Reading the Romantic Comedy as a Guide to Finding Love: The Development of Relationships and Ideals in Romantic Comedy

Indianapolis, IN

My thesis focuses on analyzing two romantic comedy films (When Harry Met Sally and He's Just Not That Into You) for the development of romantic relationships between characters and the overarching themes that are portrayed about these relationships. In my research thus far, I have found that while the storylines follow a realistic development of romantic relationships, the messages portrayed as central ideas in the films are unrealistic. This contradiction can be confusing and misleading to viewers whose own perceptions of relationships are colored by these popular culture films. The inconsistencies leave them with idealistic expectations that may cause dissatisfaction in their own relationships. The purpose of my research is to closely read the content of these two romantic comedies based on existing literature about the development of and communication within romantic relationships as well as to analyze the overarching themes in order to provide my peers, the audience that is mainly influenced by these films, with insight as to whether these films can be used as an accurate guideline to learning about dating or whether they do more harm than good in creating idealistic hopes and expectations.