The lower the temperature is outside, the more time you'll find me snuggled up on my dangerously comfortable futon, hiding from the cold. As I sit typing this I am doing just that, perfectly wrapped in my plush blanket, half ass watching what my roommates have on the HBO channel. The movie playing tonight happens to be Cinderella Story starring Hilary Duff and the ever so dreamy Chad Michael Murray. I am just catching the ending, which from what I can see is the true definition of a sappy teenage love story...Chad Michael Murray, who happens to be the star football player with his perfectly chiseled arms hanging out of his football pads, is currently running off the football field to catch Hilary Duff, who of course is a perfect size two blonde that any girl would aspire to look like. He catches her, and after a dramatic "let me stare into your eyes and realize how much I like you even though this would realistically be incredibly awkward to do in a public place." scene, Chad smooches Hilary in front of the whole stadium while confessing his love to her. If that isn't perfect enough for you, the movie ends when the two enroll in Princeton, and "live happily ever after".
I laugh out loud, I can't handle the cliché storyline! I used to get a kick out of this "fairy tale" stuff, but now I am so quick to see how unrealistic the images that these writers, and producers are placing in front of our eyes truly are. The main characters represent the "idealistic" male and female. They give you Chad, a star football player with his athletic physic and gorgeous looks, which make him the most popular and most eligible boy in school. Then you have Hilary, whose attractive characteristics make her the ideal desirable female. Although an extremely sad realization, when you think about it the whole story would be changed if Chad was a rough, dark haired skateboarder, or if Hilary was an overweight teenager in her awkward stage. That is considered unappealing in today's world, and what producer or writer would allow that onto the big screen? The college they send these characters two is an Ivy League School, one that is ranked most prestigious among the best universities worldwide. Statistics taken from the Universities website show that most students who got into Princeton last year had GPAs close to a 4.0, SAT scores above 2100, and ACT composite scores above 30. Obviously the average student in America does not hold these qualifications. You may argue that it is beneficial to provide young people with high college aspirations through these images, but to me it just seems to create an unrealistic view on life in general.
I'll admit to my extreme jealously of Hilary Duff's chance to kiss Chad Michael Murray (I mean have you seen those blue eyes....) but I won't let the media fool me this time.
