Romance Cliches And Codes And Conventions

Codes And Conventions

1.Audience: Aimed at female audience or couples

2.12 – 15 certificate to maximise the audience

3.A typical romance genre would include sexuality, status, gender and relationships.

4.Narrative: falling in love, dating, kissing

5.Often a voiceover is used to introduce the love theme

6.Main characters are introduced – attractive female and male

7.Setting: they are normally set in an urban environment, a beach, a school etc, places where a chance encounter would happen.

8.When a romance film opens, it is likely that much of the setting will be shown to the audience from the use of establishing shots and wide shots showing characters and much of the setting and area behind them. 

•Almost every romantic movie follows a similar structure: boy meets girl, boy loses girl, boy finds girl again. This is a successfully proven formula that attracts audiences of both male and female demographics.

• The lead, unlike action movies, is often vulnerable, shy or socially inept, often just having broken up with a lover. He or she is attracted to someone who seems unattainable, and there is some sort of social divide that is stopping their love.

•A love triangle is a theme that is found in many romantic movies, with the object of affection engaged to someone they don't love, or an ex-lover wanting revenge on the lead.

•Romantic movies can be divided into many sub-genres, the romantic comedy being the most popular, with an  almost universal audience.

•Teen romances have distinct cliches, such as the jock and cheerleader characters, and many romances are set around a particular situation, such as a wedding or a party.

•Other romances can span years, such as The Notebook.

Cliches

cliches associated with the genre include the bride or groom suddenly getting ditched at the altar

Romantic films frequently feature the pushy but lovable mother, the harried, befuddled father, the fat, mouthy but highly supportive girlfriend who wears glasses and has never had a date, and the gay neighbour or co-worker who knows what you're going through because he's had his heart broken so many times himself. In a number of contemporary romances, the male lead has a best friend who is a lovable slob.

Teen romances have their own separate cliches. Actually, they have one separate cliche: teens from out of town find it hard to fit in so they start hanging around with social misfits or goths or beatniks or vampires suffering from social anxiety disorders. In teen romances, the jocks are invariably portrayed as cruel, self-absorbed idiots. 

Over the years, dance has become a crucial element in romantic films.

Teen romances often contain the scene where the rich white kid is exposed to vibrant inner-city culture, often through dance. Without hip-hop, the various races might never meet. That, presumably, would be sad.
Kissing in the rain
Boy meets girl
Characters are very attractive usually a wedding
Protective father 
She has friends who gossips