Three to tango?

For today's blog, let's start out by traveling back in time to a simpler year: 1998.  The biggest national issue was whether or not the president hooked up with a 23 year old, rather than, say crushing unemployment or people comparing the president to a Nazi because of his healthcare reform plan.  Also notable: a little show called "Dawson's Creek" went on the air.  Like many other young people, I watched it for awhile.  I think I gave up on it at some point in high school, but for awhile there, it was the hottest show around for the young folks.  These days, you more often hear of it as a reference point for soapy teen dramas.  To me, it stands out as the beginning of something significant: the overwrought love triangle in teenage entertainment.

I know, they didn't invent the love triangle.  It's been a dramatic device since the beginning of dramatic devices.  I didn't watch "90210", but I'm sure they did their share of love triangles as well.  It's more that "Dawson's Creek" is the first time I can remember where the love triangle became the single overriding storyline for the show.  Now, it's nearly a requirement.  Off the top of my head, the following are shows/books (some "intended" for teens, some not) that feature a love triangle as one of the most significant plotlines:

"Gossip Girl"
"The Vampire Diaries"
"Gilmore Girls"
"Life Unexpected"
Twilight
The Hunger Games
"Grey's Anatomy"
"Glee"
"Bones"
"Community"
"The Office"


I'm sure anyone reading this is already thinking of other instances.  What I find most interesting is that most shows/books that are all about the love triangle are geared towards women.  Not exclusively, of course.  However, it does seem like the people behind these know that that is a surefire way to reel in female viewers.  When did that become the fantasy of choice for so many women?  I don't remember voting for that. 

It's often set up the same way.  There's the obvious choice (the Dawson).  Usually, the apex of the triangle (the Joey) starts out in love with the Dawson.  The Dawson is a noble do-gooder who is initially inaccessible, either by being too dense to notice that his best friend looks like Katie Holmes, or by, say, being a vampire.  Once the initial obstacle is surpassed, the Joey and the Dawson get together.  That's when the Pacey comes swooping in.  The Pacey is generally "bad" (mildly rebellious), but with a heart of gold.  Another way to differentiate him from the Dawson is that the Dawson is entirely humorless.  The Pacey is funny.  He encourages the Joey to let loose a little bit.  Jealousy, fights, and longing looks ensue, the decision is drawn out until the end of the trilogy, series run, what have you, and then the Joey makes her final choice, for reals this time.  Generally, the Dawson gets picked when that initial romance has been set up as a true love situation.  Like, say, Twilight or "The Vampire Diaries", or even "Grey's Anatomy."  If nobody has suggested that the Dawson is the true love, the Joey is free to pick the Pacey.  As she did.  Because when it comes down to it, unless we're saying true love, we're going to pick the dude with the personality.

The love triangle is inhibiting.  No matter how many years go by, the Joey is only ever going to be picking between the Dawson and the Pacey.  Other men may show up and toss their tousled locks dramatically, but they don't stand a chance.  Instead, it's years and years of wavering between the same two people.  Imagine being friends with these people.  If I had been friends with the Joey, I would have given her up as a lost cause after about six months of that nonsense.  I can only be a sympathetic friend who wants to hear about your relationship troubles for so long.  At least have the courtesy to throw some variety in there.

Like I said, it's not perfect.  "Community" has fun with this by having the more obvious pair in the love triangle (Jeff and Britta) both be terrible people.  The less obvious choice (Annie) is more of a Dawson.  The general model stands, though.  If the Dawson is the true love, he gets picked.  If he's not, the bad boy gets picked.

The weirdest part of all of this?  I can almost always figure out who's going to get picked, but I have still watched/read all the items on that list.  And that is why I am perpetuating the Love Triangle Monster That Will Never Die. 

When I decided to write about love triangles, I wanted to talk about why women are so obsessed with them, but I'd gone on for awhile and never really got into what I saw as the reasons behind the whole phenomenon.  You know, something about how part of the point of the female fantasy love triangle is being relatively chaste with the Pacey until a final choice is made.  But when I mentioned my idea for a love triangle post to my wise friend Caryn, her comment was, people want what they can't have.  I can't really argue with that, so there you have it.  Twilight is a multi-million dollar phenomenon because of how fun it is to watch people want what they can't have.