Romantic comedies are popular! in fact in 1930 it became the most watched genre (Edman, 1940; Hefner & Wilson, 2013). According to Hall’s (2005) study on media consumption, romantic comedies still remain as popular today and is the 6th most watched genre raking in an impressive 9.2 billion dollars (4.98% of the market share) between 1995-2015. Unfortunately the genres popularity was accompanied with a challenge to "masculinity" as "real tough men" do not watch "romantic comedies A.K.A chick flicks"
But luckily times have changed and with it the attenuation of gender roles.
With gender becoming a weaker and looser term in contemporary society, did males opinion towards romantic comedies change?
Before we dive into some research done on this topic let us first define what is meant by a romantic comedy.
In simple terms we can say that a romantic comedy is a movie where two people (usually a man and women) meet by coincidence, start building up romantic interests , have a small hiccup along the way, kiss and make, and then fall deeply in love with each other and live happily ever after, all while throwing a bit of comedy into the mix. does this sound familiar? I am sure most of us can describe at least 10 movies that uses this formula over and over again, and surprisingly, it works.
- before I continue this article, please note that the purpose is not to reinforce gender stereotypes, but simply to explore the opinions of a handful of men on romantic comedies -
Now back to the discussion... what do men have to say about romantic comedies?
Teresa Tacket from Oklahoma State University wrote her dissertation in 2016 titled "LIGHTS, CAMERA, ACTION: ROMANTIC COMEDIES FROM THE MALE PERSPECTIVE"
I think the title speaks for itself, but what exactly did Teresa find?
Well it turns out five main opinions emerged from the group of men she sampled:
(1) Men think that romantic comedies set unrealistic expectations for relationships
(2) Men think that romantic comedies are too predictable
(3) Men do not watch romantic comedies while hanging out with other men
(4) Men use romantic comedies as a learning tool to obtain an ideal relationship
(5) Men think relationship drama is very typical of romantic comedies
Breaking the five point down piece by piece previous research has shown.
(1) Most romantic comedies (72.5%) include males actors that have "white-collar 'well-paying' jobs" when compared to their female counterparts, which may result in “a heavy diet of stereotypical occupational content and reinforce the male "bread winner role"(Smith et al., 2010) ~ Furthermore, more men than women are responsible for writing, producing and directing content for romantic comedies, the genre is framed within the male gaze, which places the audience in the mind frame of a heterosexual male (Mulvey, 1975). As a result, women who consume romantic comedies look at themselves through the eyes of a male, as do male consumers, which may also contribute to the deep-held beliefs men hold concerning the genre.
(2) As mentioned by Hefner & Wilson (2013) romantic comedies use the same formula over and over again without becoming mundane, which in my opinion is such a mystery.
(3) point 3, has not yet been scientifically studied, however, as a male I cannot recall a single occasion where I have spend the day with a fellow male watching a romantic comedy. However, this is my personal experience and cannot be generalized to all males.
(4) Zurbriggen and Morgan’s (2006) found that via anecdotal reports when men do watch romantic comedies, they do it with the intention of learning how to be more romantic, in contrast to women that watch it mainly for entertainment purposes.
(5) Unfortunately, the fifth point has never been studied and is very highly opiniated.
Well there you have it, a contemporary view of what men think about romantic comedies!
I would love to hear about your own opinions on this matter, so feel free to drop a comment and share your thoughts.
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