Love on the brain and the big screen

With Netflix releasing new high school romantic comedies like The Kissing Booth, To All the Boys I Loved Before and Sierra Burgess is a Loser, students and faculty weigh in on the changing nature of rom-coms.

Over 80 million Netflix accounts watched a romantic comedy in the last year, which is nearly two-thirds of Netflix’s global audience. Photo by Catherine Owen

Love never goes out of style, but the popularity of romantic comedies, or rom-coms, seemed to be dying out ﹘ until this summer. Some say Netflix’s recent release of several original romantic comedies, which the company dubbed “The Summer of Love,” might be rekindling the genre.

In the past year, more than 80 million accounts, nearly two-thirds of Netflix’s global audience, watched a romantic comedy on Netflix, according to Forbes.

“(Romantic comedies were) the first thing that made me fall in love with filmmaking,” said Elizabeth Hymes, a sophomore television writing and production major. “A rom-com is just something that brings joy, it’s such an escapism. I love that the rom-com is back.”

Raviteja Anumukonda, freshman film production major, also has a soft spot for rom-coms, he said.

“Watching a rom-com takes your mind off the rest of the world,” Anumukonda said.

The ‘90s were the golden age of rom-coms, Anukumonda said. Afterward, the movies became more about sex, like the 2011 film “No Strings Attached,” Hymes said.

However, the new Netflix rom-coms are more relatable to a wider variety of audiences, Hymes said.

“The cool thing about these new Netflix movies is that they are normal people getting to know one another and falling in love,” Hymes said.

Part of the reason these newer romantic comedies are more innocent might be a result of the #MeToo movement, which has led productions to shy away from filming graphic scenes, according to the Hollywood Reporter.

The sex, drugs and rock and roll appeal isn’t new, and it’s been present through decades of film, said Dodge screenwriting professor Ronald Friedman. But Netflix seems to have different market, he said.

“Netflix and the other streaming services have created a new business model that does not rely on sponsors dictating content, and sponsors that want every living being with money to spend to buy the particular product are forever fearful of offending a potential buyer,” Friedman said.

Film, television and social media tend to shape the minds, attitudes, aspirations and hopes of the generation watching. Love stories, in particular, bring a reminder that kindness, love and friendship will always win, Friedman said.

“I enjoy a good romantic comedy that makes me genuinely happy,” Anumukonda said. “I get to shut my mind off and watch beautiful people say witty things and fall in love.”