Genre

Angus Thongs and Perfect Snogging

This is a romantic comedy which follows a 15 year old girl’s ups and downs of teenage life, centred mainly on her growing relationship with a boy called Robbie. It follows all of the codes and conventions of a romantic film in that she falls in love with him, there is a problem along the way (threat of moving to New Zealand, they have a falling out) but in the end they get together and live happily ever after. It also contains some of the romantic iconography e.g. walks along beaches however it is not totally filled with love hearts and flowers etc. this is because it is a hybrid with comedy and a sort of coming of age sort of film therefore all of the iconography would be out of place.    

Titanic

This is a romantic film about a couple that fall in love but are separated by class and circumstance. You can tell immediately that this is going to be a romantic film because of the dramatic emotional music, high key lighting and the iconography – ballrooms, gifts etc. However, the film does not follow the typical codes and conventions of the romantic genre, in that Jack (the love interest) dies therefore ruining the usually happily ever after ending. But because this is a film based on a historical tragedy the audience expects there not to be a happy ending and therefore it is okay to go against the codes and conventions.     

500 Days of Summer

This is again another example of a typical romantic comedy film. However 500 Days of Summer breaks a few codes and conventions in that it is told from the boys perspective (whereas it is usually told from the girls perspective), the boy is the one who falls in love with the girl, and the girl and boy don’t end up together. But on the other hand it does have a happily ever after finish as the girl ends up with someone she truly loves and is happy and it is implied that the boy finds the one as well.  

Genre

Genre is a way to categorise films and other forms of entertainment. Different genres are created by codes and conventions which can change over time. Sometimes you can mix genres to create hybrids for example action thriller, romantic comedy etc.

The genre my group has chosen is romantic. The typical codes and conventions of the romantic genre are boy meets girl, they fall in love, there is some sort of disruption which is later resolved to end with a happily ever after. There is also specific iconography which comes with the genre which consists of hearts, flowers, chocolate, colours like red, pink and white and there is also usually an airy light hearted feel to the film, generally created by the use of high key lighting. 

Some examples of the romantic genre are as follows:

Grease

Grease is a typical romantic film about a boy and a girl who fall in love, they are faced with some problems put forth by their peers but in the end they put their differences aside and live happily ever after.

The Notebook

Again this is a typical romantic film in which a couple fall in love however they are unable to be together due to their differences in class. But in the end they get together and live happily ever after.