Saturday, December 17, 2011
Ryan Struble: FILM GENRE: ROMANCE
Ryan presented a wonderful film, "The Titanic" and provided an interesting background to the film. Your task is to use some of your notes from his lecture and from what you witnessed in the film to elaborate on the finer points of the "romance" genre. Likewise, this film could easily cross borders into another genre. You might want to approach this discussion too, setting up specific parts of the film that might lend themselves to another genre. Give your feedback to Ryan and write a well-developed analysis from your perspective, of the film and how it fits so properly into the genre of "Romance".
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
Alright, so here it is. Ryan gave a presentation on an amazing movie! His presentation was as equally amazing! I want to focus on the movie first though. Titanic is a movie that has, and always will, made me cry or feel like crying when I watch the emotion involved. It fits perfectly into the criteria for a romance movie.
ReplyDeleteWhat I learned from Ryan's presentation would be the difference between chick flicks and romance movies, the characteristics of male and females, and that there is always some sort of obstacle. I actually loved learning about it. Romance was never one of my favorite genres but there are some that I will always love. Ryan chose one of them. I learned that romance movies can be directed at more than a female audience(chick flicks). I also discovered that the females are much more interested in romance than males are typically. And then there is the obstacle, in Titanic's case, the social differences.
Also, I know a slight amount of Romance plays into almost every film. Nick's first film had it in Will and Elizabeth. Sophie's had it in Helen and Dr. Parry. Mine has it in the characters Mercedes and Edmond. I'm sure nearly everyone has a movie with at least some small element of romance in it. That is how powerful the genre is. In my mind, it really shows what a key piece a little love is in every story.
Ryan gave a great presentation with an amazing amount of depth. I learned so much and was really glad to see what he could teach me. Ryan, fabulous job! You were terrific!
The genre of thriller dips into the realms of other genres such as horror, but Sophie corrected the points that can distinguish between these genres. The film, the Spiral Staircase was a thriller, but more in depth it was a psychological thriller. A psychological thriller focuses on the characters rather than what is happening. This is direct opposite of the traditional thriller. The film had everything Sophie defined about the genre and the film. From what I know about classic cinema, thrillers always have a plot twist. The Spiral Staircase indeed had a plot twist, which was the killer being Professor Warren, when his benevolence and generosity was comforting. One could have assumed him as innocent due to this nature. The film made it suggestive of others as the killer even Dr. Perry over Professo Warren. Another thriller/horror film that utilizes the plot twist is any of the Scream movies. Take Scream 4 for example, the girl who seems to be the hunted turns out to be the murderer, thus a massive plot twist the audience does not suspect unless they know that characteristic of thriller films. When looking into the psychology of the film, you can see what one event cam have a crucial effect on someone's life. Two of examples of this were shown in Sophie's movie. First, was Helen's tragic experience of watching her parents being burned alive. This carnage led her to disease of the mind(pysche) that afflicted speech. The second stems from Professor Warren's father showing disappointment in his son for not being a man. Tormenting Warren throughout his life, we see that event in his childhood led him into the murder of the cripple with the rationale of being a man, thus trying to appeal to his father. The psychology in this film, I feel, has its significance from the notion the child is the father of the man as seen by the two example above. All in all the archaic film was quite interesting for showing how the film genre has evolved throughout the decades. Good job Sophie.
ReplyDeleteI am one of those people that mostly everyone calls crazy for have never seen the "Titanic." Now that I've seen it I cannot believe I haven't before! It was so good, so first off I'd like to send a shout-out to Ryan for finally letting me see this film!
ReplyDeleteI was not there for the first day of Ryan's presentation, but I did read his notes which were outstandingly well done. One thing that I learned was the sub-genre of "Chick Flicks." I never knew it was an actual genre, I just always thought it was something that males made up as an excuse to not go to the movies with their girl. I never knew it was a real thing, but I can see now how the "Titanic" fits into that sub genre rather well. I can see how this fit into Romance because of how Jack and Roses love affair was threatened, not only because of her engagement to Cal, but because of the Titanic itself eventually sinking. I think if it had to fall under a theme of Romance, this film could fit almost every one of them including painful love, sacrificial love, passionate love, and tragic love. I think Ryan did a great job at listing those in his Romance PowerPoint. I never knew that there was so many different types of love that could fit into the Romance category.
I'm a sucker for a good love story, so this film really touched my heart, which I think fits into what Ryan said about the Romance film being "The Genre of the Heart." I can also see how the concept of the push/pull related to this film. Ryan also did a great job at picking up on things such as the head-shots, the mis en scene, and the rough language being used. I did not really occur to me if it was necessary or not, mostly because in today's world it is something of a commonplace, but Ryan's idea of it adding emotion or emphasis to a particular scene made a lot of sense to me. I can now understand how it is used in certain films for that effect.
Overall, I've become even more a Romance fan, and plan on watching the "Titanic" very soon. Thanks for the presentation Ryan, well done!
