Romantic Comedy Analysis

Danielle Herrin

Section 7

Due: 11/16/17

Romantic Comedy’s Transformation Through Time

Over the years, distinct themes have carried on through the romantic comedy genre, the most prevalent being boy meets girl, boy loses girl, and boy gets girl back. Even though the main theme in romantic comedy is still considered to be the same today as when the genre emerged, roles and ideas have shifted to reflect the ever changing American culture. The expression of gender dominance and social status in film has mirrored what the American people have experienced throughout time to keep drawing audiences to the theatre . This is evident from the subgenres spawned from romantic comedy which are screwball comedy, sex comedy, modern american romantic comedy,

In these types of romantic comedies, a lot of senseless humor took place consisting of slapstick humor and witty banter between the main characters. “Screwball comedies featured cross-dressing…They also involved a central romantic story, usually in which the couple seem mismatched and even hostile to each other at first, and “cute meet” in some way” (McFarland, 2001). This was great for the audience because even though parts of the story seemed extremely far fetched, they helped people forget about the struggles going on in their everyday lives. It also empowered women. Screwball comedy portrayed them in a higher status compared to men. This is shown by the way women would speak to the men using intelligent dialogue. Good examples of this subgenre can be seen in films such as Woman of the Year, State of the Union, Pat and Mike, and Desk Set. “These films tended to focus on Hepburn playing a professional role and her refusal to be subordinate to her male counterpart” (Hollywood, 2012). During the thirties to the early forties, Americans were going through the Great Depression. This caused suicide and crime rates to rise. Seeing that people were depressed and wanted a way to escape their lives, filmmakers, artists, and actors worked to combat this depression by creating funny, upbeat movies. The ridiculous humor and stories of love that screwball comedy displayed drew audiences in on a two-hour cinematic journey where they could temporarily forget about their own