OPINION

opinion. SINGLE

ALL THE WAY

Unrealistic standards create pressure within high school to have a significant other.

BY KATE MCCARTHY PRINT EDITOR-IN-CHIEF

I’m with my best friend on the couch. We are gorging ourselves with snacks and binge watching the latest holiday rom-com flick. A couple stands in the middle of the street as snow falls gracefully on their shoulders. Reunited, staring longingly into each other’s glistening eyeballs underneath the holiday lights and completely forgetting about the past 78 minutes in which they fought, schemed and cheated on one another, they are...madly in love?

And that’s the worst, most nonsensical thing about the holiday season - the Hallmark movies flaunting wintery romance. They are unrealistic, predictable and absolutely inaccurate. You want the truth? Most, if not all, high school relationships just simply do not work. Girls have idealistic expectations and fall (off a cliff, into an abyss) for the wrong person. And in my experience, the adolescent male mind is a tad behind in terms of relational development. I will readily admit that this was written from the perspective of someone who likes boys, I am not trying to leave out other types of relationships and the different personal challenges that come with those- I apologize if it seems biased. Even wise and independent Gryffindor Hermione Granger from the Harry Potter series exclaimed that her boyfriend Ron Weasley had “the emotional range of a teaspoon”. That’s a high school couple that stayed together, and it must have taken true wizard magic because according to Couples Therapy Inc., less than 2% of all married couples consist of high school sweethearts.

I know for many high schoolers, especially girls, this can be hard to hear. Romance is flashed across our screens daily. We binge movies where the bad boy with the ‘I-hate-everyone’ mindset is captivated and then transformed by the unnoticed, nerdy girl across the street. Romantic, right? Wrong. These movies are drama and fiction, the stories are rare and fleeting and the “kids” in these films are 27-year-old actors who are paid to appear in love with the person standing next to them.

Teens fall hopelessly in love in a matter of days even in Shakespeare (“wherefore art thou Romeo?” I just met you but I’ll drink this poison to stay together with you in death - makes sense). It’s no wonder that our generation not only has a flawed view of what love is, but also feels a pressure to be in a relationship during formative years. We are constantly faced with the idea of living our lives fabulously thanks to the addition of social media. Whether it pertains to the perfect clothes, perfect body, perfect friends or perfect relationship, we present ourselves on a platform each day to compete with those around us.

I’m not saying that all young relationships are doomed to inevitably fail. It is true, there are rare occurrences where two people meet in high school and end up falling in love, getting married, and living happily ever after. The key word here though, is rare. But why are high school relationships so notoriously catastrophic? I discussed the conundrum with my peers and we arrived at one conclusion: Our generation is lacking the social script for dating.

You might ask, what is the social script for dating? Let me start here with some of the most common phrases I have heard about the love lives within Sion: “I need to wait five hours to snap them back”, “we just started talking, we don’t do labels”, “I don’t know if we’re exclusive yet”, “we lost the yellow heart - do they still like me?” These phrases are so common that I don’t think we register the ways that we’re behaving. Our generation is confused. We don’t know how to define a relationship, what is acceptable for phases of a relationship, how to have boundaries, how to have trust and so much more.

What defines a relationship? With the addition of, frankly, toxic platforms such as Snapchat and Instagram, we have come up with “the talking stage.” This new grey stage is one of the worst things we’ve ever invented - aside from the situationship of course. A situationship is defined as a romantic relationship that is and remains undefined, yet holds more significance than a casual encounter. When we create these scenarios we put ourselves in confusing situations and allow romantic interests to be flighty, uncommitting and to lead us on. It’s a fact that boys love the chase. Situationships are exactly that - a race with no finish line (except maybe a pit of lava and impending doom).

Perhaps this is why our generation is so prone to cheating. According to a poll sent out to the student body, 72% of the students know someone who has been cheated on in a relationship during high school. When creating scenarios where the lines are fuzzy and the rules are not concrete, you create a recipe for disaster. Cheating is a big deal, but it appears to have been normalized within recent times. Social platforms provide an easy route to cheating, but perhaps the problem is rooted deeper than this. Instead, maybe it is the state of how we define relationships that has created a breeding ground for cheaters.

Ladies, I know that you may like someone very much, but do not let them treat you like an option. Teenage relationships are fatal but do hold significance. You learn lessons from each one: how to behave, what is acceptable and your personal expectations and standards. There is no need to put unrealistic expectations on a high school relationship. Teenagers have trouble communicating their feelings. Frankly, it appears to me that most boys are more equipped for a bromance than a romance at this age.

For those of you who are feeling pressure to be in a relationship, just know that you do not need to have a significant other. Yes, it can be nice at times, but the best part about life is finding yourself and being surrounded with people who love you. If that includes a boyfriend or girlfriend, that’s okay too, but don’t feel the need to fill that role just because society says you need to.

Girls, don’t be afraid to be independent. There is no shame in taking time to be who you are alone. I saw a quote on VSCO and it always stuck with me, “You have to love yourself before you can love anyone else.” So, with that said, go be who you are, unapologetically, and if that special person comes into your life take them on with open arms. You deserve happiness in every way possible - remember that.

64% 35%

1% never been in a relationship have been in a relationship

declined to answer

According to Pew Research Center 1 in 4 teens are abused or harassed online or through texts by their partners

According to URBAN Insitute opinion How many of your friends are in real, commited relationships?

none

one two

three+

27 17 12 8

According to 64 students polled

opinion. Disney D lemma

Disney continues to create numerous successful movies each year, but they seem to be running out of original content.

