Is the City of Love a Thing of the Past?

Red roses, chocolates, over-the-top gestures and cheesy movies - all are synonymous with Valentine's Day, the infamous holiday known around the world as a day of love and for spending time with those near and dear to one's heart.

In the last few decades, this holiday that began as Saint Valentine's day ceases to live up to its perceived expectations. In the City of Love, preparations for Feb. 14 have already begun as decorations are on display within businesses across the city.

But Valentine's day might be one of the worst nights to actually go out on the town. With crowded streets and overrun restaurants, trying to find a place to celebrate can be disastrous. 

Eleonora Macrone, a junior at AUP recounted an experience of Valentine's day in Paris saying how she was "shocked by the sheer amount of couples [I] saw on the Trocadéro, taking pictures of in front of the Eiffel Tower, kissing, PDA, all of it, just to immediately ignore each other to be on their phones posting to social media."

Beyond the chaos of the holiday itself, the sheer overtness and falsity of the couples was startling. For a holiday that is supposed to uphold and express the truest forms of love, the genuine weight of it has seemingly disappeared. 

To draw attention to some of these concerns, Peacock Play is releasing content based on the theme of love within the AUP community. In a series of short videos, interviewers are asking students a single question like "Is Paris romantic?" or " Is chivalry dead?" to get a consensus from the community.

So Is Paris truly romantic? 

"The general consensus was no," said Mehana Placeres, AUP student and Deputy Producer of Peacock Play. "It's difficult to not romanticize your life here, but it's not a guarantee that you will actually find love. It's all about the person, not the place. You can be anywhere in the world and find love. Being in the city of love doesn't raise your chances."

Paris is known globally for romance, but being the first time the holiday is celebrated after France's lockdown, it's very possible Paris will be sent into overdrive this Valentines day, and situations similar to the Trocadéro will occur all around the city.

Both the commercialization of the holiday and the nature of the city to run wild with Instagram couples, one must ask, is a truly romantic Paris a part of the past?