Romance Movies!!!!
I absolutely adore romance movies. From The Notebook to The Fault In Our Stars to Call Me By Your Name, I cannot get enough of them. I have always wondered what makes this genre of film my favorite. Maybe it's because they have the ability to make me ball my eyes out on Tuesday afternoon, or maybe it's because I love seeing two souls fall deeply in love with one another. Maybe it's just because i'm just a love-sick teen, but aren't all teens lovesick?
My mission:
Find out about everything and I mean EVERYTHING related to the Romance genre. I must know why I love theses movies more than any other type of movie.
Conventions
In a romance movie, the main plot usually centers around a woman or a man falling in love and fighting to make their relationship work. Many obstacles will come in their way like sickness, new job opportunity, from different crowds, a persistent ex, etc. At the end of the film, the characters either end up together and live happily ever after or they don't end up together because of either a dire circumstance or an unfortunate travesty. As much as I don't want to believe it, most romance movies usually follow this very specific pattern.
Let's discuss 3 of my favorite romance movie clichés that usually do not happen in real life( we want them to but it's probably never going to happen).
- Kissing in the rain- One of the most famous kissing in the rain scenes is probably from The Notebook. These scenes are full of passion, and it is usually the scene where the characters realize that they have immense feelings for each other.
2. The over-the-top declaration of love- These scenes tend to be orchestrated by the man as he is trying to convince the women of his love for her or he is trying to win her back because he missed up terribly. They usually involve a large flash mob or a cheesy serenade.
3. The bad boy- Often, there is usually a boy in the movie who is considered "bad" because he does at least one of the things mentioned: wears a leather jacket, drives a motorcycle, involved in some sort of illegal activity, hangs out with the "bad crowd". He then meets a "good" girl that probably needs to come out of her shell. They think that they can change each other. But ultimately, they fall in love with each other and accept who they are.
In conclusion, Romance movies tend to be extremely unrealistic, but that is probably why people adore them so much.
Production Techniques
Romance movies often include lots of non-diegetic sound. The music will allow the audience to get a deeper understanding of the feelings of the characters. If the music is jazzy and lighthearted, than the character is in a good mood.
Usually, both of the characters are very attractive people. This is probably because people like "sexy". They want to see a handsome man fall for a beautiful women because it is aesthetically pleasing. Since people tend to look to romance movies for inspiration on how to improve their dating life, movie makers choose actors that look like "desirable" people to date in real life. I have found that many people like to live vicariously through romance movies. If someone's dating life has come to a halt, they might find solace in watching a romance movie as the movies emanate feelings of comfort and love.
Many romance movies usually have some element of the color red in them as well. Since the color red conveys feelings of lust, passion, and love, it makes sense as to why romance movies have lots of reds. Movie makers s want to convey the feelings that characters have for one another and the color red thus acts as an aid.
Creators of romantic movies know that their target audience is females. The target age range is 13-18 , but depending on the film, it may cater toward women in their 20s or 30s. It depends on the actors in the movie, and if they appeal more to teens or women that are a few decades older. For instance, movies like "10 Things I Hate About You", "The Fault in Our Stars, and "Love, Simon" are targeted towards teens because the main characters are also teenagers. People like being able to relate to a movie, which is why they tend to see movies with characters going through similar experiences.
Women like romance movies because they find them extremely relatable. Even if a women is not in a relationship, chances are she has some sort of relationship issue. Girls like to assess how other girls handle similar issues, so they can then learn from them and apply it to their own lives. Many girls also dream of being swept off their feet by prince charming, so they live vicariously through romance films.
In the films trailer, they will probably display the male lead in a charming and charismatic way. They will make him appear "dreamy" which will in turn make many women want to see the movie. Women are suckers for chiseled faces, sharp jawlines, and rock-hard abs. If you have a male lead like this, chances are women will go and see the movie.
The Notebook Film Analysis
The film, The Notebook, perfectly exemplifies my genre because that movie is exploding with romance. Ryan Gosling plays Noah and Rachel Mcadams plays Allie. Both of them are very attractive which is one of the many conventions of a romance film: attractive cast. They meet at a fair(how cute). But, Allie is disinterested in Noah when they first meet. So what does Noah have to do to get her attention and win her heart? He obviously has to do a grand gesture. He then decides to hang off the top of the ferris wheel until she agrees to go on a date with him.
After they go on many dates, Allie starts to fall for Noah. But there is a problem. Allie's family do not approve of Noah because he is from a poor family. Allie's family is very wealthy so they want her to end up with a sophisticated rich man not "trash". This is very typical of the romance drama. The parents do not approve of the relationship therefore it causes turmoil within the relationship. Because of this turmoil, they decide to break up. But this is not the end to their love story. This is just one of the bumps on their path to a happy ending.
Noah writes to Allie every day for a year, but her mother intercepts all the letters and Allie thinks that Noah forgot about her. This is a classic problem in Romance movies. Someone that the character trusts is keeping the truth about their beloved. Later in the movie, many years later, they run into each other. The characters in romance films are always very luck and the universe seems to always be by their side. They end up passionately kissing in the rain and Allie realizes that she still has feeling for Noah, but (gasp) she's engaged. Kissing in the rain appears in many romance films because it highlights the fact that the character's do not care where they are, they just want to tenderly embrace one another. Allie's engagement is yet another obstacle in the way of their happy ending. Allie evidently breaks off her engagement and realizes that she must spend the rest of her life with Noah. Yes! A happy ending! But wait, the film must make the audience ball their eyes out.
In the last scene of the film, Allie and Noah are shown in a nursing home together because Allie has dementia. They end up passing away at the same time, holding hands. This moment in the film was extremely powerful as it displayed the fact that they literally could not live without each other, another typical romance movie convention.
