The Genre of Romance

One of the core genres that have been in theaters since the origin of cinema is romance. This genre has changed with time and ranges from older films such as Casablanca to modern-day films such as The Fault in Our Stars.

When dealing with romance films, it is important to first analyze the typical content that is present.

Firstly, the main characters are almost always a male and a female who begin the film in their mid to late 20's. This has slightly been changing as of late due to a more outspoken LGBTQ community and their aspirations to have the main characters be of whatever gender or sexuality they believe is fit. This change can be seen in modern-day production such as Love, Simon and Call Me by Your Name. The storylines that are present within most romance films span across a longer period of time, being up to a few years if not longer. This allows for the characters present in the film to have some sense of development. Along with allowing for character development, it allows for the love and relationship between the characters to grow or diminish depending on its respective story.

To tie into the typical content that is noticed within romance films there are also typical production techniques. When looking into how most of these films are shot it is rather simplistic. At times where the characters are showing their love and affection the shots tend to switch towards close-ups. These are extremely prevalent in every romance production. Another feature that ties into these close-ups is a zoom into that shot to portray that close view into the relationship on screen. Another common feature that is utilized is color. The use of darker areas or colors, especially rain, is done to portray a sad state or troublesome period in the love story. When this happens and it begins to rain it is meant to play with the audience as then the character typically get back together in the rain and kiss. This is seen in one of the more romantic scenes in Cast Away.

The last major topic to discuss when analyzing the romance genre is how it is marketed to the public. The posters that are created for these films typically have both of the main characters on them and their proximity towards each other shows at what level/state their relationship is in. In Crazy Rich Asians, you can see the characters are touching and close which symbolizes their strong relationship at the beginning of the film. The opposite of this scenarios where there might be words, objects, or space in between the characters to represent some sense of distance or issues that are present in this film. This is seen in Silver Linings Playbook and Sleepless in Seattle.

One of the most popular romance movies that exists is The Notebook. This film revolves around the characters Noah (Ryan Gosling) and Allie (Rachel McAdams) and their relationship over the test of time. The characters are separated for a period of time and Allie gets a new love interest. This film does utilize that period of time that goes on in typical films to show the relationship and how it changes over the course of time. Also in the film, the poster shows the two characters embracing each other which is represents their strong relationship which lasts the test of time. Along with the closeness of the characters, there is also rain which is present at this same scene in the film. The characters get back together and express their love for each other. This film follows some of the basic and popular aspects that are associated with the romance genre.

Another prevalent and popular romance film is Love, Simon. This film follow one of the newer trends and has a gay main character named Simon(Nick Robinson). One thing that this film does not follow is the typical idea of the already defined relationship with the two main characters. It is a young high school student who is trying to understand love and himself. In this film, there are scenes towards the end which are more emotional and closer. They are important in developing the character and his relationship and multiple close-ups are used. While no rain or detrimental color tones are used, in the poster you can see the main character, Simon, who is standing in front of everybody else and they are merely behind him. He feels as if he is the most important and at the forefront of a difficult time in his life. This is one of the more popular romance films to come out over the past year and is a strong representation of the genre.

Other films to check out that are in this genre are: Notting Hill, Brokeback Mountain, Pride and Prejudice, Beauty and the Beast, and When Harry Met Sally...