The Importance of Romantic Movies
What Is The Affective Benchmarking Movies Physiological?
The human beings since the ancient times take the help of various kinds of activities not only to pass their leisure time but also to entertain themselves (Fleureau, Guillotel and Orlac 2013). It is precisely here that the importance of the various kinds of movies as well as the other forms of digital entertainment means come into prominence (Hefner and Wilson 2013). In the present times it is seen that the choices of operations which are available to the people has increased exponentially and therefore the various genres of movies like war movies, romantic ones, action and others have gained prominence in the recent times (Fleureau, Guillotel and Orlac 2013). This paper will analyze the two movies “Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind” and “Once” which belong to the genre of the romantic movies.
The genre of the romantic movies is not only one of the most widely popular genres of movies but also the most used ones by the various directors as well as the producers (Stewart and Szymanski 2012). It is significant to note that the every year thousands of movies related to this particular genre are released and the primary reason why they are popular among the various individuals of the world is the fact that they appeal to the inherent desire of the individuals for the romantic element in their lives which they are seldom able to fulfill in their real lives (Stewart and Szymanski 2012). Therefore, it can be said that the element of empathy is one of the primary reasons for the success attained by the various romantic movies in the recent times.
The movie “Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind” released in the year 2004 and directed by Michel Gondry is one of the most popular romantic movies of the 21st century (IMDb 2018). The movie featured Kate Winslet and Jim Carrey and it is one of the most typical representatives of the genre of romanticism (IMDb 2018). The movie depicts the story of a young couple whose romantic life gets soured due to the problems in their own characters and thereby they seek the assistance of the professional medical services to erase the memories of their partners (Hancock 2016). However, the movie has a fairy tale kind of ending where the two characters of the movie even after eradicating the memories of their loved ones again find themselves facing each other in a romantic attraction (Hancock 2016). Therefore, in the end they decide to give each other and their relationship one more chance and decide to stay together (Butler 2014). The title or the name of the movie is taken from a “1717 poem Eloisa to Abelard by Alexander Pope” (Butler 2014).
Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind as a Representative of Romanticism
The movie can be said to represent the various complexities of the present day relationships and the urge of the individuals to get their past by whichever they can manage. Furthermore, the theme of the movie can be said to be taken from the one of the famous quote of the European movies called by the name of “The Barber Shop” which says that “Blame me, Blame me…But something still remains” (Butler 2014). Therefore, this particular quote when seen in the context of the movie under discussion here becomes a pertinent reflection of the movie. Thus, in the movie the lead characters try to get over their past love affairs but cannot get over their affections or the love for the other and find themselves even after destroying the memories of their beloveds getting attracted to each other in a romantic way (Butler 2014). Therefore, it can be said that even after all the blame games which they play the love between the two individuals still persist and in the end they are able to come together inspite of all the odds which are stacked against them. One of the most famous lines of the movies articulated by the character of Kate Winslet are “Too many guys think I’m a concept, or I complete them, or I’m gonna make them alive. But I’m just a fucked-up girl who’s lookin’ for my own peace of mind; don’t assign me yours” which adequately represents the dilemma or the problem faced by the majority of the girls in a relationship in the present times (Imbd 2018). It is significant to note that even in the present times most of the guys think the girls to just a concept and the movie through the character of Clementine tries to overcome this particular mentally. The modern day story of Joel and Clementine was highly appreciated by the audiences from the different parts of the world and it is a reflection of this particular fact that the movie is considered as one of the representatives of the genre of romanticism.
The movie “Once”, on the other hand, was released in the year 2007 is one of the most famous movies belonging to the genre of “romantic musical drama” (IMDb 2018). The movie was written by John Carney and had “film stars Glen Hansard and Markéta Irglová” in the leading roles (IMDb 2018). The movie tries to depict the lives of the two struggling artists of the nation of Ireland and the way they overcome the problems faced by them. It is significant to note that this movie is drastically different from the other movies belonging to the genre of the romantic movies (Lippman, Ward and Seabrook 2014). The other movies belonging to the genre of romantic movies commonly show the union of the male and the female characters at the end of the movie whereas in this particular movie it is seen that the leading characters inspite of having romantic attraction for each other do not enter into a romantic relationship at the end of the movie. The leading pair of the movie, on the other comes together and tries to solve the problems which the other person is facing at the moment in their lives and in the end follow the paths of their lives by mutual decision (Lippman, Ward and Seabrook 2014). It is significant to note that unlike the other movies belonging to the genre of the romantic genre where there is an overt display of the romantic feelings and emotions in this particular movie the leading pair express their emotions and love for the other person only through the various songs and musicals which form an important part of the movie. Therefore, it would be apt to say that the movie represents the modern day love relationships among the present day individuals. Thus, in the movie the lead pair understanding the complexities which their romantic relationship is likely to cause in their lives instead of following the path of the normal people decides to terminate their relationship through a mutual management (Lippman, Ward and Seabrook 2014). Therefore, it can be said that this is precisely one of the primary reasons for the success attained by the movie in the recent times.
To conclude, the genre of the romantic movies is one of the most popular ones and the one of the primary reasons for the success attained by the movies related to this particular genre is the empathy factor felt by the diverse individuals in the present times. Furthermore, these movies appeal to the inherent romantic cravings or the desires for the romantic element in their lives which is often missing in their real lives. Therefore, it can be said that the movies related to the genre of romance by appealing precisely to this particular desire as well as the craving of the individuals has been able to attain success in the recent times.
References
Butler, A., 2014. Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind. Palgrave Macmillan.
Carney, J., Carney, J., Hansard, G., Irglová, M. and Walsh, H. 2018. Once (2007). [online] IMDb. Available at: https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0907657/ [Accessed 3 May 2018].
Fleureau, J., Guillotel, P. and Orlac, I., 2013, September. Affective benchmarking of movies based on the psychology responses of a real audience. In Affective Computing and Intelligent Interaction (ACII), 2013 Humaine Association Conference on (pp. 73-78). IEEE.
Gondry, M., Kaufman, C., Gondry, M., Carrey, J., Winslet, K. and Wilkinson, T. 2018. Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind (2004). [online] IMDb. Available at: https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0338013/ [Accessed 3 May 2018].
Hancock, B.M., 2016. Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind. Journal of Religion & Film, 9(1), p.7.
Hefner, V. and Wilson, B.J., 2013. From love at first sight to soul mate: The influence of romantic ideals in popular films on young people’s beliefs about relationships. Communication Monographs, 80(2), pp.150-175.
Lippman, J.R., Ward, L.M. and Seabrook, R.C., 2014. Isn’t it romantic? Differential associations between romantic screen media genres and romantic beliefs. Psychology of Popular Media Culture, Accounting, p.128.
Stewart, D.N. and Szymanski, D.M., 2012. Young adult women’s reports of their male romantic partner’s pornography use as a correlate of their self-esteem, relationship quality, and sexual satisfaction. Sex Roles, 67(5-6), pp.257-271.