Valentine’s Day is typically perceived as a special day reserved for only the most picture-perfect couples. That perspective can’t be farther from the truth. We forget that it is meant to be a day of love. The general emotion of love looks different for everyone. Most people love their families, friends, pets, themselves (hopefully!) and other important aspects and relationships in life. From a societal standpoint, we have a habit of putting romantic relationships on a pedestal when in reality there are so many other important relationships a person has to consider. While I am not an expert, love is not always rose-colored. Within love comes chaos, anger, laughter and an entire spectrum of emotions. Media and movies are a reflection of how major emotions in life are perceived. Whether you are single, with friends, in a relationship or even recently broken up with, there is a Valentine’s day movie for everyone.
- The Holiday
-
While this movie can also work as a Christmas movie, it is the movie version of a cup of cocoa while watching the snowfall. The Holiday follows two women with their own contrasting relationship troubles. One is a seemingly cold multi-millionaire Hollywood film director, the other is a sweet hopeless romantic that resides in a cottage in snowy London. They both seek to escape their current lives as to not be alone on the holidays. They switch houses for a few weeks and the movie follows how both of them eventually meet who they were meant to be with. Within the movie, there are moments of comedy, despair, uneasiness, joy and of course love.
- 10 Things i hate about you
-
This one is a light-hearted early 2000s high school “chick flick.” The movie 10 Things I Hate About You follows the heartless main character, Kat. Her single father is an infantry doctor with crazy rules about dating for his two high school-age daughters. Younger sister, Bianca, is not allowed to date unless Kat does. Bianca happens to be Little Miss Popular while Kat is a social recluse by choice. With half the school being infatuated with Bianca, it becomes a mission impossible to get Kat to date in order for Bianca to be allowed to do so. Kind-hearted transfer student, Cameron, genuinely finds Bianca charming and has hopes to date her. A malicious male model, Joey, is more infatuated with Bianca. Both use the most likely bachelor as their pawn, Patrick, and pay him to date Kat in order for a chance to go out with the charming Bianca. Eventually, Kat softens up around Patrick and he slowly does develop genuine feelings for her. This movie is a feel-good light-hearted comedy following the main theme of love for Valentines and Galentines.
- Love is blind (Netflix series)
-
While this one isn’t a lighthearted rom-com, it still fits the theme of love. Love is Blind follows a science experiment turned into reality TV. Contestants enter these experiments with hopes of meeting their future life patterns without ever seeing them. They meet one on one in a “pod” where they can’t see each other but can only hear each other in order to hold a conversation. At the end of the week, contestants either drop out or propose. The newly engaged couples meet each other face to face and finally get to see who they were connecting with after only talking for a week. Couples then go on a month-long trial of living together up until the big day of the wedding. This show displays romantic love in a very raw and unedited way, as far as reality TV goes.