Pretty Woman Montage
Romantic Comedies: The Happiness of Love
Discovering the Romanic Comedy
The romantic comedy is a genre of both movies and television shows that includes the elements of both a comedy and a romance. The genre has been around for centuries. The common prototypes and themes of romantic comedies are evident in pieces of literature as far back as Shakespeare’s “A Midsummer Night’s Dream” or “Much Ado About Nothing.”
What is appealing about the romantic comedy?
The greatest appeal of the romantic comedy is its lighthearted nature and its feel good tone. While there is often turmoil and conflict embedded in the plot, a romantic genre always maintains a positive mood. Every moment of conflict is juxtaposed with a joke or a possibility of a solution. And of course, the prototypical romantic comedy offers its readers a hopeful view on the possibility and power of love. It suggests that love conquers all. Love can survive the greatest of obstacles and it can be found in your own backyard.
What are the elements of a romantic comedy?
The romantic comedy has two lead characters, usually a male and a female. The story is focused on these two characters; however, both characters usually have a support system that guides them throughout the story. The support system is usually there for the main character to discuss their problems with and to also insert comedic relief when necessary.
These characters are usually male and female. However, recently there have been television shows and a few movies that have presented homosexual love. These stories tend to follow the same general storyline and theme. However, the issues surrounding their love may deal more with social acceptance.
The two characters usually meet in the beginning of the film and there is the immediate sense that they will fall in love. Once the characters meet, there are two options:
1) The characters start dating.
2) The characters will not start dating; however, they will think about each other and fall more in love throughout the movie. In this case, the characters usually will see each other frequently throughout the movie but they will not declare their love. The audience knows, however, that these two are meant to be!
As the characters’ love develops, there is usually a climatic moment when the two separate. If they were dating, this is easily accomplished through a breakup scene. If they were never dating, it is usually done with a glimpse of the characters getting together. They are often seen as being so close to getting together and then they have a fight or something happens to tear them apart.
Before the ending, there is usually one character who decides that they must be together. This is usually the character who may have been in doubt before or who was the reason for the breakup. The sex of this character varies with each movie. However, if it is the woman, she was usually unsure or did not trust the man and than she changes her mind. If it was the male, he may have cheated on the woman or been unable to commit until now.
Once the characters realize how much they love the other, they come up with some sort of grand gesture and seek out the other. There may be a chase scene, where the character rushes to meet the other at the airport before they leave. There is usually a metaphorical ticking clock, where the character has a limited amount of time to find the other, declare their love and find that happy ending before it is all taken away.
Finally, there is the romantic love speech. The recipient of the love speech will accept it. The couple will then kiss, music will play, and the credits will role. And then finally the readers belief in love will reemerge and all will be right with the world!
The Ultimate Love Speech: The Cutting Edge
The romantic comedy assumes that love conquers all. It suggests that love will outlast any obstacles or problems that may come its way. Social class, families, distance, another love interest, all of these things are simply bumps in the road. Nothing can stop the power of true love. Ultimately, I believe that this is true. However, the representation of love in a romantic comedy is overly idealistic. Finding love and keeping it is one of the hardest things that a person has to do. Often the price of keeping love may not be worth the cost. A romantic comedy suggests that all you have to do is love each other and it will work out. But how true is this? The question is up for debate. Even if you are to believe that love can outlast anything, it is not going to be as easy as the movie suggests. These movies always end at the reunion. They end with the couple getting together and the music playing. But what happens after the credits roll? What happens when the businessman marries the prostitute? How does she fit into his life? How does she fit the business-role? How does she remain an equal when she comes with no money or foundation of her own? Is the businessman able to accept her friends and her habits? How can the two happily coexist?
While, I would not say that love is not strong enough to conquer all. The ultimate message needs to be that love takes work. The credits do not roll and happiness pervades. Romantic comedies often create this picture perfect idea of love that leaves viewers unable to comprehend why their own relationships are filled with problems. They often leave readers believing and longing for that impossible love where there is only kissing in the rain, happiness, and laughter.
These movies also suggest that love is the cure-all. They suggest that all that matters is love. The focus of these movies is on two people finding each other. Throughout the movie, these people have problems with their jobs, with money, or with their friends. However, once they are kissing in the rain, all of these problems fade away. These movies create the idea that love is all that matters. It suggests that if you do have it, you should be happy. And if you don’t, then your life will be miserable and there must be something wrong with you. They create this idealistic view of soul mates that leaves viewers longing for that perfect love of their own. There is no room for a life alone. Thus, how are those who are not in love supposed to view these films? Often times, these movies can create a feeling of adequacy in its viewers, making them live though the movie as they feel empty without their own love. Again, if the movie showed what happens after the credits roll, perhaps it would leave its viewers with the sense that love may not be the answer to their problems.
A romantic comedy creates the belief that love is all that matters. It puts high expectations on what love is, creating the sense that true love must be perfect and pure. It suggests that you must find love in order to be happy. Nothing else will fulfill you. Nothing else will give you that happy ending.
Example Lesson Plan for Teaching about the Genre of Romantic Comedies
What happens after the credits roll? Moving from the Idealistic to the Realistic
For this assignment, students will be asked to extend the story of a romantic comedy. They will watch the film of their choice and summarize the basic plot points of the movie. However, they must then continue the story after the couple gets together and the credits roll. How do these two coexist? Do they truly find their happy ending? What problems will they have to encounter that the movie did not show? The students should show one or two more scenes that brings to life how these characters live together and what issues of conflict they will have to endure.
The purpose of this activity is to have the students question what the movie left out. Often times romantic comedies will suggest that once love happens, everything else fades away. This activity, however, forces readers to wonder where everything else went. It forces readers to question the assumption that love is the ultimate cure-all.
These movies or representation are able to create a message or theme by leaving out important elements of an argument. These movies create an argument that many people blindly accept because they do not take the time to question and dissect the argument that is being made. They do not pull out the foundation of the argument and see the issue with all of its questions and concerns in mind. They do not see the bigger picture as they become trapped in the incomplete and one-sided representation that is being played out in front of them. This assignment asks the students to question the argument that is being made and to put the themes and issues of the narrative into a real world setting. This assignment asks student to move from the idealistic to the realistic, as they take the idealistic plot and theme of the movie and they place it into the expectations of reality.
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