RomCom Defined [2]

 There was a lot of information packed into this post:

https://kit10phish.wordpress.com/?s=Problematic+RomCom&submit=Search

So I'm going to do a series to split it up into smaller chunks.

Before we really dig into this year's anti-Valentine's Day topic, check out prior years here:

https://kit10phish.wordpress.com/2021/02/13/master-post-links-to-every-anti-valentines-post-2007-2021

RomCom Defined:

Also referred to as chick flick; A funny movie with a romantic journey tied together with a happy ending.

The romantic comedy genre is considerably far more relaxed in comparison to its more intense competing genres. There is no gripping feeling of visceral fear found in a horror movie, or the pulse-pounding action that thrums through stories of adventure. The absence of an overly-complicated origin story in the romantic comedy genre is what contributes to the palatability of the subset. Romantic comedies offer a stress-free viewing experience that is crafted to be enjoyed with good company.

Plotlines are fairly mainstreamed and direct. They explain themselves with clear, uninterrupted narratives, and are easy to digest. Being so easy to watch, and being able to apply to a variety of psychographics, make romantic comedies such an agreeable genre in movies. Perhaps not the most compelling pieces of media, they are nevertheless entertaining.

In aggregate, this genre was undeniably optimistic and upbeat. They were fun, easy, and essentially guaranteed to dismount with a happy ending. And these movies were basically required to cast a woman in a leading role, allegedly showing us all at the time that you could have it all — a career, great friends, a fantastic apartment, and the icing on the cake: true love.

Sources:

https://www.thealinemag.com/entertainment-socialmedia/the-toxic-reality-of-rom-coms

https://medium.com/athena-talks/youve-got-male-how-rom-coms-have-secretly-been-holding-women-back-ab1132102fb

https://medium.com/athena-talks/youve-got-male-how-rom-coms-have-secretly-been-holding-women-back-ab1132102fb

https://wellnessandwanderlust.net/2014/06/17/the-role-of-women-in-romantic-comedies

https://womensmediacenter.com/fbomb/the-problem-with-rom-coms

https://sites.psu.edu/siowfa15/2015/12/04/does-romantic-comedies-make-women-expectations-unrealistic

https://movieweb.com/romantic-comedies-popular-why/

https://thequorum.com/can-valentines-day-at-the-box-office-be-saved

https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/gallery/highest-grossing-romantic-comedies-419302/10-confessions-of-a-shopahloic-108333222/

https://libjournals.unca.edu/ncur/wp-content/uploads/2021/09/658-Green.pdf

https://www.34st.com/article/2021/02/romantic-comedy-diversity-bipoc-hollywood-representation

https://rtfgenderandmediaculture.wordpress.com/2023/06/23/black-african-american-erasure-in-classic-romantic-comedies

https://bouqs.com/blog/valentines-day-statistics-survey

https://business.yougov.com/content/45117-how-will-americans-spend-valentines

https://npaw.com/blog/valentines-day-vod-up-in-2021

https://today.yougov.com/entertainment/articles/45146-americans-relationship-romantic-comedies-poll

https://www.movieguide.org/news-articles/who-goes-to-the-movies-4.html

https://www.jonathanwstokes.com/blog/2015/04/18/are-romantic-comedies-profitable

https://skoobywatchesmovies.com/recent-movie-news/2019/3/16/rom-com-bracket-vote-on-the-sweet-16-kj8bk-bg7nl-87f6x

https://www.mindlabpro.com/blogs/nootropics/neuroplasticity-rewire-your-brain-for-learning-memory-and-mood

https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/fnins.2021.630829/full

https://www.nature.com/articles/s41598-017-16592-y

https://stephenfollows.com/are-men-in-romantic-films-older-than-women

https://www.vice.com/en/article/3kxzpv/rom-com-queer-viewer

https://www.autostraddle.com/queering-the-canon-where-are-all-the-trans-rom-coms