Pop culture has touched all our lives in some way. Our writers are just a little more open about it: meet Pop Addict, the semi-regular column where we talk about how pop culture has made us the brave citizens we are today.
Josh Schwartz ruined my life.
At the least, the ingenious producer has severely damaged my romantic one. He just keeps inventing the most perfect men, the most idyllic situations and taunts me with what’s realistically implausible. Guys like Gossip Girl’s Nate Archibald don’t walk around the corner and whisk you away despite being 10 times prettier than you are. And sure, I love Schwartz for giving me something to obsess about weekly and talk about obsessively with people just as obsessed as I am. The man’s invented the perfect formula for getting people hooked on his little guilty pleasures. But that’s exactly the problem: getting hooked.
The Josh Schwartzes of the world have created unrealistic expectations in girls everywhere, causing a general state of displeasure and disillusionment. It’s difficult for people to be happy with their lives when weekly depictions of romantic perfection are shoved in their faces. And although you should be watching purely for entertainment, it’s difficult to stop yourself from feeling a little distressed. For when the line between reality and Schwartz-ality begins to blur, you will find yourself quite dissatisfied with the normal state of things.
I’d like to say it started a few years ago with the whole The O.C. craze. To be honest, I resisted the show for a while. After all, the show’s premise sounded horrible: a bunch of rich, pretty California teens who frequently emo-out. Sadly, I can pinpoint the exact moment I changed my mind. It was the moment that Adam Brody walked onto my television screen and into my heart.
Suffice it to say, I fell deeply in love with Seth Cohen. Oh Seth Cohen. With his adorable Jew-fro, love for all things indie and snappy witticisms, he represented the perfect man… although in hindsight he was whiny, self-absorbed and dumped his girlfriend for arbitrary reasons. Being ridiculously good-looking helped mask those character flaws, as it usually does. A pretty face will do wonders for dressing up an imperfect situation, something the Schwartzes understand very well and use to entrance silly girls like me.
Regardless, his entire story was perfectly adorable: in love with a girl named Summer since his early childhood, too shy to ever speak to her, but then through the power of Schwartz-magic, they get together with a dramatic love confession atop a coffee cart. Such grand gestures are rare, practically non-existent, in real life, but they’re the kind that people fantasize about. Many girls dream about being swept off their feet with a bold and unforgettable act. And sure, Seth and Summer’s relationship was kind of bad, with the whole on-again/off-again cycle, but you always rooted for them to get back together. On-and-off couples — the paradoxically ideal American relationship. In real life, they’re illogical and looked down upon. But stick it on a screen with a little background music, and it becomes utterly romantic.
I’d sit there with friends, and we’d collectively squeal over how cute it was, and then bemoan the fact that there were no guys like that in real life, and we’d probably all die alone out of dissatisfaction with our current romantic lives. It should’ve ended there, with the bemoaning. But I subconsciously started to seek my own Seth Cohen.
I became increasingly attracted to skinny artists with dark curly hair. Although that had always been my type, Seth Cohen pushed my preference into a borderline obsession. When that category proved too narrow, I broadened my sights to dark curly haired guys in general. My boyfriend at the time, an unfortunate blonde, was not amused.
To this day, I’ve noticed my preferences shift according to whatever persona I’m enamored with at the time. For instance, I’m currently fascinated by one Chuck Bass. I know that beneath that Byronic facade, he really just wants to be loved — an oddly romantic concept. But the Seth-Cohen-type will always have a special place in my heart, as it was the one that started it all.
But dissatisfaction is the key term here. Too much of pop culture involves an unrealistic romance, loaded with the cutest possible gestures and acts specifically thought up to drive you crazy. Just think about all the crazed females and what they’ve been obsessed with over the years.
The Notebook was intensely popular for a while. Everyone wanted to find ‘their Noah’ — the kiss in the rain has practically become iconic. Nicholas Sparks in general has been a soothing read for middle-aged housewives craving a little romanticism in their bland realities. A friend of mine claims Sparks “ruined her life by telling her true love exists.” Case closed.
Am I claiming that pop-culture has destroyed people’s sanity in the quest for the perfect romance? Yes, or at least it’s contributed heavily to the cause. I mean, how many times have you been watching a show or reading a book and thought “Why not meeee? Why will this never happen in real life?” Doesn’t every girl deserve her happy ending? Yes, but unfortunately perfection only exists in Josh Schwartz’s mind. And he takes a perverse pleasure in destroying it.