Love in a 13 inch Box (or larger if you are lucky)

Television shows exist for their audience’s entertainment. If the show leaves the audience unsatisfied, then the show will most likely be cancelled due to lack of audience. However, when television deals with romance, love, and courtship they have to go by what their target audience wants. Does their audience want to see perfectly happy, and eternally in love couples, or do they want to see a bit of the real life they can relate to.

Even though I want my night in shinning armor to rescue me from reality, and ride me into the sunset on his beautiful white horse, the chances of that actually happening is probably slim to none. I have had a boyfriend for about 4 years now, and I would be lying if I said that we are perfectly happy and completely in love. My prince charming has a pile of dirty laundry on his floor and drinks milk from the carton. We are happy and in love…most of the time. A somewhat accurate comparison to my relationship would be Chandler and Monica’s relationship on the TV show “Friends.” They are happy and in love, but even the invented TV couple had their ups and downs, just like “real” couples do. Not to mention the amount of ups and downs the characters Ross and Rachel had on the show before they finally got together.

The majority of the relationships and courting portrayed on TV shows might not be a perfectly accurate reflection of society, but it is close enough for the viewers to relate to. Although certain situations might not apply to every person at a particular time, they might apply to that person in the future or to someone around them. For example, Chandler and Monica were not able to have children so they had to adopt, but it still worked out for them in the end.

As our society grows, courtship is becoming less and less about the passion and the romance in a relationship, but more about the equality of men and women. Why should women be treated more special then men?Although this might seem a little far fetched, is it possible that treating your partner as an equal could be taking away the elements of surprise and passion in a relationship? Would not treating a partner as an equal instead of someone you yearn for and feel lucky to be in the presence of make the relationship boring?