To what extent are our most romantic movements determined by the portrayal of love in film and on television? In this study of American love in the 20th century, the author unravels the mass of images that define our ideas of love and romance, revealing that the experience of "true" love is deeply embedded in the experience of consumer capitalism. She studies how individual conceptions of love overlap with the worlds of cliches and images she calls "Romantic Utopia". This Utopia lives in the collective imagination of the nation and is built on images that unite amorous and economic activities in the rituals of dating, lovemaking and marriage. Since the early 1900s advertisers have tied the purchase of beauty products, sports cars, diet drinks and snack foods to success in love and happiness. The author reveals that, ultimately, every cliche of romance - from an intimate dinner to a dozen red roses - is constructed by advertising and media images that preach a democratic ethos of consumption: material goods and happiness are available to all. The study begins with readings of ads, songs, films and other public representations of romance and concludes with individual interviews in or