1. Romantic Love’s Influence on Media
Specific to Western Culture
By: Matt Kmiecik

2. Definitions of Love
• Robert A. Johnson: 2 definitions of love-
Human Love Romantic Love
•Find meaning in ordinary •Exciting drama where a
things couple is “high” on one
•Lasting and growing another
•Content with things that •“fire”
romantic love would be •Intensity
bored •“more than friends”
•Quiet steady love •A couple will expect this ideal
love to fulfill their desires,
needs and fantasies

3. Problems With Romantic Love
• Jacob J. Weinstein
– Romantic love has a couple fall in love with a
picture perfect projection of a lover
– Romance feeds on the unique, exotic, and
sentimental
– Romantic love crowds out old family image
– Media has shaped romantic love to be ideal love

4. Problems With Romantic Love
• Jacob J. Weinstein
– Romantic love’s influence on marriage:
• Paradox: romantic love temporary marriage permanent
• Couples who don’t feel exotic romantic love= not be with each
other?
• Increasing divorce rates because of romantic love
• Couples expect romantic love to persist through marriage,
when it doesn’t the couple is unhappy
• Marriage must kill romance to survive

5. Media
• Jacob J. Weinstein: Media has shaped romantic love
to be ideal love
• Books/novels/poems
– Filled with love stories (Fiction/non-fiction)
– Encourages fantasy and dreams

6. Media
• Magazines
– Cosmopolitan
– Glamour

7. Movies
• Biggest influence on romantic love
• Weinstein: Hollywood has overplayed
romantic love

8. Romantic Love: A Problem?
• If romantic love is so bad then why are there
countless numbers of books, magazines, and
movies about romantic love?
• Is romantic love really causing the divorce rate
to go up?
• Since romantic love was created can it be
destroyed?