THE ERA OF THE PROMISCUOUS SINGLETON IS WELL AND TRULY UPON US

Whether we like it or not, films play an important part in shaping our culture. Just look at the effect Braveheart had in paving the way for Scottish devolution: There were standing ovations in cinemas across Scotland, the film was used for the SNP’s political broadcasts, and there is now a statue next to the Wallace Monument with Mel Gibson’s face on it and ‘Braveheart’ written across its shield.

Did your average man on the street even know there was such a thing as a female orgasm, before Meg Ryan’s infamous restaurant performance in When Harry Met Sally? And Julia Roberts surely played a part in the glamorisation of prostitution, paving the way for Billie Piper. When I was just six, I remember noting how impressive it was for a woman to be able to hold her alcohol, when watching Karen Allen downing shots in Raiders of the Lost Ark – is it any wonder that a large proportion of females of my age are now ‘binge drinkers’?


So what has recent cinema told us? Well, as we all know, we’ve moved on from the Bridget Jones days of the silly and desperate singleton to the new improved, sexually promiscuous and, above all, much happier than your average married, singleton, AKA Sex and the City. And now they’re really rubbing it in; no one wants to end up on Revolutionary Road, and who would you prefer to be in Barcelona; the free and sexually liberated Cristina or the frustrated and sexually nervous (and newly married) Vicky? The scene in Happy Go Lucky in which Poppy visits her sister is a classic table turn on the chick flick, so much so that being married with kids is conveyed as the worst possible option.

So, with the era of the promiscuous singleton well and truly upon us, is marriage about to become the ultimate admission of being an incomplete and unfulfilled individual, or will the ‘happy ever after’ of the boy meets girl story finally be elaborated on in film, in a positive and interesting way?

Watch this space…

Posted 01:58 PM on Sun Feb 08 2009

By Wedding Belle

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