==Online Dating in Films==
===Background of Online Dating===
Dating system shows that online dating service system has been becoming more and more common since 1990s. People can now use online dating web sites, MSN, ICQ, E-mail and chat rooms to communicate with others on the Internet. Despite the popularity of this service, surprisingly, not many films had used this as its topic in the last decades. It was not until 1998 that we can found a film using online dating as a main element in its story line.
=====Details of You've Got Mail=====
As describe in the You've Mail page in Wikipedia, it is a story of Tom and Meg who originally do not like each other. But at the same time, each of them keep contacting each other through e-mail. Since they are using another name on the internet, they don’t realize that their “friend�? on the internet are whom they hate in the reality. You’ve Got Mail is a romantic comedy based on this interesting background.
===Effect of the Film to the Online Dating Service===
You've Got Mail was the first film using e-mail service as a main component in its storyline. In fact, e-mail service was not as common as nowadays on when the film was shown. People therefore got to know more information about e-mail service through the movie at that time.
Besides, as an interesting idea in the film, people can actually communicate with the others through e-mail using a fake name or even without a name. So in reality, people may learn to do so. So in fact, "Net Friends" may not be very much a friend since it is doubted that what he say is really true. It may not be a good phenomenon and may bring negative effect to the real world. It would not only distort the quality of communication between people, but also make people irresponsible of what they said.
===Films, Showing Online Dating Service Nowadays===
Nowadays, Internet and instant message program such as ICQ and MSN becomes more common as compared to a decade ago. So it turns out that films have use these as their topic more. For example, Must Love Gogs is the story talking about that a lady’s personal profile being uploaded to an online dating web sites by her sister. In the movie, a condition to become the lady’s friend is that he should love dog and eventually, the lady meet a new friend through the online dating service. And he ultimately becomes her lover. Audiences can learn more and understand more about the mechanism of the online dating service such as how to upload the personal details to the sites and how to serach for a friend using the service.
The main difference between You've Got Mail and Must Love Dogs is that they use different services, the e-mail and the online dating service. Afterall, these film can increase social awareness about these online communication device.
==Further Information==
===See also===
Key Topic: Online Dating
Subtopic of Online Dating: Cultural Trends
===Reference===
Dating system (2005) Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia Retrieved on 25 Octorber 2005, from http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dating_system
Nina (2005) Plot Summary for Must Love Dogs An amazon.com Retrieved on 21 October 2005, from http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0417001/plotsummary
You've Got Mail (2005) Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia Retrieved on 21 October 2005, from http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/You%27ve_Got_Mail
Kanix Yau 01:32, 28 Oct 2005 (EST)
