Is it considered "normal" to have a strong distaste for any material containing Romance?

[GTwander]

I used to hate romantic themes, but only because they were thrown into just about any story just for the sake of having it. It works when it genuinely blossoms over time, and you can see it happen, and thusly appreciate it - but for the most part it's there just because "it has to be".

Anyone who played Indigo Prophecy will know exactly what I mean.
The fuck. Seriously.

 

[Dalisclock]

I personally don't have anything againest romance in fiction. My problem becomes when it either adds nothing, or even worse, takes times and focus away from something else that's more interesting.

A good example I can think of is the Stephen King Book "Wizard and Glass". Being part of the Dark Tower series, it's supposed to be about Rolands past and more specifically, the big epic war that led to the downfall of his kingdom. Instead, it's pretty much about Roland dicking around in Mexico(ish), meeting a girl, falling in love with her and all that jazz. The big epic battle we've heard about before and that the book was supposed to be about? Gets about a page.

Yeah, Mr. King, no offense, could you have spent a little more time on the big epic war/battle you promised us and a little less on Roland's Girlfriend?

 

[Phasmal]

Well, I guess it depends.
If you're someone who just doesn't like romance plots or themes then thats normal, but if you're one of those people who gets all angry and bitter at romance whenever they see it, then thats a little less normal. And more annoying.

 

[Calvin Green]

I have a very good friend who is asexual (not sexually interested in either sex) and he is a very sane and fascinating person; definitely not what most would call ?normal? though. He simply is NOT sexually or romantically inclined. Still, there are plenty of people like that and the vast majority of them are fellow geeks, dorks and nerds. I think Nerds and the like tend to have more skeptical, cynical and reclusive personalities and that often negatively colors their attitudes towards romance.

I can certainly sympathize with a person who hates media romance out of cynicism. I USED to hate watching couples kiss or do anything overtly romantic because I WANTED it and was really down on myself for not being able to get it. Since then I?ve vastly improved my own life in the romance dept. and now I can really enjoy a thoughtful romantic plot/subplot every now and again.
There are MANY reasons why a person might dislike romance; some may be stranger than others. I?d say the real trick is taking a good look at yourself and asking ?why do I not like this?.

 

[Calvin Green]

Furthermore try watching 500 Days of Summer; It's a movie about a romance that's actually Incredibly realistic with depth and humor. In many ways it?s an ?anti-love story?; there aren?t any cliché ?make-up kiss in the rain? type moments, the romance happens mostly in very day-to-day non-romantic settings (Ikea and a record shop to name a few) The plot is centered around the rise and fall of a relationship resulting from the little differences in expectations that greatly affect our own romantic experiences.

 

[Bad Jim]

This goes to you Mulder & Scully! Nine years? But the good thing with them two is it never played into the show - you just got playful hints that more was going on. Very professional.

It was pretty obvious that more was not going on. There was a brain swap episode where Mulder was swapped with some guy. He does what any normal guy would do, if he was working with the lovely Dana Scully. He tries a little romance. Scully immediately realises he is not the real Mulder, even though she usually refuses to believe anything weird until it is impossible to ignore.

 

[Nantucket_v1legacy]

This goes to you Mulder & Scully! Nine years? But the good thing with them two is it never played into the show - you just got playful hints that more was going on. Very professional.

It was pretty obvious that more was not going on. There was a brain swap episode where Mulder was swapped with some guy. He does what any normal guy would do, if he was working with the lovely Dana Scully. He tries a little romance. Scully immediately realises he is not the real Mulder, even though she usually refuses to believe anything weird until it is impossible to ignore.

More was not going on?
I disagree. In that episode Scully knew it was not Mulder because the guy was coming on far too strongly. The guy actually groped her backside! Mulder would never have dared and he was an awkward loser who chased aliens and watched porn all night - he hardly had much of a social life outside of The X-Files and The Lone Gunmen.

I just think back to episodes such as Bad Blood and the Baseball one.

In Bad Blood, Mulder and Scully re-tell a case to each other the way they saw it through their eyes. Whereas Scully saw a handsome Sheriff, Mulder explained how the Sheriff was clearly a redneck with "big buck teeth". When she asked him to explain why that was relavent he replied, "Just trying to be thorough". Clear sign of jealously.

In that baseball one they embrace closely and well... play baseball.

I'm not into shipping of characters but it was painfully obvious past season 3 that Mulder had the hots for her and it wasn't until Season 5 subtle hints were being dropped. When William (Scully's son) was born they actually kissed and in Season 9 they ended the show in bed together.

The second movie also stated they were in a relationship and shared a house together.

Now we've gone way off topic lol.

 

[Blood Brain Barrier]

I think it was Balzac who said "Woman are savage beasts that we have idealised into something beautiful". This is true for me, and I was fooled for a long time. Sex is for reproduction; romance is for fools who are unwilling to see the truth of that. Women are not beautiful, gentle and fragile petals with puritan morals. They may put on that act to get what they want but in accordance with biological laws, all they want is to reproduce, raise kids and die. Men are no better, and probably worse.

 

[nexus]

Romance in the west, especially in the US, is used in such a manner that it actually becomes anything but romantic. It's usually hokey, unrealistic and causes psychological problems the more you watch it. Case in point, Disney. Just Disney, I needn't say more.

If you grow up without any emotional guidance in the sex and relationship department (which is always the case), then you grow up idolizing the entertainment industry "romance" paradigm. In this paradigm, all women are worshiped, and are princesses, no matter what kind of person you are. All men are to receive said princess, because it is owed to them, no matter what kind of person you are.

So many people are sexually frustrated, confused and ultimately just completely and deliberately repressed by a consumerist society that doesn't give a shit about them.

 

[crusador90]

I also cannot for the life of me, understand the entire concept of "shippping" and why fans are so obssessed over the pairings and relationships of characters from their favorite whatever.

Watch moar Jake 2.0

If you're talking about the new Cap film it was all about the romance... you really can't have been paying much attention to it at all if you didn't notice

I remember Captain Prissypants proving himself to be physically unsuited to the military, but having the right mindset. I remember that was why they tried the super-soldier crap on him and he grew man-boobs. I remember that he spent a large portion of the movie basically doing USO shows or some shit instead of actually fighting. I remember that Red Skull was in it and was trying to use a tesseract to power a doomsday weapon. I remember that Cap crashed into the ice at the end.

I don't remember any romance.

There was romance, but it didn't really amount to anything.

Whatever.