche everywhere. Many times, entire stories are ruined because of this being put in.

 

[Polygon]

Yes, and it's always obvious who the love interest is right off the bat. Especially in movies...it takes like half a second to recognize the main lead that's the opposite sex of the protagonist and go "Yep, that's the generic love interest that exists solely for that purpose". 

 

I have no clue why authors/writers/etc. feel it's necessary to pair up everyone, but it's a breath of fresh air when the main character's got more important things going on. 

 

I mean, who the hell reads or watches something and thinks, "Oh, thank God...there's the love interest... I was worried for a second that there wouldn't be one.". It's just not important to anybody except the writer, for some reason.

[funfetti]

No. I stopped caring about a lot of things a while ago.

[Zerο]

Only when there's no build up to it and it feels like they're just throwing the pairing together.

[borkfork]

With TV shows it seems like writers don't know what else to do after a while. Babies ever after makes it worse, but maybe that's because I'm childfree. 

[Guest]

Yes because they always make it all so hetero also

[Anthracite_Impreza]

It irritates the hell out of me, hence why I primarily watch documentaries.

[Adam_Jensen]

It's also very unrealistic when everyone finds the person they destined to be with and then they have a child with them.How about making a couple break up in the finale or just never pair them up to begin with.

[Homer]

I take it as a sign that the writers have run out of ideas and that it's going to be over soon.

[Lord Jade Cross]

9 minutes ago, Adam_Jensen said:

It's also very unrealistic when everyone finds the person they destined to be with and then they have a child with them.How about making a couple break up in the finale or just never pair them up to begin with.

Sadly, most people are looking for it. Its like if there isnt that particular aspect present, it somehow messes with their sense of normalcy and people immediately demand that there be one. 

 

[Dark General]

@borkfork I completely agree with you. Babies ever after is even worse. I always wonder why the writers feel the need to include a baby/kids into the mix. It just feels unnecessary. I'm also childfree. 

[Adam_Jensen]

11 minutes ago, Jade Cross said:

Sadly, most people are looking for it. Its like if there isnt that particular aspect present, it somehow messes with their sense of normalcy and people immediately demand that there be one. 

 

 

Unfortunately this is true,people's obsession to be labeled "normal" is disgusting.

[Rynn]

It annoys the hell out of me, especially when there's no foreshadowing whatsoever. It's just so fake and forced.

I don't think this is an ace thing though. I don't know anyone who isn't annoyed by this (okay maybe one person)

 

Spoiler

To be completely honest I always go  American TV... Because honestly that's something movies or TV series from the US always do.

I could be wrong, but British TV doesn't seem to have this problem as much.

 

Chinese stuff usually has sad endings that make you wish you never watched it. At least that's my view of it. I'm sure Chinese people will disagree.

I don't usually watch Dutch stuff, but the things I have watched were kind of anticlimactic.

 

[Laplace]

I'm okay with pairing characters if it makes sense in story and there's a sufficient buildup behind it, but I'm tired of those characters that solely exist to be a love interest/sexual partner. It's like the writer thinks the character has to prove themselves as being desirable. It's like hanging a tiny ornament on the most amazing Christmas tree ever 🌲; it's already cool, you don't need to show how cool or attractive someone is through the proxy of a very minor character. And personally, while I don't want rain on anyone's parade, shipping CAN get cancerous when it just takes over a show.

[Euna]

Yes, this bugs me a lot.  It's my main (though not only) quibble with Downton Abbey...and I could go on at length about that. 

[012]

7 hours ago, Laurann said:

It annoys the hell out of me, especially when there's no foreshadowing whatsoever. It's just so fake and forced.

I don't think this is an ace thing though. I don't know anyone who isn't annoyed by this (okay maybe one person)

 

  Reveal hidden contents

To be completely honest I always go  American TV... Because honestly that's something movies or TV series from the US always do.

I could be wrong, but British TV doesn't seem to have this problem as much.

 

Chinese stuff usually has sad endings that make you wish you never watched it. At least that's my view of it. I'm sure Chinese people will disagree.

I don't usually watch Dutch stuff, but the things I have watched were kind of anticlimactic.

 

Yeah if it makes sense in the flow of the story it doesn't bother me but so many times they just force it into the story like it's some sort of requirement for all writers. That really aggravates me.

