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The Life and Mind of DamnBlackHeart
This is to help me stay actively writing. So expect to see rants, tips on writing, thoughts on subjects, me complaining of boredom, reviews, anime, movies, video games, conventions, tv shows and whatever life throws at me.
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Fanfiction: Arranged Marriages |
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They were fun in the literature in the good old days, but nowadays it’s old news and it’s been done to death. Sure, it still goes on today but it’s largely practice in South Asia (India, Pakistan, Bangladesh, Sri Lanka), Africa, the Middle East and Southeast Asia. It’s usually seen among royalty and aristocratic families around the world. It’s also arranged by the parents or an older family member. They act as a matchmaking agent, finding someone who they believe is a suitable spouse for their daughter/son. Once they find someone it’s all up to the pair that are being matched to see if they are meant to be. Basically they are the ones that have the final say.
That’s what arrange marriages are, it’s not a force marriage. It’s like trusting a friend or family member to know you well enough when they pick you a blind date. They want you to be with someone who’s the best, that will treat you well but they also know to keep in mind to make sure it’ll be someone that you would like a lot.
Anyway, what bought this topic to my attention is coming across a fanfiction that deals with a arranged marriage. It was arranged by the parents for inheritance/power/to just bring the two families together. It so happens that the two characters hate each other but as always they end up falling in love. It made me realize that arranged marriages is a cliche and writers take the easy way out by using it just to bring together their favorite pairings.
It’s predictable and such stories are boring to read because we all know how it will turn out. It also unrealistic. Some writers don’t do their research and leave a lot of unanswered questions, like why would two American families in modern times do an arranged marriage force their children to marry each other? What do they gain from doing that? More so if they know their children hate each other? If they gain something is it a cliche thing (like wealth, power, popularity) which it usually is? There’s a lot of other questions but my point is, it’s America — the land of the freewill.
If anything, it would be more believable if two people got married because someone needed a Green card. They don’t even need to love each other, maybe they are friends and for whatever reason that friend needs/wants to leave their homeland. Maybe it’s to escape their abusive family, maybe it’s to follow their dream, or they’re a spy, etc. So the only way to help that friend is if they get married to each other. You see? That is an interesting and original twist to a boring, cliche such as the arranged marriage crap. And it’s realistic and makes sense.
It doesn’t matter how that story goes. There’s so many possibilities with it. Maybe they actually do end up falling in love? Maybe one of them realizes that their “friend” isn’t who they thought they were, they see their true colors and is now trapped in a horrible marriage with them. Or maybe it becomes a love triangle? The marriage is one-sided and the other is in love with someone else but can’t get a divorce because they do care about their “spouse” and doing that, it will get them in trouble or something.
I’m summarize this, drop the arrange marriages when it comes to stories that take place in the 21st century and are in places that such a thing is unheard of. If not do your research, be realistic and make sure it makes sense. Plus it helps if it’s unique and doesn’t follow the predictable cliche path that it always does.
 DamnBlackHeart · Wed Feb 08, 2012 @ 09:43pm · 0 Comments |
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