Positive findings/portrayals

Sometimes, just sometimes in a society which seems embedded with romance and romantic relationships in real life and in fiction, there are times where things are aromantic friendly

Take the movie Stick It (2006) for example. It happens to be one of my favourite films, not the least of which because the female protagonist doesn't end up with a romantic interest by the end of the film (or even fall in love). I've always felt that too often female-male relationships that weren't romantic are devalued or considered transient. Not so here! She (Haley) has two guy friends who are actually her friends. (Which, considering that this is a film aimed for teenage girls, I think is a miracle in and of itself).

In any case, what really made me happy were these quotes made by both the actress playing Haley (Missy Peregrym) as well as the Director (Jessica Bedinger)

TeenHollywood: You don't have a "cutesy" love interest in the film. Were you happy about that?

Missy: I love that the story is not about getting the guy. It's not about looking good, getting a make-over, acting cooler, having a cute short skirt. It's about [Haley] really seeing who she is and evaluating that and coming to terms with that which I would love to see every girl be able to do because I want girls to respect themselves. I want girls to be who they are and what they have to offer. It's not based on what other people think about you. You really become your worst critic in that area when you're used to people putting that pressure on you. It's not just gymnastics. But, gymnastics is a very pressure-filled world at such a young age and that's why it's such a great parallel to this. It's really about loving who you are now so that you can make a difference later on in a really positive way. I love to see women to that.

Box Office Mojo: Why not provide Haley with a romance?

Jessica Bendinger: Because I was tired of movies that try to shoehorn romance. Girls need to have a life before they need to have a love life. You don't need a romance or a tiara or a makeover. She needed to have a sense of self first.

So yeah.. For those who also have similar movies/stuff they want to plug, this is the thread.

Most of the pieces of media I know where a romantic story line is lacking is because it simply isn't relevant to anything and those in charge wanted to concentrate on the actual plot. My all time favourite will not doubt be Twelve Angry Men, not a woman was mentioned at all and since it was made in the 1950s, there's simply pure plot. This doesn't work as well as your example as yours is more of a day in the life and whereas mine is a one off.

One television show I have enjoyed is Lucky Star and that has pratically no romance. There's one possible couple that is never elaborated on so the audience can interpretate it as they will. That's always a day in the life one- there's only one averted romantic subplot, hilarity ensues, but - yes - definitely a good show to watch where all of the characters are pretty much null in that area. There was even an episode where Valentine's day was discussed to a length and I don't even recall a 'what type of people would you date?' discussion.
Another one I have just remembered is Liar Game. Again another disbuted one as the two main characters could have romantic feelings towards one another but it doesn't come across that way to me. Sure they care about each other but it's more of a brother/sister thing to me. That's also one where they concentrate on the plots and characters and don't shove in romance at any given moment. I haven't finished it yet but I hope it ends open in that sense - much more fun.

And, of course, everything comes back Lord of the Rings and Bilbo and Frodo. Never have romance and live quite happily as bacholers. There are more in that series than just those two but I'll keep it at that.

I am going to be very stereotypical here, but Sherlock is a good example. he is a man married to his work. We all have something else we feel strongly about besides relationships. For Sherlock it is his work.