SKA: November 2023

11/03/2023

Genre Research

How is romance a genre?

Romance is considered a widespread and well-known genre since the medieval times. Poems, novels, films, theatrical arts, and various media incorporate romance within their storylines. Romance corresponds well with subgenres, which is why it is so popular. The concept of romance immerses in the idea of passionate and satisfying endings. It prioritizes the relationship between the character's love and the obstacles they need to overcome to preserve that love.

Love is a universal emotion, but in the media marketing world, film distributors target teenage and adult women, ages 33-44, who have experienced a relationship or emotions towards their love interest. Romance has a tremendous emotional impact on its audience since happy endings and romantic ideals provide an escape from reality. These feelings can stimulate affection, desire, attraction, or heartfelt emotions. Whether through dating, courtship, or marriage, romantic productions analyze the many issues that could occur in relationships and convey an intense message.

Content:

Romance films must contain conflicts internally or externally. Internal conflicts can be the individual or the lovers' feelings on a situation. This conflict shows the different perspectives of the people in the relationship. An individual's feelings towards an issue can distance them from their romantic interest due to insecurities, miscommunication, or other internal reasons. External factors can be other people or obstacles that prohibit the relationship from progressing forward. One of the most intriguing opposing force concepts is the love triangle. The triangle is essentially a love triangle, indicating a third uninvited person involved, which influences the dynamics of the relationship. In the movie Tall Girl, there was constant bickering between Ava Michelle, who played Jodi Kreyman, and Clara Wisley, who played Kimmy Stitcher, over Luke Einser, who played Stig Mohlin. This concept provokes critical elements that could stir a relationship, such as jealousy, tension, and affairs.

Another element could be opposing families, used in the classic Romeo and Juliet. Romeo and Juliet is widely known for its remarkable story of the two secret lovers who could not be together because their families were rivals. Moreover, as there were harmful characters, there were also helpful characters. These are side characters that guide the main characters away from obstacles. Helpers serve as a great addition to the movie as they often contribute toward building the plot. They encourage progression and don't leave the main characters to come to conclusions on their own.

Production techniques:

In a romantic production, particular features in the background, the props, and the costuming illuminate the atmosphere. The lighting in a scene is vital to the viewer's and characters' mood within the film. Low light can indicate a mysterious, intriguing effect. Warm lighting demonstrates intimate and comforting visuals to express happy moments. Soft light is similar to warm light, without the harsh shadows. This way, the lighting can reflect on the individual's subtle facial expressions. Motivational light can be supported by string lights, candles, and firelight.

Mood can also be established by music. Music can set the tone of the situation. In a relationship, the target romantic music would be jazz, soulful music, to express joy and excitement. Music can also indicate that the characters are attracted to each other. Other sounds can be incorporated to establish the same conclusion, such as dialogue or internal monologue.

Colors in the background or costuming are frequently symbolistic. Romantic colors express passionate red or bright pink and yellow. In 1992, Aladdin incorporated warm and cool hues like red, orange, and blue. In the image below, the red is meant to attract the male lead and stimulate the heartbeat; the orange creates mutual warmth between characters.

In the scene below, the characters are taking a magical carpet ride, where the colors are set in a blue hue, indicating trust that they will embark on a new relationship.

Lastly, angles and shots can indicate a romantic connection. Close-ups showcase facial expressions like someone's eyes lighting up or showcasing important aspects like an engagement ring on a finger. Long shots typically identify romantic settings to hint to viewers that the film is a romance. Two shot angles display the progression of a character's relationship over time. This is why medium shots are crucial when identifying body language. These factors build the relationship and manifest attractiveness between characters. Marketers capture these moments and select a scene to attract an audience. A specific element like a rose or color can expand the audience's favor. Romance will continue to be popular because of the entertaining engagement between these fundamentals.

Film #1

10 Things About You, directed by Gil Junger in 1999, is a romantic comedy that entangles enemies to lovers concept. An intellectual high school female lead, Kat Stratford, crosses paths with the male lead, Patrick Verona. Kat is highly opinionative and challenging when interacting with boys. However, her younger sister was quite the opposite, and for her to date, she had to find Kat a boyfriend. This plan tangled in Patrick, which was conspired with lies and consistent entanglements. This production incorporated entertaining Shakespeare elements and heartfelt scenes of teenage love.

Film #2

Edward Scissorhands, released in 1990, is a romantic production between a male outcast and a female teenager. The film incorporates romance in fantasy and goth. The color controversy between the male main character and everyone else is meant to signify the idea of him as an outcast. Black means evil or wrong, so Edward Scissorhands is dressed in dark colors and lives in a gloomy castle. Everyone else in the community is dressed in pastel colors, including his love character, Esmeralda. Later in the movie, these colors appear in Edward's life after Esmeralda's love for Edward blooms; thus, Edwards's gloomy castle adds a colorful pallet to the garden. This transformation represents the love that combines two worlds.

Romantic productions:

Casablanca (1942)