Do not romanticize cheating in movies

By Lauren Scott

Most people agree that cheating on a significant other is wrong. Yet Hollywood often portrays infidelity as glamorous, such as in Netflix’s “The Noel Diary,” the number one movie on Netflix in November 2022. Movies like this lead many audience members to celebrate, support, and even cheer for love stories that stem from infidelity.

The problem is not necessarily the cheating itself we watch in movies, but the romanticization and encouragement of the cheating. Many movies have the audience on the edge of their seats rooting for infidelity, while neglecting the grave immoral action that it is.

If a man or woman is engaged to a person they do not truly love, they should have the decency to break off the relationship before starting a new one. That is not rocket science.

“The Notebook” is an example of the romanticization of unfaithfulness. The two characters, Allie Hamilton and Noah Calhoun, fall in love when they are young. They break up after Allie moves away and she becomes engaged to another man. Allie and Noah reconnect and spend the night together, even though Allie is engaged to be married. The movie has the audience rooting for the couple to be unfaithful and eventually that is what happens. Their love story is portrayed in a beautiful light, but it is derived from immorality.

The movie industry is perfectly capable of creating entertaining, passionate love stories without having one person be unfaithful to write a supposed fairytale.