Tragic love stories are devastating to encounter, but watching your two favorite actors/actresses in a romance film is even worst. The romance genre films signify what every young teen adult falls for. The tension of the main character falls heads over heels for one another, but sometimes sub-genre of a romance movie considers drama. Drama gives the film, even more, hope for audiences that not every love story stays perfect. One famous romance drama kind exists by author Nicholas Sparks, who wrote countless diverse drama. The genre romance drama as films provides its audience with the following schematic tropes: music as a backdrop to emphasize emotions, the pressure between the lovebirds, and sadly death. To provide evidence to this definition, I will examine four films by Nicholas Sparks (A Walk to Remember, The Last Song, Dear John, and The Notebook) to demonstrate how each film establishes the tropes to clarify the understanding of this genre.

 

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            Much like other genres, Dramas vary in different sub-genres stemming from the core of its dramatic nuances. One of the more popular sub-genres holds some of the most classic films known to the cinema, the romance drama. While Nicholas Sparks film falls under the drama genre it is categorized as sub-genre due to its underlining themes of love at first sight and overdramatizing sequences of events making it a romance drama. Dear John portrays an adaptation and drama genre because it involved (John) Channing Tatum, a war vet on tour who falls in love with (Savannah) Amanda Seyfried, but ends up a tragedy when he decided to extend his tour leaving Seyfried alone and his father slowly dying (directed by Lasse Hallström). In addition, the romance started when Channing Tatum saw Amanda Seyfried at a beach during his two-week break before going back to deployment. Their love continues with love letters that lasted a whole year before reunited permanently. The tension between the two occurred when war broke out which separated their love indefinitely.

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In any movie, music signifies part of the story. Without music, some audiences will not comprehend what the story implies. For instance, horror movie tends to have creepy music to suggest the scene in the movie someone moves going to attack, kill, or even be scared. In romance movies, music typically has any love song or pop song that sets the mood of that scene. In the four movies, I have chosen by Nicholas Sparks each has a mishap during the middle of the movie where the friction starts to show. Also, those four movies that imply reviewing all have a mellow, slow song that shows the main character tension which gives audiences a tone of sympathy. At this point, the audience starts to feel the pain the character does by the hurt they had received. In addition, some reviewers will endure the devastation that the main characters no longer together. Besides staying devastated viewers tend to weep when they obtain upset, but sometimes happy ending viewers tend to still weep with happiness. According to Dohyun Ahn in his review Sad Movies Don’t Alway Make Me Cry“Witnessing others’ pain, even if it is fictional, is generally not considered entertainment; but people seek out pain-inducing media content for enjoyment” (9-18). The audience comprehends how they observe a movie genre or sub-genre. Viewing a romance drama, the audience would usually feel upset, happy, overwhelm, and sometimes no emotion throughout the film. 

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The genre Romance drama leads viewers to imagine the tension between two lovers. No matter what the intended causes no relationship stays perfect in films or in real life. In a review by Chang Liu, “In novel readers, imagination is by the written text of a conflict or an emotion, a film is by audio-visual showing the characters’ action and the music backdrop” (1-22). Each film shows the ups and downs between the character leading up to the big tragic moment in the end. In addition, with different film genres, writers manage to have the same ideas when it comes to romance drama. For instance, the ending of each Hallmark movie remains a happy ending. A girl meets a boy who falls in love, but a mishap happens which led the couple to split, however, at the end of the movie she realized that she meant wrong and ends up staying together again. In the film, Dear John, as stated aboveSavannah and John’s life remains on hold when John decided to go back extending his tour leaving Savannah (Amanda Seyfried) alone again (Lasse Halloöm). In The Notebook, tension build-up when Allie (Rachel McAdam) no longer can pursue Noah (Ryan Gosling) after her mother forced her for living different social classes (Nick Cassavetes). After years apart tension build-up of various reasons leading the character to act differently toward each other. After seven years Allie (Rachel McAdams) comes back to find Noah (Ryan Gosling) to find out why he never wrote her letters when she never gave up but he did. In addition, without the tension between the characters there would not do romance drama, but just romance. Viewers want a good storyline where conflict leads to a happy ending or a tragic ending. Also, no romance drama always has a happy ending, but sometimes giving the viewers an ending they did not suspect.  

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People meeting and falling in love at the beginning that leads to a devastating tragedy. Death in a romance drama film holds a tear-jerking moment for viewers. Admiring the character wishing it was you at first, but later on noticing there remain no happy ending to the story. According to Inmaculada Pérez Casal “Sparks’ novels are successful and repeated formula: where a boy and a girl meet, they gradually fall in love, and the relationship tragically ends” (55). In The Last Song Ronnie (Miley Cyrus) and Will (Liam Hemsworth) met at the beach where their story began and where it will end as well. They fell deeply in love the moment they laid eyes on each other until the devastating news broke out to what actually happens to her father (Directed by Julie Anne Robinson). A Walk to Remember two complete people who change each other life. Landon (Shane West) who had a reputation of acting rude and obnoxious ask Jamie (Mandy Moore) for help in school. Slowly as the day past Jamie changed Landon in a way that people notices. Also even though they equal two completely different people she told him not to fall in love with her because of an illness she has. As the film continues Landon fell in deeply in love and protects Jamie from the hate she had received from Landon’s old friends he used to hang with. In addition, Jamie fell for the Landon even if living a  sick life will cause some issues, they ended marrying each other with her religious father before she pasted. According to Ryan M. Niemiec and Stefan E. Schulenberg review of understanding attitudes of death “Evidence in war films show neutral acceptance in soldiers who stand film and persist in the fight despite and often inevitable death” (387-407). In Dear John, the actor Channing Tatum feared to extend his tour because he did not want to lose the love of his life, Amanda Seyfried (Lasse Hallsröm). However, even though there remains a tragic ending the main character push toward the end giving a final tear to the viewers. 

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In conclusion, an understanding of the genre in digital media signifies readers or audience comprehending what they read. The purpose of writers using genre allows the writer to establish a working relationship with the readers. Without genre in digital media, it implies that it would remain difficult to figure out what occurs during the writing processes, reading, or even watching in the cinema.