Love it or leave it, online dating is here to stay. And what makes matters worse, an entire generation has used it to solidify their entire persona, form (and break up) relationships, and solely base their worldview around. When did people stop going out on Friday nights in order to meet others IRL?
Swiped tells the story of Whitney Wolfe Herd (played by Lily James), the real-life brains behind the app that forever disrupted the dating scene: Tinder. But as a female working within the Bro Culture of the tech industry, she would eventually learn that she wasn’t welcome in this toxic workplace, so she wound up leaving. After a bout with depression and a lot of online name-calling, she would eventually become the founder of Bumble, hoping to fix the flaws of online dating for females everywhere.
“The rules of online behavior have been written exclusively by men…”
Written and directed by Rachel Lee Goldenberg, this biographical drama, like others, is “inspired by true events.” I always wonder how much truth is actually written into these type of films, and how much artistic license is really used to build a stronger script. For this instance, it may take a lot of online sleuthing to figure it out, because as listed in the end credits, Whitney Wolfe (as she is portrayed before her marriage and subsequent name change) did not participate at all in the making of this movie, in part, because of the ongoing and active Non-Disclosure Act she had to sign, after leaving Tinder.
Lily James on the set of 20th Century Studios’ Swiped. Photo by Hilary Bronwyn Gayle.
Even though she may have received more than $1 million due to the mistreatment, harassment and abuse she may have endured, according to the movie, at least, she has never responded to any of the harsh rumors that were leaked about her leadership there. And as such, she couldn’t confirm or deny details for the filmmakers involved in making this film. Therefore, I restate my question: How much of this storyline is actually real?
“We need to change dating.”
Having lived through this timeline, I actually enjoyed watching this one, but I’d never known anything about any of the (reputed) founders of Tinder, before. While I have dabbled in online dating throughout the years, I haven’t been a big fan of the process. I’m no millennial: I prefer to meet people in person and shoot my shot there. I don’t like the deception and insincerity of online dating, which is full of partial truths, if not lies. And if you don’t have the best-looking selfie out there, your chances at someone discovering your unique personality in person are quite low.
“Everything that is wrong with internet culture is at its peak with online dating.”
Obviously, I’m old school. And I like my old-school entertainment. So, when you’ve got a story centered around a woman who overcame a toxic relationship during the #MeToo movement while also overcoming professional ridicule, stalking and an inability to publicly fight back, all while being unemployed, you’ve got a decent underdog story that will eventually lead to “the youngest female self-made billionaire” in the world. And its common theme? Fight the fights you can and try to ignore the rest, seemingly.
That format may feel a little too familiar to some, but it kept me engaged for almost two hours, and these days, that’s no small feat. Swiped received the right movement from me and you too can watch this film, now streaming on Hulu and Disney Plus.