I realized in the shower that I don't like romance. I might like it in real life (although I can't say for sure since I haven't been in a romantic relationship before, but the idea is kinda sweet) but when it comes to romance in media like TV, movies, and books, I do not enjoy it at all.
This thought came about this past weekend. A friend and I drove up to Kamloops to visit another friend, and we were thinking of things to watch on Netflix. The series Riverdale came up, and my Kamloops friend compared it to The Vampire Diaries and How To Get Away With Murder. I don't like those two shows, but suddenly today, in the shower, I really thought about why I didn't like them. So, I've seen odd episodes of TVD and I've watched half of HTGAWM's first season. I told my friend that the characters annoyed me, but the real reason is because those shows are romance driven...Like if TVD wasn't initially about Elena irrationally falling in love with Stefan and more about their world of vampires in itself without the need of a male, I'd probably be interested. Or how HTGAWM's plot is really furthered by affairs, I probably would have continued watching it. It just got so annoying and very unrealistic...
Then I thought about the TV I do watch: I watch crime shows (NCIS, Criminal Minds, Elementary, Grimm, and recently I've been marathoning Hawaii Five-0). It is people-based plot, more about human nature and how to deal with it; the romance is very much side-lined and I like that a lot. Of course there are romantic notes every once in a while, but it doesn't suffer with or without it. If the love interests were completely taken out of TVD and HTGAWM, I don't think there'd be much of a show.
Meh, my thoughts. What do you think of romance?