Modern Films: Romantic Comedies

1. Modern Films: Romantic Comedies How this movie genre relates to society’s belief in God and the good life

2. Romantic Comedies Today • What Women Want The Proposal 50 First Dates

3. Romantic Comedies Today, continued • Typically rely on exaggerated and unrealistic portrayals of romantic relationships • Social Cognitive Theory • Cultivation Theory • Tend to promote only positive aspects of marriage • People often hold idealistic expectations of marriage • Creates 2 stereotypes: • 1. Men do not understand women • 2. Love at first sight

4. Belief in God’s Existence and Nonexistence • There is little proof of God’s existence • But human beings seem to be constantly searching for what will make them feel complete • Human need for one another • Darcy McGuire: That's it?  • Nick Marshall: I don't want that to be it. I don't want that to be it at all.  • Darcy McGuire: Then don't let a little thing like me firing you stand in your way. I didn't know what to react to first. Hey, news flash, I took the wrong road. What kind of knight in shining armor would I be if the man I love needs rescuing and I just let him walk out my door?  • Nick Marshall: My hero. 

5. Connection to Moral Wisdom Moral Wisdom Romantic Comedies Today Idealization of partner-focusing on the partner’s good qualities and often exaggerate their characteristics and ignore the parts that make them human 50 First Dates Soulmate/one and only- the belief that there is only one perfect love for each individual Jerry McGuire: “You complete me.” 50 First Dates- “Nothing beats a first kiss.” • “The human spirit feels how incomplete it is that it moves relentlessly toward union with others” (11) • Focuses on the human need for union with others and God • “If we take the visceral meaning out of love, we sap it of its energy. We need to feel that sense of union. Union has a very deeply felt, passionate, emotionally invested human meaning. Union is all we seek” (12)

6. Individual Identities and Community Identities • Uses and Gratifications- media satisfies current desires or needs • Viewers choose what we want to view • Oxford English Dictionary defines romance as “that class of literature which consists of love stories and idealistic character or quality in a love affair.” • “Soulmate” • Love conquers all- belief that love will overcome everything • Conflict in the relationship does not matter because love always finds a way

7. Connection to Man in Chains • All people are “chained” to themselves • Their lives are incomplete and they are constantly searching for something • Moving from being selfish to being selfless • “I was seeking a private happiness” (58). • “He felt that, in spite of all his spiritual poverty, he was yet a privileged being, and knew that, for him, the divine Grace had taken on the form of human love” (113). • The male changes from being a huge womanizer to being a devoted lover after meeting his significant other

8. Connection to Friedrich Nietzsche • Is God dead? • Reality has a purpose, value, and meaning • When God is dead, all is permitted • Andrew Paxton: Three days ago, I loathed you. I used to dream about you getting hit by a cab. Then we had our little adventure up in Alaska and things started to changed. Things changed when we kissed. And when you told me about your tattoo…But I didn't realize any of this, until I was standing alone... in a barn... wifeless. Now, you could imagine my disappointment when it suddenly dawned on me that the woman I love is about to be kicked out of the country. So Margaret, marry me, because I'd like to date you. 

9. Questions???