Picking less attractive partners doesn’t guarantee devotion – and isn’t it all a bit lookist and rude?
In an ideal world, the young find their own way – but sometimes you have to intervene. There appears to be a new gen Z trend for – steel yourself – “Shrek dating”, or “dating down”. It seems some among the younger generation have decided to stop demanding “visual perfection” in romantic partners. They have opted instead to date people who are less conventionally attractive in the hope that they’ll be more in control of the relationship and less likely to be left or hurt.
There is also something called being Shrekked, which is dating down only to be rejected or treated poorly by the very person they consider less attractive. What’s the word I’m groping for here? Oh, yes: karma. Isn’t Shrekking a bit lookist and rude?
Maybe that’s harsh. A study from the Tinder dating site has users placing attributes such as loyalty and respect ahead of appearance. Considering this, maybe the humane diagnosis for those considering Shrekking is dating fatigue and anxiety.
Saying that, this dating-down mindset has been around in some shape or form for ever, and it’s a rookie error. Why do women, in particular, think unattractive types are going to be grateful and nicer to them? Aren’t they likely to be embittered and sour; also to be aware, on some animal level, that you’re – whisper it – settling? I’ve long suspected that, conversely, it’s the lookers who can be trusted not to have an axe to grind.
Be careful with the remote control. One terrible night, I channel-surfed without due care and attention and found myself watching KPop Demon Hunters on Netflix all the way through. It’s the K-Pop musical animation phenomenon that’s smashed streaming records and topped the music charts. I don’t know if you believe in psychic phenomena, but it was as if I had been pinned to the sofa cushions by an otherworldly force, unable to move or cry for help.
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I’m kidding. KPop Demon Hunters is a perfectly charming tale of love, friendship and overcoming danger, with ancient Korean folklore woven in. It is told via a cartoon girl group who all resemble sexed-up Bratz dolls, except for when they look like human versions of My Little Pony. Some of the songs sound strangely mechanical – like a toaster attempting to do the hokey cokey – but I accept I’m too past it to appreciate their aural majesty.
Now, it seems, KPop Demon Hunters has been released back into cinemas, and the song lyrics have been put on to the screen so that people can croon along. We all know that K-culture has taken over the planet, but I didn’t realise karaoke cinema was a thing now. Putting snark aside, how sweet if KPop Demon Hunters turns out to be The Rocky Horror Picture Show for a new generation.
For those still rocking a Halloween mood, Historic England, the public body for, among other duties, preserving and listing historic buildings, has produced a new Horror Histories list of famous horror film sites.
On the Historic England list are Lindisfarne Castle, in Northumberland (the setting for Danny Boyle’s 28 Years Later); Oakley Court in Berkshire, which featured in some of the Hammer House of Horror classics – The Brides of Dracula (1960), The Curse of Frankenstein (1957) et al; and Headland Hotel in Cornwall, which was the site for the 1990 adaptation of Roald Dahl’s The Witches.
Those of you who, like me, have a penchant for horror, can now discover that, for example, antichrist ankle-biter Damien from The Omen (1976) once lurked in Guildford cathedral. Wonderful.
Why should television stately piles such as Downton Abbey – Highclere Castle in Hampshire – get all the love?
Photograph by PictureLux/The Hollywood Archive/Alamy
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