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The Team Edward, Team Jacob Complex

This article is written by a student writer from the Her Campus at UC Riverside chapter.

Is it just me or does Hollywood seem to be portraying some sort of Team Jacob, Team Edward complex in a bunch of movies and television shows nowadays. How realistic would it be for a girl to have two guys pinning after her. And not just TWO guys but two flawless specimen who are kind, caring, and devoted to the well being of the female character. Don’t get me wrong, what sort of girl wouldn’t dream of that happening to her. But then again, I am starting to see those girls in these movies and TV shows as guileless and heartless. Men are human beings too! You can’t just leave them stringing along while you struggle to make “your choice”. Jeez. I’ve seen this Edward-Jacob complex in about almost every hit movie and TV show out there to date. You’ve got the Twilight Saga, and then you’ve got This Means War starring Reese Witherspoon and two cute guys whose names I can’t remember, Because I Said So starring Mandy Moore, the CW’s hit show The Vampire Diaries, Gossip Girl (at one point with the whole Chuck-Nate-Blair thing), MTV’s Awkward (go team Matty!) and I’m sure there are more that I can’t seem to think of at the moment.

In The Vampire Diaries what’s the deal with Elena leaning on not just two men, but two brothers! Just choose one already! Either way she can’t lose. To me this sort of “oh they’re both so wonderful, I can’t choose” behavior has grown tiring. It’s seems to be that in our generation this “complex” has risen simply from the fact that most of us don’t want to choose or commit to anything because we are constantly waiting for the “next big thing” to arrive. Why settle down with nice Joe when guys like Ryan Gosling exist right? It’s great to dream but maybe we shouldn’t take these movies and TV shows too seriously. I feel like it only sets us up for disappointment later on. What do you think?

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Nicole Martinez

UC Riverside

Nicole is a senior at UC Riverside where she is majoring in Media and Culture studies. She co-founded the Her Campus UC Riverside chapter her sophomore year in college. She loves to spend her free time watching The Mindy Project, Girls, Pretty Little Liars, and other shows with leading ladies. She also dabbles on tumblr, instagram (obviwearetheladies), and twitter. Mindy Kailing and Shoshanna are her spirit animals and in the near future she hopes to achieve elite status on Yelp, pursue a career in Public Relations and ultimately conquer the world.