Genre Research: Rom-Com

History Development

A romantic Comedy is defined to be "a general term for comedies that deal mainly with the follies and misunderstandings of young lovers, in a light hearted and happily ‐

concluded manner which usually avoids serious satire“. Shakespeare was the first writer to create a romantic comedy in the late 1950’s. The plays he wrote were ‘A Midsummer Night's Dream’, ‘Twelfth Night’, ‘As You Like It’, and ‘Much Ado About Nothing’. Romantic comedies focus on misunderstood young lovers and they don’t use any serious mockery.

It was not until the medieval times that romance was taken seriously. Comedies since ancient Greece have often incorporated sexual or social elements.

Audience

Rom-coms usually get classified as being ‘chick flicks’ as people believe they are for females, which makes them partially right as they are more aimed at females aged

between 13-17. They target their audience by using key conventions which will catch the attention from the target audience by using ‘cute guys/pretty girls’, ‘young teenage

characters’ and using a school as a setting.

NarrativesRomantic comedy films are films with light-hearted, humorous plotlines, centered on romantic ideals such as that true love is able to surmount most obstacles. The basic story line for a rom-com is:1. Two people meet (usually a man and a woman)2. They part due to an obstacle3. At first they don’t believe they like each other or something is in the way, such as one of

them has already got a partner4. The audience is then given obvious signs or clues to show that they clearly do like each

other or would be good together5. Whilst they are apart, one of them or both start to realise they do like each other or

would be good together6. This leads to them trying to find each other to be together (which would have obstacles

on the way)7. The finally meet up once again and declare their love and is usually a happy ending

Typical Character TypesCharacter types in rom-coms usually follow a similar pattern:

• The jock/cheerleader (popular ones)• The princess• The joker/funny one• The geek/nerd• The rebel• The misfit• The average boy/girl• The new/boy girl• The loner • The band geek

And these characters usually all play a different role:• The villain- struggles against the hero• The despatcher- informs the hero and sends them off on their task• The helper- helps the hero in quest• The princess/prize- who the hero wants but cannot reach due to the villain• Her father- gives the task to the hero/identifies the false hero• The doner- prepares the hero or gives the hero a magical object• The hero- reacts to the donor, weds the princess• The false hero- takes credit for the heroes actions, tries to take the princess

IconographyThere are many key iconography's used in majority of the rom-com films, these include:• Setting: In rom-coms the setting is usually based where teenagers are most likely to be.

Places such as parties, school, a bedroom etc. This will attract the target audience more. • Costumes: These are used to show the audience which character belongs to what group.

For example in a high school a nerd would be wearing maybe a shirt and glasses, whereas a popular girl would be wearing make-up, short skirts, low cut tops etc.

• Sound: In a rom-com sound is used to draw the audience into the film, usually new music that is in the charts is used and the music tends to fit in with the character types. Also at the beginning it is normally a voice-over explaining the main characters situation.

• Shot types: usually at the end of all rom-coms the final shot is of the couple in the centre showing the audience their happy ending.