When Rory Gilmore kissed Jess at Sookie’s Wedding in season 2 of “Gilmore Girls”, I think 7-year-old me leaped off the couch of joy. This is exactly what I have been waiting for. All the built-up tension had me hooked from the beginning. Who needs Dean anymore? I was a die-hard Jess all the way. The idea that Rory had cheated on Dean completely flew over my head and I fear too quickly.
I have watched that show for 10 years and now when I watch that scene, I’m in awe but like, yikes. These kinds of cheating tropes in movies and shows are put there to entertain the audience and create that climax everyone is waiting to watch. Now when I see these scenes, I get irritated. I rewatch movie after movie from “The Notebook” to “Titanic”, and I go through the same thought process.
Do people watch this and not think about the “other guy” or the “other girl” getting cheated on? It’s become so normalized that it feels like you can’t seem to find a movie these days where someone is not getting cheated on. Don’t get me wrong, I love classics like these, but the older I got, the more it seemed to bother me. The viewers on the other side of the screen are over millions of different kinds of people, some more vulnerable than others.
I understand “heat of the moment” and “they are the love of my life”. But what I don’t seem to understand is the fact that this entire time they are in a fully committed relationship with someone else. I am a sucker for a good plot and an insane way to twist a story any day. My problem with this is that it’s too frequent. It can seem repetitive and redundant to the point where every other movie has the same plot.
These plots can shape viewers’ subconscious beliefs and expectations. The media tends to communicate emotionally rather than logically. These stories can alter how audiences perceive betrayal and loyalty. I wouldn’t say to stop watching these amazing movies and shows that capture you in and are an emotional rollercoaster, because that’s the fun part.
What I would say, for the most part, is to be able to separate the cinematic drama from real life. They never show what happens after the main characters cheat because it ends in the “happy ending”. These are things that are ok to enjoy. Fiction serves as a playground for intense drama without real-world consequences. Do not let what you see on TV dictate your relationships, boundaries or self-worth.