A song as old as time,
Tale as old as rhyme.
In the farmlands of the ancient Greek city,
Resided a young maid perfused with dignity.
One day,
As she danced on her way,
She tripped over a fantastic man in the lost woods away.
Peter was his name,
The name that got inscribed on her heart,
Heavenly cupid finally struck his dart.
The rom-com initiated their journey in cinema with a sense of innocence. The land of dreams woven on the black screen marks the beginning of its odyssey as plays in the 1590s with Shakespeare plays. Romantic comedies like ‘Midsummer Night’s Dream’, ‘Twelfth night’, and ‘As you like it’ were marvels in the medieval period by the legendary playwright. There was still a lot of hush to watch such plays that did not centrally revolve around the idea of a king conquering the land of his enemies. That shows his love interest with fewer amount of romantic scenes.
With the existent differences in the social strata and the dignified morals of the society, romantic comedies lost their essence again in the latter half and started again in the 1930s when that Happened One Night (1934) became a ground-breaking film for the romance genre. The movie set off a dominant rom-com era in Hollywood, where absurd situations blended with a more realistic portrayal of romantic relationships.
The 1950s started producing romantic comedies with iconic actresses like Marilyn Monroe and Audrey Hepburn. This era also introduced broadway musical plays and theatrics that made an eminent presence in the cinema.
Romcoms took a backseat in the ’60s and the ’70s. The ’80s and the ’90s recreated the beauty of teenage romance with ‘WHEN HARRY MET SALLY’ AND ‘PRETTY IN PINK’.
The 2000s bought variations to the style of rom-coms ranging from book adaptations to making fairy tales come alive.
The coyness of watching a love scene no longer exists. With Netflix and Prime, the deepest desire of humans, to be loved by their partners till eternity comes to life.
We all believe whatever we see mostly, these rom-coms forge a vivid sense of love in our minds, which makes us believe that two people in love with each other end up together no matter what, moving us away from reality.
But when life gets too taxing, we want to dive into the realm of fantasy. The rom-coms do the same thing. That makes people watch them
Romcoms that I recommend are
Pretty Woman, Never Been Kissed, and Notting Hill,
A Cinderella Story, Ella Enchanted, Hitch and (500) Days of Summer, All the Boys I’ve Loved Before, Always Be My Maybe.
These are the enchantments that throb the very essence of our lives,
Making us want to live life king-size.