So, I was scanning through my twitter feed yesterday, specifically on the account reserved for the webseries, Nate & Laura & How They Met, and I came upon a post in honor of Nora Ephron, the writer and screenwriter responsible for a plethora of romantic comedy films of the last century, films such as Sleepless In Seattle, You've Got Mail, and When Harry Met Sally.
I thought how coincidental that I would come across that post when I was deep in the throes of post-production editing for season two of the aforementioned web-series until I realized that I was active on the Nate & Laura twitter account, which due to its romantic comedy theme is connected to a wide array of other accounts with a similar theme. However, if we cannot see the coincidental synchronicity of life, how can we be aware of the magic?
It spiraled me downwards through my own mind as I pondered the effects of those films and romantic comedies alike on my own psyche, development, and creative endeavors. For you see, the initial script and season one of Nate & Laura & How They Met came out of my own little mind, season two being co-written with my friend, Erin Rose. I wondered why I had been so drawn to such a creation and realized that it was the effect of the films watched in my youth, the Hollywood-Mass-Produced love stories that had such a large impact on my life journey and relationships therein.
Whether we care to admit it or not, we all have been influenced by the writings of such films by Nora Ephron and the like, but where did such inspiration come from for her and others of her ilk? I believe there is a natural instinct within all of us to not only connect but to escape, perhaps even to be rescued. It could be why Disney has been so widely successful, giving us romance, fantasy, adventure allowing us to escape from the dullness of everyday life
Romantic comedies do that as well. We cheer, laugh, and cry with our heroes and heroines as they move through their journeys before our lives. We relate to their inquiries, struggles, self discoveries, and sometimes find insights for our own life and relationship issues. But, in the final result, life is life and movies are fantasy, we cannot resolve our issues in an hour and a half. Our journey keeps unwinding itself, in one seemingly pathway forward, bumpy and windy as it may be, the forward movement is therein where we learn and grow, not in the denouement found in a funny flick.
As I look back on the romantic comedies of my youth, I notice a pattern with the talented actresses, such as Meg Ryan, that played in them. As recent as the eighties and the nineties, actresses in Hollywood were relegated to a certain type of role. It was the male actor who had the juicy, more dynamic roles and women were left to ponder for the rescue of a male lover.
Today's story-lines for women are shifting and its actresses like Meryl Streep and Sandra Bullock that have fought to bridge that gap through the long span of their career. Once relegated themselves to the romantic comedy roles, they have in recent years been able to delve into deeper, more complex roles that show the wider view of women-kind. This, in turn, has opened up the range for upcoming women in the film and entertainment industry.
It is with pride that as I edit Nate & Laura & How They Met season two, I see how the changing tides of romantic comedy and its influence on society as a whole has shaped the story-line of my production company's romantic comedy web-series. The story follows the lives of eight individuals, but season two highlights the relationship and life choices of the four main women, how they love, accept, and uplift one another, instead of tear down. In short, the love story is thus becoming more between the female friends and not merely from their romantic male counterparts.
Tune into watch Nate & Laura & How They Met at: https://www.facebook.com/hownateandlauramet/ and Nate & Laura & How They Met Youtube Channel.
All season one episodes available now with season two coming soon!
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The Thriving Artist is a subset of Cafe-Girl Productions, Inc, a film and media company with the focus of raising awareness for a variety of social issues. Support Cafe-Girl Productions, Inc at: www.patreon.com/cafegirlproductions
