Analysis of how males and females are represented in my chosen text...

In a romantic comedy there tends to be many different stereotypes for men and women and this is dependunt on the plot of the film. I have done some previous research into this so that I could portray conventional stereotypes within my trailer however there are more types of characters which can be shown in the film.

The leading lady

I have noticed that there are two types of leading lady. The first is the American leading lady, who has a tendency to be in control of the entire plot of the story and constantly looks perfect. The other is the typically British leading lady. The British leading ladies do have imperfections and don't necessarily have power or control through the storyline (look at Bridget Jones). Many women admire the lifestyle that the American leading lady has; a well paid job, lots of men after them, designer clothes, going out for lunch every day with their friends (i.e Sex and the City) etc...but not many women lead this sort of life style. Unlike, the lifestyle of the British leading ladies. These can be classed more as role models due to the fact they portray a real life version of a real woman. They do not necessarily have well paid jobs and live in the most upbeat part of town, but women can relate to them (e.g Emma Thompson in Love Actually) This character has a family but a husband who is cheating on her, this lifestyle does appear more realistic (but not the best obviously) compared to everyday women having such a glamorous lifestyle. I believe there has to be a balance between the two leading ladies which is why both American and British romantic comedies still remain popular.

The Leading Man

Once again men are portrayed in different ways in romantic comedies. You can get an arrogant and mean stereotype or you can get the caring and lovable lead man. In P.S I Love You, Gerard Butler is the caring stereotype who loves his woman and the complication is not him cheating or seeing someone else like most of the leading men are caught out doing. Conversely, the character of Hugh Grant in Bridget Jones Diary is seen like the arrogant steretype that treats the leading lady badly. A lot of the men in romantic comedies are portrayed this way which is one of the reasons, I think, is why men don't want to watch this genre of film. Men in American romantic comedies don't tend to hold the power in the relationship e.g 500 days of Summer, but in British romantic comedies it tends to be the men that cause the complication and have the power E.g Alan Rickman in Love Actually who cheats on his wife.

As you can see it is very difficult to show how men and women are represented in romantic comedies because there can be so many different interpretations and storylines to this genre.
I have chosen characters for my trailer that fit the British representations of men and women and hope that the audience can relate to each character.