The film, The Notebook, perfectly exemplifies my genre because that movie is exploding with romance. Ryan Gosling plays Noah and Rachel Mcadams plays Allie. Both of them are very attractive which is one of the many conventions of a romance film: attractive cast. They meet at a fair(how cute). But, Allie is disinterested in Noah when they first meet. So what does Noah have to do to get her attention and win her heart? He obviously has to do a grand gesture. He then decides to hang off the top of the ferris wheel until she agrees to go on a date with him.
After they go on many dates, Allie starts to fall for Noah. But there is a problem. Allie's family do not approve of Noah because he is from a poor family. Allie's family is very wealthy so they want her to end up with a sophisticated rich man not "trash". This is very typical of the romance drama. The parents do not approve of the relationship therefore it causes turmoil within the relationship. Because of this turmoil, they decide to break up. But this is not the end to their love story. This is just one of the bumps on their path to a happy ending.
Noah writes to Allie every day for a year, but her mother intercepts all the letters and Allie thinks that Noah forgot about her. This is a classic problem in Romance movies. Someone that the character trusts is keeping the truth about their beloved. Later in the movie, many years later, they run into each other. The characters in romance films are always very luck and the universe seems to always be by their side. They end up passionately kissing in the rain and Allie realizes that she still has feeling for Noah, but (gasp) she's engaged. Kissing in the rain appears in many romance films because it highlights the fact that the character's do not care where they are, they just want to tenderly embrace one another. Allie's engagement is yet another obstacle in the way of their happy ending. Allie evidently breaks off her engagement and realizes that she must spend the rest of her life with Noah. Yes! A happy ending! But wait, the film must make the audience ball their eyes out.
In the last scene of the film, Allie and Noah are shown in a nursing home together because Allie has dementia. They end up passing away at the same time, holding hands. This moment in the film was extremely powerful as it displayed the fact that they literally could not live without each other, another typical romance movie convention.
The Fault in Our Stars- Film Analysis
The fault in Our Stars is about two teens with cancer that fall in love with each other, even though they both don't know how much longer they will have to live. Their cancer causes them turmoil in their young, blossoming relationship. Hazel is played by Shailene Woodley and Agustus aka Gus is played by Ansel Elgort. Both of them are attractive people, which is a typical convention of the romance genre. Hazel, unfortunately does not recognize her beauty, until she meets Gus. The girl not recognizing her own beauty is very common in this genre. The guy usually has to tell the girl for her to finally see it in herself. They meet at a cancer support group and the literally bump into each other. They stare into each others eyes. It was a love at first sight moment, another common convention of romance movies.
Hazel tells Gus that she really wants to meet her favorite author, but he lives in Amsterdam so her dream is unobtainable. Gus decides to use his "cancer wish" from the Make-a-wish-foundation to take her to Amsterdam to meet the author of her favorite book. Grand gestures are very common in romance movies because it allows the character to express how much they love the other person. They have a nice trip in Amsterdam until Gus tells Hazel that his cancer is back. This is a major obstacle in their relationship. In romance movies, their is usually something that is keeping the couple from living their happily ever after. In this case, it's Gus's cancer.
Agustus' health begins to worsen overtime and he eventually dies. One would think this would be the saddest moment of the film, but it is not. The saddest moment of the film is when Hazel reads the letter that Gus wrote for her before he passed away. In many romance movies, the characters like to write letters. This is because it allows them to express their feelings in a way that is in print, demonstrating that their love is forever. In his letter, Gus reveals his love for her and talks about how he has accepted his death. In many romance films, the characters do not have a happy ending. This is because in real life, not every relation ship will have a happy ending. But I personally believe that they only do this to forcefully tug on the audiences heart-strings and make them ball their eyes out.
The fault in Our Stars is about two teens with cancer that fall in love with each other, even though they both don't know how much longer they will have to live. Their cancer causes them turmoil in their young, blossoming relationship. Hazel is played by Shailene Woodley and Agustus aka Gus is played by Ansel Elgort. Both of them are attractive people, which is a typical convention of the romance genre. Hazel, unfortunately does not recognize her beauty, until she meets Gus. The girl not recognizing her own beauty is very common in this genre. The guy usually has to tell the girl for her to finally see it in herself. They meet at a cancer support group and the literally bump into each other. They stare into each others eyes. It was a love at first sight moment, another common convention of romance movies.
Hazel tells Gus that she really wants to meet her favorite author, but he lives in Amsterdam so her dream is unobtainable. Gus decides to use his "cancer wish" from the Make-a-wish-foundation to take her to Amsterdam to meet the author of her favorite book. Grand gestures are very common in romance movies because it allows the character to express how much they love the other person. They have a nice trip in Amsterdam until Gus tells Hazel that his cancer is back. This is a major obstacle in their relationship. In romance movies, their is usually something that is keeping the couple from living their happily ever after. In this case, it's Gus's cancer.
Agustus' health begins to worsen overtime and he eventually dies. One would think this would be the saddest moment of the film, but it is not. The saddest moment of the film is when Hazel reads the letter that Gus wrote for her before he passed away. In many romance movies, the characters like to write letters. This is because it allows them to express their feelings in a way that is in print, demonstrating that their love is forever. In his letter, Gus reveals his love for her and talks about how he has accepted his death. In many romance films, the characters do not have a happy ending. This is because in real life, not every relation ship will have a happy ending. But I personally believe that they only do this to forcefully tug on the audiences heart-strings and make them ball their eyes out.
Some of My Favorite Romance Movies:
1. 10 Things I Hate About You
2. Breakfast At Tiffany's
3. Call Me By Your Name
4. A Walk to Remember
5. Dear John
