Is it just me or does the whole love triangle ridiculous-ness seem to have y grown exponentially out of hand? Personally, I am so tired of reading a book or watching a movie and halfway into it, BAM! Triangle of Amore! Then the awkward angst begins, playing out for what seems like a century too long, turning our once strong protagonist (usually a girl) into a weeping, whining Bella Swan (Note: Bella was never a solid role model to begin with). Let’s review the evidence.
Unrealistic plot point: First off, I have yet to meet a guy or girl who has ever experienced this apparently wide-spread love triangle syndrome. If you have, please raise your hand now. Did I miss the bus to love-triangle island? This ridiculous affair doesn’t exist in reality. What the author perceives to be building of tension and anxiety is actually bringing down the quality of the book. I use these so called “books” to roast my marshmallows over. For some reason they always taste like teen puberty.
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No one’s going to be happy: This applies to both the characters and readers. In character land, the protagonist is going to end up breaking someone’s heart in order to decide who she wants to be with. Nine times out of ten, it’s the guy she meets first who is this oh-so-perfect gentleman and rides a white horse (not literally). The reader, who is now sporting a t-shirt that says, “Team [insert hottie’s name here]” is rooting for a guy who has a fifty percent chance of winning. We all know how this ends. It’s not going to be pretty.
The Two Males: Two super-hot, über in-shape men with the faces of Gods, glide in with the fanfare of Caesar. I can already smell trouble. The protagonist, on the other hand, is usually a girl somewhere between mediocre and pretty who suddenly finds herself in a male-pissing contest over the right to date her. Since when do two teenage boys (or even adults for that matter) fight over a girl? Last time I checked, guys are lazy and don’t work for what they want. They crave for something easy, pun intended. Anyway, these two male figures are always the complete opposite of each other. I always believed that girls usually go for a particular “type” and date within that range, not polar reversals. Take Edward-overprotective-controlling-Cullen and Jacob-I-date-babies-Black. Can we get two different people (ruling out the species difference)? Yeah, that’s what I thought.
The “Good Guy” and the “Bad Boy”: How does one snag a gentleman and a rebellious bad boy in less than fifty pages (or thirty minutes?). Oh, how I wish I had the answer. Let’s dissect these two motifs. The gentleman, usually the one the girl falls in love with, treats her like a princess, opens car doors, and picks up the tab. Who are these guys and where can I find one? His foil, the handsome, reckless, bad boy, can sweet talk the clothes off your body just by looking at you. He’s mysterious, enticing, and unpredictable. Once again, where in reality can I find this? The writers are setting a girl’s expectation way too high. How can any guy compete with this model of perfection? Oh right, sorry, this is a fictitious scenario and I am supposed to imagine all of this happening and go along with it. I most definitely won’t get my expectations up, desperately looking around every corner for Mr. Perfect and of course, that fabled lover’s-triangle. High expectations, much? Absolutely… not.
I guess a seemingly normal guy with normal expectations is just too ordinary. Fine, I’ll bite but can’t we have a strong protagonist, then? At least set an example for young girls, and women in general, to follow instead of having unrealistic expectations of men. I would rather have regular guy than some creepy stalker obsessed with my blood love.
Sources: http://community.sparknotes.com/2011/05/26/ask-jono-love-try-angles