The fault in our times...

As you may have guessed by the title of the blog, I have recently finished reading The Fault in Our Stars by John Green. A beautifully written book which shows that Oblivion may be inevitable, but there's also an infinity there for everyone.

This isn't going to be a boring book review, don't worry, but it is going to be a reflection.

After reading the book, it made me realise that love stories are more than just boy meets girl, they fall in love and have babies, end of. There's so much more depth and beauty in a story than that. Disney Princess stories are typically an hour and a half of a strong female protagonist doing something cool, fighting baddies and winning the heart of a young man. And, as much as I love a typical love story like that, I prefer stories that don't have love at the heart of them. Obviously, TFIOS follows Hazel and Augustus' relationship, but at the same time, its also following Hazel's time with Gus, as opposed to just their 'lovey dovey stuff'.

Lets take, for example, Legally Blonde.

Elle Woods is a Fashion Major and President of her University's Soroity, she hopes to become engaged to her sweetheart, Warner... Who has other plans. He dumps her. She eventually follows him to Harvard Law School, where she aims to win him back. (BUT THAT'S A LOVE STORY, I hear you cry.)

Incorrect. The love story appears towards the end of the film. The whole of the film follows Elle through a tough semester, working her way to the top of the food chain, earning her own way and proving that there is more to her than just her blonde hair. She doesn't fall in love until the end of the film, when you see her and Emmett grow closer. And then, in the second film, (SPOILER) though she is marrying Emmett, that's put aside to show Elle becoming a successful lawyer.

Why is this important? Well, how many other films are there where the love of the female protagonist is put second? I'm sure there are a few good ones, but that's the problem, there are only a few.

What's my point? Why are we so engrossed in ridiculous ideas of love and fantasy? Why can't we all embrace our inner Elle and try and prove the people who have hurt us in our lives, wrong?

Frozen proved it right even more so:

If you're one of the few people out there who haven't seen Frozen, here's a run down. The girl pictured is Anna. She is one of two Princesses of Arendelle, with her older sister Elsa. However, after an accident as a child, Anna and Elsa are separated as Elsa has dangerous Ice and Snow powers which she loses control of and hits Anna, leaving her scared with a white streak in her hair. Eventually, they grow up and after the death of their parents Elsa must become Queen of Arendelle. At her Coronation, the people of Arendelle find out about Elsa's powers, and so Elsa runs away into the mountains. (And she sings the famous 'Let it Go')

This is where the story gets interesting, and important to this post. During Elsa's Coronation day, Anna meets Hans, a charming young Prince, because what else would you expect from a Disney Princess, right? Wrong. (Spoiler alert) Hans is a loser. Whilst Anna goes in search of Elsa in the mountains, she leaves her betrothed Hans, who she met the same day (Don't worry, Disney redeem themselves later on), in charge of Arendelle. If you want the rest of the plot, click here. (Another spoiler) All is well in the end.  What I'm trying to say is that there are two heroines in this story. Not just one, but two, as Elsa, though it seems as if she is the antagonist, is as strong as her sister. And, rather than the story being focused around the traditional form of love and marriage, we find that the strongest form of love comes from siblings. You could be separated for as many years as Anna and Elsa were, but you can still be there for each other and love each other. And it's beautiful. 

WE NEED MORE GIRL POWER FILMS. 

My favourite example of a girl power film, despite Frozen and Legally Blonde is Matilda. 

A story of a smart young girl who uses her brains to help other people, as well as her self. And the best part of this film, I hear you ask? There is no love story. Matilda does everything she does for the love of her friends, not just because there is a cute boy that she wants to marry. It could be said that Miss Honey and Matilda is the story's equivalent of a Happy Ending, rather than a traditional love story, because she does find love in Miss Honey, that which she lacked from her birth family, a slightly less traditional family love. Though there are some women in Matilda who are presented as vain or greedy, the story focuses on what you can achieve with the right support and motivation. 

What I'm trying to say is, there are too few films out there that focus on people's stories, instead they focus simply on love. Throwing in a love story to a film adaptation just because it'll make it more interesting? No. For the Fault in Our Stars, the love was the story. But for Legally Blonde, Frozen and Matilda, the story was the protagonist and their events. Any love that came out of it was naturally integrated into the story or wasn't present throughout. Make more films that tell the story and less films where a female protagonist is hopelessly in love with a man, who isn't actually that important to the story, for no good reason. 

Destiny's Child - Independent Women