Every human being has parents in some sort of sense and most parents wish the best for their children, which typically includes the wish that their children will find a spouse or a life partner. But do our parents really expect us to go out into the world and foster healthy intimate relations when they set such poor examples for us? It seems like most of my peers can tell tales of their parents' arguments and unhappiness'. Oh sure, not all marriages are depressing, but even those marriages that look pristine from far away are in fact brittle when the veil comes down.
Once children realize that their parents are providing them with poor examples of how to have intimate relationships, they turn to the fiction of movies and television to satisfy their needs. But, alas, television shows are only reinforcing the idea that successful intimate relationships are impossible. Several of today's most successful shows are actually using this theme to bring audiences back week after week. In some shows the main characters are presented as being so independent in mind and lifestyles that as much as they want to have intimate relations with their co-stars, they can't. Such shows as FOX's House, FOX's Bones, and the new ABC show Castle quickly come to mind as examples of this situation. Each of these shows has a male/female duo who week after week jitterbug around each other but never do the tango. Are these shows professing the truth that no matter how great two people seem for each other, they really shouldn't be an intimate couple because they would only end up making themselves miserable?
The home and television appear to be teaching the same lesson: intimate relationships are troublesome and to be avoided. But my mind screams, how can this be!? Unlike some other animals, humans are supposed to mate with one partner for life and our offspring are supposed to be raised by both parents.
I don't want our homes, movies, or television shows to revert to a “Father knows best” or even a “Mother knows best” attitude. Neither of these would solve the need for an example of two people peacefully, constructively, and lovingly working together.
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POSTED BY MICHELLE (on the abandoned Yahoo 360! blog)
ReplyDeleteLaurie, you are quite observant and have such analytical thoughts. You should be in my capstone right now...I just sit there and feel like my brain is melting, completely uncomprehending of the discussion that is going on around me. I have to agree with your observations...and I have never looked at it from this point of view.
Certainly, I can say that this is something you are better at. (<-- oops, "at" at the end of a sentence)
My clumsy brain has no ability to finagle the more delicate aspects of life, nor does it have the patience to philosophize over their value. =/
~Michelle
(Yes, I do read your blog!)
I would argue that humans are quite the OPPOSITE! If humans were meant to with one partner for life and raise kids together, we would not have cheating and divorces. I would postulate that Humans have an innate programming to breed on a mass-scale. That's why so many cultures celebrate men who procreate with may women as powerful, or have no concept of monogamy whatsoever.
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