Editing

Representation in romantic films

There is no typical stereotypes for women in film. Every genre portrays women differently, in the romantic genre women are usually depicted as needing a man. The typical waiting for a 'knight in shining armour' is often used to describe how the women is seen.

This isn't to say that there aren't films that challenge this stereotype. For example the princess diaries 2, when told she needs a husband to be the successor to the throne she tries to find a husband but in the end decides she is strong enough on her own. Therefore showing the male her dominance. This challenges the stereotype as it sees the woman as not only putting love second to her job but also it shows her as independant. This is sometimes preferred to the typical male dominace in romantic films.

But most women find the 'knight in shining armour' romantic and also find the ideological setting nice and relatable as every woman wishes to fall in love like they do it the movies. The typical representation is also another reason that the target audience is women. As for males being represented in the romantic genre they are typically seen as 'perfect' through the eyes of the woman and tend not to match the way men are represented in every other genre. Males are usually seen as strong, aggravated and tough, where as in.romantic films they are seen as emotional and sensitive.

Genre

                                       Romantic films
The conventions of a romantic film are:

• Girl meets boy typically this is an accident
• Argument that splits the couple for them to later be reunited 
• "Happily ever after" ending
• Symbols that relate to love (hearts, flowers, rings)
• Targeted at a female audience rather than a male audience
• Emotion renching (pain, love)
• Sometimes there is a struggle in choice i.e two men fighting for a female 

Good Examples of Typical Coventional films are:

• The Notebook - 2004 

Based on a novel. A couple fall in love from very different backgrounds, the male comes from a poor background where as the female does not. They are separated by social difference but eventually end up together.

• The Vow- 2012

A happy married couple end up in an accident the female loses her memory and her husband has to work to regain her love.




There are also films that dont abide by these coventions to create a twist in the story:

• Titanic -1997 

A couple who fall in love although it is frowned upon due to their social difference. They eventually end up together but when the titanic sinks the male dies therefore ruining the happily ever after convention.

What is an opening sequence?

An opening sequence is the key to setting the storyline/plot of the rest of the film. The opening sequence also includes the titles, sometimes these are subtly within the sequence other times they are not.

The key parts of the opening sequence are:

• Introducing the characters
• Establish location/setting
• Establish genre
• Captivate the audience
• Establish core iconography

Narrative

The difference between a story and narrative is:

• Story - account of events
• Narrative - the way the story is told

Narrative includes:

• Characters 
• Genre 
• Form 
• Time

Two Key Theorists in Narrative: 

 Todorov - came up with the idea that all stories go through the same process, this process being:

• Equilibrium
• Disruption 
• Recognition 
• Repair
• Equilibrium 

This simply states that it will start in a content manner where nothing has happened, but as it goes on the story will break down something will disrupt the contentment. From there on it will try to be repaired leading to getting the story back on track and back to contentment. Although the equilibrium after the disruption will never be the same as the first equilibrium. 

Propp -  He stated that all characters within a narrative could fit into 8 different character types: 

1. The Villian
2. The Hero/Victim 
3. The Donor
4. The Helper
5. The Princess or Prize
6. The Dispatcher
7. The False Hero 

The Lovely Bones

The story is told through a narrative voice that has a tendency to speak in the past tense. The narrative is not in chronological order and starts at the end therefore retelling the story of the main character Susie's murder.  The genre of this narrative is drama. The  narrative also condenses time as we see the search for the murder we are unaware this is actually spread over a couple of years. 

A key part of narrative is enigma and although we are aware of who the murderer is there is an enigma presented in the way that the"in- between" is presented. 

The Lovely Bones follows the narrative pattern of Todorov and also contains many of the Propp character types.

Narrative Structure 

Equilibrium - Normal family life

Disruption - Susie's murder

Recognition - The grief that hits the family causing the mother to go into a depression and abandon the family and the father to become obesessed with finding Susie's killer

Repair - The mother in law coming to stay to help the family over depression and mother returning to family

Equilibrium - More adjusted to life without Susie

Character types 

Villain / Fake Hero - Susie's murderer

The Helper - The mother in law

The Donor - Susie's friend in the "In between"

The Hero/Victim - Susie