Shipping is one of the most pervasive aspects of fandom, as the hardcore fans of many of the most popular franchises and stories in media become more invested in the romantic relationships between the characters than any other aspect of the tale. Shipping is an enormous facet of every fandom, including films.
But, that doesn't mean that every ship is universally appealing, and some are downright appalling (at least in the eyes of Redditors). There are some very popular ships that, as the users of Reddit have made abundantly clear, have actually earned quite a bit of opprobrium.
Bella And Edward
Even though the Twilight movies are often regarded as some of the best movies based on vampires, it has to be said that the relationship between Bella and Edward is deeply dysfunctional. Edward specifically shows himself to be far from ideal as a paramour, which makes Bella's devotion even more baffling.
Tryingforababe30 puts it this way: “He was controlling, jealous and abusive. I never understood why so many people swooned over him.” The prevalence of this type of ship reveals the extent to which a very toxic form of masculinity is still understood as something to be desired.
Sandy And Danny
There’s no question that Grease is one of the best musical movies ever made. However, the central relationship between Sandy and Danny is one that leaves much to be desired, particularly since she is the one that largely has to change herself in order to be with him. This dynamic, so prevalent in musicals of various types, rubs Redditors such as fayvincent the wrong way.
They write: “ I think I had my baby feminist awakening watching that movie with my babysitter when I was like 10. At the end of the film I was like, soooo she is changing everything about herself to fit in with him?” Clearly, the movie’s outdated gender politics have not aged as well as some other aspects of the movie.
Ana And Christian
It’s no secret that 50 Shades of Grey began as a fan fiction of Twilight. For this reason, the central relationship between Ana and Christian has many of the most problematic aspects of its source material, in that Christian is demanding, controlling and generally toxic.
Mrskmh08 is blunt in their criticism of the show’s relationship: “It's just gross. More so because he's super rich and somehow that makes it ok.” Thus, though the series, both in book and movie form, became something of a phenomenon, this has not managed to endear it to those who see the problematic gender and economic roles at play.
Noah And Allie
The Notebook is sometimes regarded as one of the most romantic movies ever made. Indeed, there is something touching about the idea of a man recording memories in a notebook for his wife who is suffering from Alzheimer’s. In reality, however, the central relationship is a deeply dysfunctional one, and it’s clear that each of them has problems that they need to cope with before they can be with someone romantically.
As Embarrassinghuman succinctly puts it: “People think it's super romantic when it's actually toxic and sh***y.”
Harley Quinn And The Joker
Even though Suicide Squad might have been one of the worst movies to come out of the DCEU, there were still many who loved the relationship between Harley Quinn (one of Margot Robbie’s best roles) and the Joker. At the same time, there’s no denying that this is a deeply toxic relationship, one in which neither seems particularly happy or functional.
One Redditor points out: “they always try to kill each other.” As is often the case with relationships depicted on-screen, it is definitely best not to make it into something laudatory when it certainly is not.
Tris And Four
Divergent is one of the many dystopian movies that have emerged over the past several years, a product in part of the publishing boom in this area. As is often the case in the genre, there is a notable romance between the characters of Tris and Four.
palladium422 writes: “There’s just a lot of manufactured drama. They were constantly mad at each other for who knows what, and then they’d make up, and two minutes later they were mad at each other again.” Unfortunately, the obvious chemistry between the two characters was not allowed to flourish as a result of the artificial nature of the conflict.
Ron And Hermione
There are many important relationships scattered throughout Harry Potter, and the one between Ron and Hermione is connection that many saw coming. While it makes a certain kind of sense, it is also true that it is one that doesn’t seem to do either of their characters much good.
Palladium422 is particularly critical of the way the movies distorted and did an injustice to the relationship as written in the book, stating: “the movies don’t do it justice. They really screwed over Ron!” Though the movies did a strong job translating the books to the screen, they clearly came up short in the relationship department.
Harry And Ginny
In many ways, the relationship between Harry and Ginny has been even more controversial for fans of both the books and the movies. It does seem to lack the crucial dynamism that existed between Harry and some of his other crushes (or that between Harry and Hermione, for that matter).
Clairebones, for example, writes: “It just seemed to appear out of nowhere, all of a sudden Harry was obsessed.” This is clearly a case where the flaws in the writing of the books managed to find their way into the screen adaptation as well.
Anna And William
Few romantic comedies have become quite as iconic as Notting Hill, which features strong performances from both Hugh Grant and Julia Roberts (both of whom are rom-com vets). As is so often the case, however, beneath the romantic plot that viewers are supposed to cheer for, there is quite a lot of dysfunction and bad relationship dynamics.
Mmason3891 states: “The relationship between Julia Roberts and Hugh Grant in Notting Hill is toxic, despite the 'happy ending.' She treats him like s**t and keeps him around as a back-up plan the entire movie.”
Scott Pilgrim And Ramona Flowers
Scott Pilgrim vs. the World appears, at first, to be a fun and entertaining movie, and in many ways it is. Michael Cera makes for a fine hero, and its video game aesthetics make for arresting viewing. However, there’s no denying that the relationship between him and his ex-girlfriend is a toxic one, fueled in part by his jealousy.
A Redditor has this to say: “the entire film of Scott Pilgrim versus the world is idolized by teenagers and its absolute trash.” It is difficult for viewers to empathize with someone who ultimately emerges from the movie as a not especially sympathetic individual.