[cooliocool]

No I couldn't care less. 

[SpaceCaptain]

I get bothered a lot by this, mostly because I can see how it affects the way my friends (and sometimes me) think. I'm not aro, but I've rarely felt like a romantic relationship was necessary to feel satisfied. I see so many of my friends upset that they're "alone" when they want a companion (most of them seem to focus on the companionship, not...other things, which I really can't criticize the need for), and I keep trying to say "Hi there I am your friend I will give you my company, also you're not alone 'cause I'm here, hi." But, no, according to Hollywood you can't be happy unless you find romantic love.

 

Of course, I could be wrong that this trope is causing these thought patterns and not the other way around. Maybe it's a vicious cycle and they reinforce each other. Either way, it bothers me to watch.

[Adam_Jensen]

11 hours ago, Laurann said:

It annoys the hell out of me, especially when there's no foreshadowing whatsoever. It's just so fake and forced.

I don't think this is an ace thing though. I don't know anyone who isn't annoyed by this (okay maybe one person)

 

  Reveal hidden contents

To be completely honest I always go  American TV... Because honestly that's something movies or TV series from the US always do.

I could be wrong, but British TV doesn't seem to have this problem as much.

 

Chinese stuff usually has sad endings that make you wish you never watched it. At least that's my view of it. I'm sure Chinese people will disagree.

I don't usually watch Dutch stuff, but the things I have watched were kind of anticlimactic.

 

Exactly,a great example for this is the show Legend of Korra.The series finale was such an ass pull.

 

Spoiler

Now I don't mind gay female relationships being represented in the media,I'm all for that.But if the relationship comes out of knowhere then it looks like pandering to the shippers and nothing else.

 

[Luftschlosseule]

And if you happen to have a person without an on-screen relationship, you have loads of fandom people who will tell you that this person is homosexual. I am talking about those that see it as an offense if you don't agree. Yes, I am annoyed, but I hope it'll change.
Anyone here reading the books by Rick Riordan? I think it's only a matter of time till we get an officially ace-aro character in mainstream YA fiction.

[Adam_Jensen]

2 hours ago, Luftschlosseule said:

And if you happen to have a person without an on-screen relationship, you have loads of fandom people who will tell you that this person is homosexual. I am talking about those that see it as an offense if you don't agree. Yes, I am annoyed, but I hope it'll change.
Anyone here reading the books by Rick Riordan? I think it's only a matter of time till we get an officially ace-aro character in mainstream YA fiction.

Yea I'm big fan of R.R. read most of his books,including all the Percy Jackson books,same with Heroes of Olympus and the Kane trilogy.

He's LGBT friendly so maybe/hopefully we'll see an ace character appear in the future.

[Hermit Advocate]

YES. This annoys me so much. Sometimes it's okay, but a lot of times the parings feel forced, like the main couple has to get together for the sole reason that they were single and so they must be unhappy. 

[Annie9]

I do like it when a few of the characters find their SO and I don't like fast romance either but when every single one of them find a partner, that's just annoying and weird. 

 

[Tystie]

@Dark General: no, it's not just you. It annoys me, too.

 

I'll watch romcoms, and I even enjoy some of them. So, it's not the romance that annoys me, exactly. Rather it is the impression I sometimes have that there is only one kind of happy ever after in Hollywood, and that involves being with another person, and probably having kids. 

 

I know I've mentioned it before, but Sex In The City was the series that really left me angry with the way it ended. The show was about single women, and that was actually quite empowering for someone who was--yes--a single woman.  Even if I didn't relate to the characters' sexual adventures, I thought the show was sending out a positive message to single people. You can be career minded. You can live on your own. And that's perfectly okay. 

 

So, how did Hollywood see fit to end the series? By giving alll the lead characters a happy ever after that involved being with the right man. 

 

The thing was, the ending felt so wrong to me, given everything that the series had been up until that point. The ending undid everything that had come before. At least that's how it seemed to me...or how I remember it now.

 

I'd like to see some variety in the kinds of endings we get given. Yes, have some people paired up and with kids; there's a market for that sort of thing. But don't let everyone end up that way. It's not realistic. I'd like to see other versions of happy ever after, not just because I want to see things I can buy into, but also because a steady diet of the same thing gets really boring. C'mon, writers and programme makers! Show some imagination! Break the mould! Please!

