Healthy relationships in TV and film

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NoReturn

NoReturn

Please read all posts in the voice of Neco-Arc
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kiwifarms.net
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Aug 28, 2019
This originally came up in the Nu-Ra thread, but now I'm curious about what the rest of you guys think. Long story short: It's good for children to see models of healthy behaviors in relationships, but there aren't that many in media, even for adults. Most stories are focused on the getting-together part.

The Test:
  • Established and confirmed canonical couple. (No implied relationships. No final-episode get-togethers.)
  • Are at least a part of the main cast, if not the protagonists.
  • The story continues after they get together and does not revolve around one of them dying. (So Carl and Elle from Up are out)
  • They have to model at least one full scene of healthy behavior (such as conflict resolution) in the show/film.
We came up with a few examples from animated children's media in the original thread, but I'm curious to see what else is out there.

Examples:
  • Hiccup & Astrid - How to Train Your Dragon
  • Arwen & Aragon - LOTR
  • Trevor & Sypha - Castlevania
 
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NoReturn said:
This originally came up in the Nu-Ra thread, but now I'm curious about what the rest of you guys think. Long story short: It's good for children to see models of healthy behaviors in relationships, but there aren't that many in media, even for adults. Most stories are focused on the getting-together part.

The Test:
  • Established and confirmed canonical couple. (No implied relationships. No final-episode get-togethers.)
  • Are at least a part of the main cast, if not the protagonists.
  • The story continues after they get together and does not revolve around one of them dying. (So Carl and Elle from Up are out)
  • They have to model at least one full scene of healthy behavior (such as conflict resolution) in the show/film.
We came up with a few examples from animated children's media in the original thread, but I'm curious to see what else is out there.
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Is this solely about children's media, because a lot of 90s sitcoms do this
 
soy_king said:
Is this solely about children's media, because a lot of 90s sitcoms do this
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It started with children's media, though I am curious about others outside of that demographic for comparison's sake. I see where you're going with the 90s thing, though.
E.g. Like @DumbDude42 pointed out, those two LOTR couples fulfill the criteria in the films and in the books, even if it's not explicitly for kids.
 
NoReturn said:
It started with children's media, though I am curious about others outside of that demographic for comparison's sake. I see where you're going with the 90s thing, though.
E.g. Like @DumbDude42 pointed out, those two LOTR couples fulfill the criteria in the films and in the books, even if it's not explicitly for kids.
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I've been rewatching Frasier recently, and Daphne and Niles's relationship goes through a lot of those points you mentioned. Lily and Marshal's relationship in How I met your Mother also comes to mind, though it's definitely on the cusp of becoming ridiculously woke
 
NoReturn said:
They have to model at least one full scene of healthy behavior (such as conflict resolution) in the show/film.
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Do "airport scenes" count? Because if so basically every romantic comedy counts. Or is this explicitly in children's media only?
 
KateHikes14 said:
Do "airport scenes" count? Because if so basically every romantic comedy counts. Or is this explicitly in children's media only?
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Airport scene like "They get together at the end when one is about to leave?" then no. The characters getting together can't be the end of the story.
 
NoReturn said:
It started with children's media, though I am curious about others outside of that demographic for comparison's sake. I see where you're going with the 90s thing, though.
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It's outside of both children's media and the idea of solely involving a couple, but this is one of the reasons I like Bob's Burgers. It's clear the whole family loves each other despite how weird they all are.
 
NoReturn said:
Airport scene like "They get together at the end when one is about to leave?" then no. The characters getting together can't be the end of the story.
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That and the apology is almost always completely one sided, that's why I bring it up. A lot of the pseudo-healthy media relationships aren't a give and take where a man and woman compliment each other's individual strengths and work together to overcome and accept both of their flaws. They show a long suffering woman forgiving a man for his flaws while not acknowledging she did or even could do something wrong.
 
In honor of Miura and Berserk, Guts and Casca. Two broken people who found meaning in each other and are encouraged by each other's strength and courage. The world around them is incredibly cruel and violent and so are they. But they also brought out the best in each other every time.

*Mostly Golden Age Arc due to the dark shit later on.
 
Roger and Anita from 101 Dalmatians. I always thought they were a cute couple even as a child. They complement each other well and seem genuinely happy together. Which is funny because they only reason they met at all was because Pongo really wanted to hump Perdita.
 
Gonna spoiler things so I don't clog up the thread, also I only did clips for the things I've seen.
Sperghetti said:
It's outside of both children's media and the idea of solely involving a couple, but this is one of the reasons I like Bob's Burgers. It's clear the whole family loves each other despite how weird they all are.
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Bonus from the original concept for the show:
DoNotReadTheFinePrint said:
Gomez and Morticia Addams
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Tarnished Fraggle said:
I was going to say these two! I’ve always considered them the benchmark for a healthy, loving couple.
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Lunete said:
Roger and Anita
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