Alex,
ReplyDeleteI really loved what you said about how almost every film has a romance in it, like with Will and Elizabeth, and then Helen and Dr. Parry. I think film's most often include romance because people can connect with it. Things that touch the heart are very relatable. I loved what you said about it being "a key piece in every story." This made a lot of sense to me.
I'd also have to agree with everything you said. Ryan did a great presentation.
Nick,
Thanks for the post! I think you put it on the wrong blog, but thank you for what you said about my presentation, and I'm glad you liked it.
Ryan, you did a really great job with your presentation and picked a movie that fit the genre perfectly (even if I will never watch it again). You taught me quite a bit about romance films and their characteristics.
ReplyDeleteI myself am not a big romance movie fan, they're cute, but they've never been my cup of tea. However, I found what Ryan said about the romance genre to be very, very interesting. What I was extremely interested in was the importance of the male and female characters. I had never really given much thought to the sex appeal of a character, really, I never thought it was that big of a deal. In my mind I just figured that attractive actors were cast so that people would be interested. However, the appeal of the actor also deals with the attraction of other characters to that character within the film. This was very important in "Titanic" since Rose had both Cal and Jack falling all over her, in their own special ways. Also, it was interesting how the woman influences the man in romance films.
I thought that this film could also, like Ryan mentioned, be considered historical. Since the sinking of the Titanic was an actual, horrific event, this film had many historical roots within it. It also had a bit of suspense in it, as the ship was sinking and one has to wonder who will survive. But it is quite obvious that the actual genre must be romance, since the story was most fixated on the love of Rose and Jack.
All things considered, fantastic job Ryan!
Sophie-
ReplyDeleteI liked what you said about the film touching your heart and the "genre of the heart". I completely agree. Even though I didn't like this, it was mostly because I became emotionally attached to Jack and felt awful for Rose when she lost them, I also didn't like watching practically everyone dying. It truly was a beautiful story.
Alex-
Absolutely! Love is so important in every story. That was really a good point on how romance is really in almost every genre there is. A film is almost dull without a bit of love going on. I enjoyed how you pointed out the love in the films we have watched and the ones yet to come.
Nick-
Wrong spot, bud. But nice post!
Kat,
ReplyDeleteI really liked what you said about the male and female roles, and their appeal. It never really occurred to me until I read Ryan's packet. I think this also applies to the "Titanic" very well. Sorry you won't ever watch it again, but I agree with you when you say that this was a beautiful story. It was a great movie.
"Titanic" is an amazing film. I looked forward to World Lit everyday just to see the movie. I saw this movie years ago, but with age and knowledge, it was like viewing it for the first time. I am a fan of the romance genre. "Titanic" fits flawlessly into this genre. The movie articulates true love perfectly. Rose even after all those years she went on, and at her moment of death, she still loved Jack. Jack's characterization was phenomenal. He was a man, yet sweet and loving, shown by his amorous gestures towards Rose. This movie makes me believe that romance is still alive. In today's society, the word love has lost most of it's meaning. Relationships are characterized by apathy, abuse, lack of chivalry, infidelity, and sex. In "Titanic," Jack and Rose's relationship was seen tp be made of love, emotional and physical. The music of the movie was also outstanding, I even went home and learned "My Heart Will Go On" on the piano. Chick-flick or not, this movie is amazing. The movie had such a large scale, the ship, the tragedy, the romance, and the wonder it creates hits deeps in ones mind for fathoms and fathoms. Ryan, you did an excellent job. It'll be hard for any movie to compete.
ReplyDeleteSophie,
ReplyDeleteYour ideas about romance in general are similar to my thoughts as well. Romance movies hit the heart at it's most vulnerable fears and desires. The tragedy of the movie adds to the doleful mood distilled within the audience. Even I, a guy, feel a deep sadness at the conclusion of the movie due to Rose still loving him until the very end versus Jack dying.
Kat,
Your description of the relevance of historic value of the movie is true. Not too many people would have known about titanic without the movie. Today no one even knows about the sister ships, Britannic and Olympic, and how they met their demise, although not as devastating.
Alex,
I enjoyed your ideas on romance. Like I said, today romance is dead, but this movie serves as a template for today's society to evolve back into romance versus infidelity, hedonism, apathy, etc.
Ryan did a great job on his presentation on the Romance genre and showed a relevant and wonderful film to illustrate his topic. He taught us that one of the main components of a Romance film is that a complication arises that comes between the lovers. The film” Titanic” really showed this point, in not only one but three different crises – the difference in social status between the lovers, Rose’s engagement to Cal, and finally the disaster of the ship sinking. I believe this component of romance films accurately reflects life, as there is always something that interferes with relationships.
ReplyDeleteWhile an excellent example of a Romance film, “Titanic” could also be classified as a historical film. It tells the story of the tragedy that actually happened in 1912, while adding the story of Rose and Jack. The movie makers put much effort into making the film historically accurate, and even featured characters who were on board the real Titanic. The way the ship sunk was based on real records, and the times of the events were also accurate. Ryan chose a film that not only told the story of star-crossed lovers, but also instructed the audience on an event of history that should not be forgotten. Thank you for the experience of finally getting to see this film, Ryan! I now understand why this film is such a classic.