 

Ending on a less ranty note, at least there have been some Disney stories recently that have depicted other kinds of love than just romantic love. More of that, please!

[iff]

On 14/2/2017 at 4:42 PM, Polygon said:

Yes, and it's always obvious who the love interest is right off the bat. Especially in movies...it takes like half a second to recognize the main lead that's the opposite sex of the protagonist and go "Yep, that's the generic love interest that exists solely for that purpose". 

 

 

Doesn't relly annoy me that much in films because films tend to be shorter experiences in total than a series so there is less time to get the plot out and people into it. often a producer will make a film decision in the first 10 pages so that is part of the reason.

 

however tv tends to always have obvious relationship material, i i remeber the second episode of new girl had me thinking nick and jess will get a relationship together. leonard's love of penny started in the pilot.  mindy and danny in the mindy project is another one that was obvious early on.

 

i have my theory on younger about the relationship that would work for the main character

 

community didn't even try to mascaraed it as something else then pulled back altogether from their initial looks for jeff's relationship. that was a great show, i miss it.

 

On 14/2/2017 at 7:32 PM, Laurann said:

 

  Hide contents

To be completely honest I always go  American TV... Because honestly that's something movies or TV series from the US always do.

I could be wrong, but British TV doesn't seem to have this problem as much.

 

 

i think you are right in this regard, but if you have seen bbc/showtime's episodes which is an american/british hybridesque show

 

in an early episodes in the first season, matt le blanc's character matt le blance explains to stephan mangan's character whose name eludes me that a reason this is less of an issue in british sitcoms than in american's is because  of the number of episodes. generally in british, it is 6 episodes a year if you are lucky. in total maybe 24 episodes but in the US, 24 episodes may be a full season, that is a lot of late nights for the writers coming up with stories and at midnight, maybe all you got is a romantic link between two episodes.

[Éadweard]

Yes. It's like everyone thinks we're supposed to pair off like Noah's arc or something. 

[Soraiko]

It annoys me so much. Especially if the love interest, who's often female for some reason. is given zero characterization, yet the audience is told that they're so amazing and wonderful with not actual evidence to support it. It's part of what's annoying me while playing Final Fantasy XV. 

Also often more than half of the pairings don't even make sense. They're characters that don't even like each other, have barely/or never met, have zero things in common. They just pair them off and the only people left single and usually the "weird" people. It's annoyed me so much with Naruto. Most of those people don't even like the person they get paired off with, or barely know them, or have no logical reason why they'd be with that person except just because. I end up having to give up on series because they way they pair people off in the ending gets so terrible, or they start it during the series and just pair people in unrealistic and illogical couples. "Yeah, the people from completely different time periods are going to work sooooo well together. You know with one of them giving up their entire life/family/friends for some random stranger and likely dying because there's no way they'd survive." Comic books do it too. Everyone gets paired with everyone else all the time because a lot of them go on so long and nobody ever stays with just one person, except for like Mr.Fantastic and The Invisible Woman they've been together forever. Half of the pairings are just creepy and disturbing too with people that don't get along/have nothing in common/aren't even the same species which would probably result in scary diseases/aren't from the same dimension/universe/time.

 

I can be okay with romance, but it's usually just so bad and lazy. It hardly ever makes any sense. D:

[James121]

On 14/02/2017 at 4:26 PM, Dark General said:

Hey, so I've noticed that a lot of times in movies, tv shows, and books that everyone is almost always paired off. There's never anyone that stays single. I've found that this annoys me to a huge extent, especially if there are no female characters that stay single. I feel like it annoys me because it plays into the common message that nobody can be happy or fulfilled on their own and that everyone needs someone else to be happy. I guess you could say that I really dislike the pairing of spares. To be honest, it gets old after a while seeing everyone in the story becoming the boyfriend/girlfriend/husband/wife of another character. Does anyone else feel this way or is it just me?

It just bemuses me as to why this would annoy anyone. People habitually become romantically involved in real life life so why wouldn't a soap or a movie portray the same behaviour? 

[Luftschlosseule]

1 hour ago, James121 said:

It just bemuses me as to why this would annoy anyone. People habitually become romantically involved in real life life so why wouldn't a soap or a movie portray the same behaviour? 

Because some people don't become habitually romantically involved and it would be nice to feel aknowlegded.