Podcasts

Introduction

The goal of the Podcast unit is to listen to podcasts and then afterwards create our own. I made my podcast centered around tropes used in film and media, most specifically movies. With the podcast that I did, I had it more focused on the romantic subplot trope that’s included in movies.

Podcast

Welcome to my podcast where we talk about certain movie tropes and why they suck, also known as the podcast where I rant about movies, because what more is there to life? On today’s episode, we’ll be reviewing the “romantic subplot” discussed by someone who has absolutely no idea what romance is other than the ridiculous amount of anime I watch. I’m gonna be such a reliable narrator.

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Sorry, I think there was something in my throat. Anyways, before we start, let me just say that this podcast will contain some spoilers for Avengers: Age of Ultron, Civil War, and Infinity War. If you haven’t seen those films and want to see them, I suggest not listening to this podcast until after you’ve seen it. But if you have seen it or don’t care about spoilers, then keep on listening.

Anyways, what was this about again? Oh yeah, the romantic subplot. There are a lot of things to talk about here, both good and bad. Everything that I’m about to say is my own opinion on how to handle the trope and the issues that come with it. By no means am I a professional in romance or movies or… anything really.

Now with that out of the way, let’s start with the major issue I have when it comes to romance in movies. Just because there is a male and female character on screen together, that does not equal a romantic relationship. Even in 2019, people are still making this mistake. Now, don’t mistake this for me saying we need to replace them with more diverse relationships, because that is a whole other can of worms that I won’t address in this podcast. Simply put, I’m saying that if you are trying to force a romance where it doesn’t belong, whether the straight, gay, lesbian, or whatever, then don’t force it. Unless you’re writing a romantic comedy, in which case you kind of have to force it.

The thing that a lot of writers struggle with when it comes to romance is writing good chemistry between the characters. Just because you drop two characters next to each other, it doesn’t mean that they’ll automatically start (*dramatic start*) staring into each other’s eyes for more than three seconds as if it was destiny that they met and then proceed to kiss so passionately that the Sun literally explodes, (*dramatic end*) and expect that alone to make anyone compelled to follow their romance. There needs to be a visible progression in their relationship. Show me these characters talking and spending time together. Show me that these characters compliment one another with their own unique personalities. Show me that these characters actually care about each other and want to be together. Literally just give me a reason to want these two to make out by the end of the movie.

Let me give you an example. Okay, so Endgame came out recently, which I’m not here to talk about, but let’s go back to one of Marvel’s previous films, Avengers: Age of Ultron. Let’s talk the quote, unquote “romance” between Natasha, aka Black Widow, and Bruce, aka the Hulk. In my own opinion, this romance wasn’t well put together. There was no chemistry between the two, not before or after this movie, at least not enough for them to suddenly start “falling in love.”

The writers were trying to make it seem like the two are very close, when we never even saw their relationship begin to blossom. It’s like trying to write an essay, but you only write the conclusion without the introduction or main paragraphs. Then, we jump ahead to Infinity War. After being apart for several years after the Hulk leaves at the end of Age of Ultron, Natasha and Bruce hardly even acknowledge each other when they reunite, much rather whatever romantic history they may have had in the past. With Natasha’s history and how this romance wouldn’t have fit her character at the time, this relationship was clearly not going to last. Including it at all did nothing to the story nor the characters, although it probably left some fans confused or annoyed.

The other thing is if you want to include romance, don’t make it cliche. Okay, let me rephrase that. If you want to include romance, don’t make it boring and predictable. Let’s be real, romances exist everywhere. You cannot tell me that you have gone through your life without seeing a single movie or reading a book that involves romance in some shape or form. In fact, because of this, there are so many pre-existing romance tropes. “Love at first sight,” the “love triangle,” the “bad boy meets good girl who changes him,” the “I’m stalking you but it’s okay because I’m hot.” You name it, it most likely exists.

So, does that makes it seem that every single romance written today would be considered cliche because it’s most likely been done before? Well, it depends. If you write a bland, formulaic plot that can be predicted from start to end, then yes, it is cliche and sometimes it can harm not only the story but also the characters within that story. And it can also bore your audience to death because they know the characters are going to confess their love for one another by the end, but the writer tries to pretend like it’ll be some big reveal. However, you can include romantic elements in your movie without making it come across as boring or cliche.

Unlike the previous example, let’s look at a good relationship in Marvel’s cinematic universe. Wanda, aka the Scarlet Witch, and Vision. I actually like this couple (Again, this is just my opinion.) Their relationship began to blossom in Civil War and eventually led the two to wanting to focus more on their relationship rather than being heroes. Vision is a robot who doesn’t know what love is, and Wanda helped him understand it more. As much as I liked this couple though, I do wish they had some more time to develop their relationship. However, despite their bumpy start, there was a major payoff at the end. That scene near the end of Infinity War where Wanda had no choice but to destroy Vision’s mind stone to stop Thanos from getting it was heart wrenching. Even more so after Thanos just ended up reversing time and taking the stone from Vision regardless, so she had to watch him get killed not once, but twice. I know I cried when that happened.

So, in conclusion, write romances that are realistic. I know that sounds obvious to a lot of people, and I know for a fact that there are many people who do know how to write good romance stories, but let me make it clear. No matter what kind of romance story you write, no matter how cheesy or cliche it may be… It’ll never be as bad as Twilight. Thank you for coming to my TED talk.