alicehoffmans:

do people actually know what “romanticize” means or do they just like using the word to complain about things they don’t want to see?

the year was 2016, i posted two screencaps from a documentary that was literally just a depiction of henry viii and anne boleyn looking at each other (looking! nothing else) like so:

and i got the reply of “why are they romanticizing this????????’

so… definitions of ‘romanticize’:

to represent or think of as better than reality would warrant

Deal with or describe in an idealized or unrealistic fashion; make (something) seem better or more appealing than it really is.

and, again…they’re literally just looking at each other. 

unless this person’s impression was that these two never looked at each other, a scene of them looking at each other is not a “romanticization”.