1. One-Dimensional Love Interests
The average love interest in a Hollywood film has the intellectual capacity and rich inner life of an empty box that has always been empty and will remain empty for the foreseeable future. They are usually attractive blonde women who have no dimensions to their personality, or any complexity or motivation of their own- what little character they have exists purely as a reaction to the protagonist. There is the typical damsel in distress, whose thoughts generally revolve around admiring her saviour. Then theres the girlfriend who is at first reluctant to admire the protagonist, but after she is captured by the villain and then saved she comes to see how admirable he was all along. This ones our fault because we secretly crave this kind of simplicity. Being able to guarantee someones undying and unconditional love through one brave act is very comforting. To maintain anything resembling love in real life requires consistent attention and empathy and understanding, small unsexy sacrifices that arent nearly as glamorous as defeating the villain who was about to kill your love interest, or jumping in front of a bullet that would have hit them. But then, opportunities for big-movie heroism is rare, and when they present themselves most of us would freeze and stand in the corner pretending we didnt know it was going on. Its just as appealing a notion for the damsel in distress. Its even more rare that someone will make big sacrifices for your benefit in real life, casting aside all instincts of self-preservation. And, according to Hollywood, you dont even need a personality for them to do it.