American Movies, Arranged Marriages

There are two recent romantic comedies that explore a scenario that overlaps in involving two individuals, one of whom actually loathes the other, getting engaged or married without genuinely wanting to, only to find themselves actually falling in love with their fiance/wife. One is The Accidental Husband and the other is The Proposal.

I find it intriguing that these movies (which are presumably aimed at an American audience that expects people to meet, fall in love, and then perhaps marry) offer a scenario not unlike what happens in arranged marriages, when two people are brought together and may only meet when the engagement occurs.

Arranged marriages have a higher rate of longevity than the typical American marriage, I believe. And so I wonder whether these movies in fact offer an exploration of an alternative approach, one that suggests that love is something that can (indeed, must) be cultivated rather than merely fallen into. Or perhaps they are simply latching onto a situation that is counterintuitive for entertainment purposes. But the parallel between the situations in these movies and arranged marriages seemed worth observing.