500 days of somebody that I wished would call me maybe

Interesting thought exercise: suppose for a moment that Carly Rae Jepsen and Gotye were singing about the same relationship. You can pretty easily see how expectations would lead to drastically different results for each of them. While Carly Rae is looking for a fun time, she's also portraying a pretty indifferent side to this guy who she wants to call her (maybe being the operative word here). Gotye was looking for something serious and when that didn't pan out he got seriously depressed and introspective.

Even more interesting thought exercise: look for the similarities between these popularly embraced emotions and the gender roles in the 2009 film 500 Days of Summer (which is one of my favorite favorite favorite movies). In both of these scenarios, the girl is the one looking for independence and the guy is the one looking to settle down. I think this really resonates with our culture because we do value both of these things, but when it comes in the opposite form (girls looking for stability and guys seeking independence) we brush it off as normal or even antiquated. This theme is also featured prominently in How I Met Your Mother in Ted and Robin's characters. Our culture really likes strong women and sensitive men, I think because for so long that just wasn't the standard. When people who are already like this see it in pop culture it validates their feelings! I love Robin's character because, despite or perhaps because of some of her extreme problems from childhood and unhealthy lack of vulnerability, she seems real, and like an extreme version of me. And I can see aspects of Ted in my friends and I think that's great that some people (especially men) can hold on to ideals of romance.

I guess my point was that this is all fine and good in pop culture, but in real life you need to have a clear idea of and honest communication about your expectations if you want to avoid playing Somebody That I Used To Know on repeat for a week and crying every time. Or if you don't want to spend 500 days pining over someone. Or if you don't want to put someone else in that situation. (I'm looking at you, Summer. And Robin. And Carly Rae.)