Love Triangles in Movies -Why?

The love triangle phenomenon in movies has been around longer than I can remember. We grew up watching the love triangle of Jake and Jesse on Hannah Montana, then the most famous one, between Bella, Edward and Jacob. As far as I recall, a triangle has 3 sides and 3 vertices, that all CONNECT. Why are these romances called triangles when they don’t connect? Today we’re going to the age old question of why love triangles still exist, and the reason that they happen.

What it is, and What it’s not

A love triangle is when B and C both like A. Or when A likes B, B likes C, and C likes A. What a love triangle is NOT is when A and B like each other and C likes A. That’s just C intruding in on someone else’s relationship. I know some of you thought about “Pretty in Pink” when I said love triangle, but don’t be mistaken reader. Andie and Blane like each other, and Duckie likes Andie. But the feeling is NOT mutual. To put it simply, a love triangle is not real love. It’s when A thinks it is real love and has to make a big decision.

2 boys 1 girl

The most common example of a love triangle, is the one with 2 boys who like the same girl. Think “The Hunger Games”, Peeta and Gale want Katniss, but Katniss just wants freedom. Or think about “To All the Boys I’ve Loved Before”, John and Peter both want Lara Jean, but she stupidly picks Peter over John (big mistake). All of these stories revolve around the girl protagonist going through a whole adventure to try and understand her feelings, and to finalize which boy she really wants. Another common theme you may have noticed is, she always ends up picking the wrong guy. This is because love triangles don’t occur if you’re truly in love. The idea of soulmates is shattered when you find someone who could also hold that potential. The girl protagonist ends up picking the wrong love interest because she has lost the idea of having a soulmate. The idea of true love and a destined partner has been removed from her mind because she realizes that there are other people she will love in this lifetime. A wise person once said, if you don’t know who to choose between A and B, choose B because if you really loved A, there would be no option B.

New Girl Syndrome

When two girls love the same guy, the love triangle standard is flipped. The boy protagonist ends up choosing the “new” girl because he wants something fresh. Unfortunately in a lot of movies, these boys are shown to be easily bored, so when they come across a new girl who seems more fun, prettier, or nicer, they’ll leave the first girl. Think about “My Best Friend’s Wedding”, Michael has obviously always had feelings for Julianne, but he decides to leave it all behind and get married to Kimberly, because she’s newer, nicer, and more gentle. In “Dil Toh Pagal Hai” Rahul leaves what he has with Nisha when he finds Pooja, because she’s the sweet, innocent girl next door. Talking about movie characters of course, if a man has an 80, he will leave that 80 behind for a 20, mistaking that 20 for a 100.

To end, or to not end?

With our questions answered, we have one big one left. Is the love triangle phenomenon one to leave or one to stay? One could argue that it’s an interesting trope in movies that explore the idea of whether or not real soulmates exist in this world, and if there are multiple people we will truly love in this lifetime. To that, I would agree. It’s a cool idea to think that there will be many people we will love and we have to make big decisions. On the other hand, is this trope promoting unrealistic and toxic ideas into our expectations of love? Is the idea of never knowing what real love is engraved into our brains? Personally, I do believe in the idea of soulmates, but I also believe you can love multiple people in your life. Just because you love someone for a certain amount of time, doesn’t mean they’re your soulmate. I believe it will come, when it comes. To answer the million dollar question, love triangles are an age old film idea that will stay for as long as we live.