Aaron Blevins

English 1102
Professor Schley
10 April 2014
Teenage Relationships: Reality vs. The Big Screen
Bleeker? I didnt think he had it in him! (Rietman).This is not the typical reaction a
parent has after they find out their teenage daughter is pregnant, as portrayed in the movie Juno.
Movies are rarely recognized for how unrealistic they are, because well, its a movie; however,
the unrealistic concepts still have an effect on young viewers. Romance movies influence the
perceptions that young adults have on love by making love seem easy and suggesting that
everything works out in the end. Some of most popular romance movies that feed into the
unrealistic expectations romance movies set are William Shakespeares Romeo and Juliet (1996),
The Notebook (2004), Juno (2007), and Twilight (2012). Whether it is dating a blood-sucking
monster, or falling in love at first sight, romance movies somehow fool young adults into
believing that perfect relationships are real.
Additionally, television shows such as Teen Mom and 16 and Pregnant have tried to
shed light on the reality of teenage relationships, specifically by showing them that having a
child is not always fun. These television shows counter every concept that is shown on the big
screen, including concepts like the abusive relationship in Twlight, the simple pregnancy and
happy ending in Juno, and even the idea that two people can fall in love at first sight like in
Romeo and Juliet. Popular belief suggests that parents dont approve of shows like 16 and
Pregnant, but studies have shown that after MTVs 16 and Pregnant aired teen birth rates took
a shocking decrease. According to an article by Jacque Wilson on CNN The study, released
Monday by the National Bureau of Economic Research, says "16 and Pregnant" ultimately led to
a 5.7% reduction in teen births in the 18 months after its premiere on TV (Wilson). Romance
movies make relationships seem easy and fun, while Teen Mom shows the hardships of being
a parent at a young age, and gets the bad reputation for corrupting our children.
The first issue of reality versus the big screen is violence. Many romance movies have
semi-abusive relationships, but the most prominent one has to be Twilight. In the Twilight series,
Bella falls in love with Edward, who keep in mind, is a vampire; meaning that Edward kills
people. Better yet, Bella even knows it. But for some reason she still wants to be with him. At
one point in the movie Edwards devious nature takes over as he tries to rid Bella of the venom
in her blood. Edward, stop. Her blood is clean. Youre killing her. Stop. Find the will
(Hardwicke). Furthermore, in reality if someones significant other was a murderer, their
relationship would not be supported by the public. Imagine dating someone who literally lives by
murdering others, doesnt sound too appealing does it? In Twilight the audience looks to support
Bellas desire for Edward, whether that is done by standing by his side fighting off other
vampires, or pushing away her other lover, Jake.
Edwards violent nature even expands into their relationship. After Bella and Edwards
first time having sex, Bella wakes up with bruises all over her body. Jokingly, many young
adults (and even some fully grown adults) would say something along the lines of sounds like a
great night! However, in reality that is anything but a great night. Very few people want to
wake up with bruises, especially after their first time. According to a recent article on CNN,
MTVs Teen Mom star Amber Portwood now faces domestic violence charges due to an
incident on her reality TV show -- where she is seen shoving, punching, slapping and choking
her boyfriend (Duke). Amber decided to take out her rage on her boyfriend on camera and is
now paying the price. Portwood is being charged with domestic violence, facing up to three
years in jail and a $10,000 fine, after physically abusing her boyfriend on multiple episodes of
Teen Mom. While Twilight supports abusive relationships, Teen Mom sets the example that
if you are going to be violent in a relationship you will be punished, no matter how frustrated
you are.
Along with violent relationships in movies, pregnancy is portrayed as much less
complicated than it really is. In the movie Juno, Juno Macguff gets pregnant as a result of having
sex with cross-country star Paulie Bleeker. The movie Juno presents pregnancy in a joking
manner, and gives no credit to what mothers actually have to go through to have a baby. In fact,
the only real complaint Juno has about being pregnant was when she sarcastically stated, I cant
wait to wear the elastic band on my pants (Rietman). Junos parents werent even angry when
they found out she was pregnant. Junos father and best friend even laughed when she shared
who the father of her child was. Additionally, Paulie and Junos relationship works out for the
best. The two best-friends are not in a relationship throughout the movie, but with a surprise
ending, the two decide they really love each other and decide to make it official.
In reality, most parents are not going to joke around about their teenage child being
pregnant. Certainly, parents will still love their children, but the disappointment will definitely
show. Episodes of Teen Mom and 16 and Pregnant show not only the hardships of being
pregnant, but also the strain it puts on the relationship itself. For example, in an episode of Teen
Mom 2 divorced couple Leah and Corey not only argue over putting their child, Ali, in school,
but they also argue over whether or not Ali has Ullrich disease.


Leah: What do you think it is?
Corey: I think its nothing
Leah: So all the tests are wrong? (Donnelly)
Unfortunately, giving birth at a young age can cause premature birth along with many
other genetic problems for the baby. However, the child is not the only one that can be affected.
Over 50,000 mothers under the age of 20 die every year due to birth complications (Carey).
The death rate of teen mothers should be enough to convince any young adult that having a baby
at a young age is not a good idea.
Finally, romance movies suggest that love at first sight is a real thing. Take the story of
Romeo and Juliet for example. Although originally written in the 17
th
century, Romeo and Juliet
hit the big screen in 1968 with many remakes between now and then, one of the most popular
made in 1996 staring Leonardo Decaprio. Romeo and Juliet is arguably one the most popular
romance stories of all time. The story of Romeo and Juliet involves the two lovers meeting at a
party without knowing that they come from rival families; however, they fall in love at first
sight. Romeo quotes, Did my heart love til now? Forswear its sight. For I have never saw true
beauty til this night.(Luhrmann). Although Romeo and Juliet both realize neither family will
ever approve of their love for each other, the couple decides not to give up on trying to form a
relationship and they end up dead in the process.
Lets look at this realistically. Romeo and Juliet fell in love at first sight. This means
that their love was formed purely off of physical features. They were in love without even
knowing the slightest detail about the other person. It is a well known fact that no relationship
will last long-term if it was formed solely on someones appearance. Yes, it is true that a key
American value is affective individualism (being able to chose who you are in a relationship
with), but not to the extent of Romeo and Juliet. Lastly, they only knew each other for three days
and two nights. Yet, the story ends with Romeo killing himself because he believes Juliet is
dead, and then Juliet waking up and killing herself because Romeo is dead. Are we really
willing to sacrifice ourselves for love with someone we have only known for three days? The
realistic answer is no. At least I would hope not.
In the end, reality is completely different than what is portrayed in the movies. If movies
were realistic they would be boring because well, we would have already seen them before they
were even released in theaters. Movies are a great way to show idealistic concepts, but it is
sometimes difficult not to dream about society actually being like it is in the movies. Media
plays a huge role in the perceptions of reality, especially with young adults. Wanting or
dreaming about having a perfect relationship is perfectly fine, but one must understand that in
reality there is no such thing as perfect.
What I have learned from writing this paper is that reality and movies are two different
things. However, I do understand that if the movies werent so unrealistic they would not be as
entertaining. I have discovered that movies are so enjoyable because it takes us out of reality and
into an idealistic world, one where love is endless. Yes, romance movies are beyond cheesy and
the concepts are fairly repetitive throughout the genre, but as long as we understand the line
where movies meet reality, whos to stop us from enjoying an hour and a half trip out of reality.