BY LAUREN SMITH SOCIAL MEDIA EDITOR

Aboy in green tights chasing after his shadow. A woman with a greenish hue to her skin and obsidian horns growing from her head. A flock of birds helping someone get dressed in the morning. A trusty animal sidekick. And now even a clone war, lightsaber, spaceship, comic book character or a galactic time battle. We’ve seen it all and know it all. When you google upcoming Disney movies, out of the eight movies that pop up only four of them are original ideas, not sequels or remakes which seem to be Disney’s pattern in recent years. These sequels include “Peter Pan and Wendy,” a live-action adaptation of the original “Peter Pan” film from 1953. There have been numerous random sequels, remakes and live-action movies of original Disney movies, many of which were released decades ago. Which leads to the question: is Disney running out of ideas?

Walt Disney Studios currently produces, acquires and releases motion pictures under the following banners: Walt Disney Pictures, Walt Disney Animation Studios, Disney+, 20th Century Studios, Searchlight Pictures and of course the acquired Pixar Animation Studios, Marvel Studios and Lucasfilm Ltd. The company has averaged around seven film releases each year since its origin in 1937. Notable exceptions include the year 1995 when Disney released 38 movies, including fan favorites like “Toy Story” and “The Lion King.”

With 640 movies being released since the start of the company, it’s obvious that Disney Studios would produce remakes and numerous sequels to create more successful movies, and lately these numbers have increased. In recent

Nov. 18, 1928

Steamboat Willie premieres at the Colony Theatre in New York the first Mickey Mouse cartoon released, also the first appearance of Minnie Mouse

Dec. 21, 1937

Premiere of Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs, first feature-length animated film, at the Carthay Circle Theatre

July 17, 1955

Opening of Disneyland

Oct. 3, 1955

First program of the Mickey Mouse Club television series

April 18, 1983

The Disney Channel begins broadcasting

DisneyCHANNEL

years there has been the introduction of live-action Disney movies, which present twists on original animated movies from years ago. One of the first among these being the “Cinderella” live-action film from 2015, a non-animated version in which fan-favorite actresses like Lily James bring the 1950 animated original film to life in a modern version. Though the plot is the same, new perspectives present the traditional Disney princess plotline in a new light and contain more realistic elements. The newest CGI technology allows for the remakes of animated animal movies like the 2020 “Lion King” and 2016 “The Jungle Book”, but is it necessary to recreate these fan favorites in a more modern format? If Disney really wanted to use this new technology to create better movies wouldn’t they create new original movies as opposed to remaking the classics? With these new movies that Disney continues to remake or create sequels to, it leads to the question: is this just a rough patch or idea rut that Disney is in, or is this how the Disney franchise will continue to grow?

As of 2013, Disney no longer makes 2-D animated movies. This style of making hand-drawn movies is known for being a painstaking process, often requiring huge teams of animators and a lot of the time meaning that things cannot be as flexible and decisions have to be locked in a lot earlier. This technology thrived from the late 1980s to the 1990s during a time known as the Disney Renaissance- Disney’s most successful period when the use of 2-D animation led to the creation of some of Disney’s most successful hits, such as “Aladdin” and “Beauty and the Beast”. This golden age was brought to an end due to an increase in computer animation from the then separate competing franchise Pixar. In the early 2000s, Disney shifted to computer animation to compete with Pixar’s success with the new technology. With ever-changing technology, Disney is always searching for ways to expand and to stay at the top.

The Disney franchise has always been immensely popular and the company’s modern state is much different from its origin, especially in recent years with the creation of Disney Plus, a subscription-based media platform on which you can watch all movies and shows of the Disney Studio Franchise. This has created a new era for Disney. With the increase of people choosing to watch new movies from their homes as a result of the pandemic, Disney has shifted its focus to advertising Disney Plus instead of their new movies. Getting people to pay exclusively for Disney content draws in consumers to revisit childhood favorite shows and videos. This tactic attracts the audience of Disney by providing them with a single platform to watch all of their favorite Disney creations and Disney Plus exclusive content. For example, “High School Musical: The Musical: The Series,” a Disney Plus exclusive, is a spin-off show from one of the most popular Disney Channel Original Movies, “High School Musical”. Though this show is renowned and well-loved with it being based on the popular movie, the plot has little to do with “High School Musical”. The title is meant to peak the interest of those who loved the original movies and to captivate a new generation of “High School Musical” fanatics, displaying that even Disney Plus originals are not original ideas.

When examining Disney’s ‘original ideas,’ let’s acknowledge that countless are based on previously existing content. Many classic Disney movies never arose from original ideas. For example, “Steamboat Willie” is a parody of the silent film “Steamboat Bill,” and even the first Disney Princess movie, “Snow White,” is based on the classic fairy tale by the Brothers Grimm. Though Disney doesn’t always have original ideas, they have mastered creatively presenting their stories. Disney has excelled at the branding of its stories even if the stories aren’t new creative ideas. When they present a sequel or the remake through an innovative lens, their rebranding intrigues viewers to watch. This tactic is successful in getting a similar response to new unoriginal ideas.

Disney is the ultimately successful movie franchise, creating numerous successful movies each year and constantly churning out new content. This content is not as original and innovative as in years past, with the significant increase of unnecessary remakes and sequels of Disney classics. This new era of Disney, though distinct in comparison to past Disney projects with its new technologies, is running out of ideas. With the same amount of movies being produced yearly but lacking original content, the Disney vision that shaped our childhoods may not continue.

Mar. 14, 2006

High School Musical is the first full-length movie to be sold via digital download on Apple’s iTunes Music Store

May 5, 2006

Disney purchases Pixar Animation Studios

Oct. 30, 2012

The Walt Disney Company announces its agreement to purchase Lucasfilm Ltd

Nov. 12, 2019

DisneyPlus launches