ROMANCE FILMS

Main Codes and

Conventions
A lot of romance films, especially those in the late
80s to early 2000s follow the ‘love at first sight’
trope. They oftentimes start with a chance
meeting, usually by an accident such as coffee
being spilled on a t-shirt, or using the ‘helping
hand’ trope by holding open an elevator.
Other codes and conventions of romance movies
include the three act structure (the meeting, the
developing romance, the end), obstacles
(disapproving family members, societal
standards) and objectives (usually, objectives in
romance movies are centred around the individual
characters, such as career aspirations and life
goals).
 Has this genre evolved/adapted
over time?
In my opinion, the genre has evolved over time. In early
romance movies, the trope was usually this: strong, smart
male character meets a damsel-in-distress female love
interest who’s ‘nothing’ without him and will do anything to
‘please him’. An example of this, though not too bad, is Pretty
Woman (1990). In this film, Julia Roberts character tries to
improve/change herself in various ways to win the affection
of Richard Gere’s character. In some sense, her character
building would be non-existent if it wasn’t for the male
counterpart.

However, in a more modern film, 500 Days Of Summer

(2009), both of the characters are better developed. The
female lead could actually be a character without the male
lead and vice versa. As well as this, the codes and
conventions have become more broad; a lot of modern
movies now mix tropes together to create a whole new genre.
They also balance emotion, comedy and represent mental
illness in a less damaging way.
Is the romance genre still
relevant today?
It is, however a lot of it is due to the resurgence
of older romantic movies, not necessarily new
releases. For example, films like Brokeback
Mountain have briefly trended on TikTok and
sites like Letterboxd have made classic romance
films more popular with the younger
generations.

However, I do think some new releases have

revived the genre too. Films like Poor Things
and All Of Us Strangers, both released in the
past year, have become extremely popular and
have sort of revived the genre in new and
creative ways.
 Typical
Narrative
Conventions
Two characters going through a
heartbreak.
They fall in love, but someone disagrees.

Emotional plot points e.g. death or loss

of a family member.
Characters going their separate ways,
then reuniting at the end.
Both of the main subjects are likeable
characters.
 Audience Expectations
Before Watching
Typically, with romantic films especially, the
audience will expect to be transported to a world
different from this one. This new world isn’t
necessarily freed from hate or prejudice, but it’s
a lot different and generally used as a method of
escapism.

Due to the casting of romance films, the

audience expects two perfect looking characters
with little to no flaws, and it’s a nice surprise
when the director and casting team go against
this.

Finally, the audience expects the usual structure

seen in romance films: the beginning, in which
the world and characters are established, the
middle, in which conflicts arise and feelings are
known, and the end, in which everything is
resolved and they live happily ever after.
 Target Audience
Usually, the target audience of romance movies consist of
two main demographics...

Middle Aged Women Teenage Girls

Middle-aged women are Teenage girls are the other

usually the main demographic
for romance films, due to the
light hearted nature of the
films .
main demographic, since a lot
of the relationships are
between young adults/teens
and due to the fantasy of some
of the relationships.
Negative Effects From The
Branding of the Romance
Genre
One of the biggest negative effects is the
romanticisation of unhealthy relationships. For
example, in the movie Badlands, the main couple
is based off of a real couple who were arrested for
murder in the 1950s. Though the movie is simply
a reenactment, many have accused it of
romanticising the relationship, ignoring the fact
it shows both the good and bad elements in a
realistic light. Contradicting this, a film like Call
Me By Your Name romanticised an age gap
relationship and for a while, this was glorified
and taken lightly until recently, when people
became aware of how messed up it really was.