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chick flicks
Jun. 29th, 2009 12:06 pmA friends mentioned the concept of chick flicks in her journal and said "I suppose you could call it a chick flick, if your main criteria is that the main characters are female."
Judging from popular usage, I think it's not only that the main characters are women, but that the characters discuss their relationships with words* and that the balance between sex** and romance, if either are present, is weighted towards the latter.
* Men are reputed to not appreciate or be comfortable with relationships. I think this isn't really the case as that men prefer to deal with relationship issues in oblique or symbolic terms rather than discuss them in concrete terms. War movies, the classic 'guy' genre, are generally chock-full of very deep and complex relationships--it's just that they are created and sustained more by action and nuance than by extended explication and discussion. I'm not sure where this aesthetic of minimalism comes from, except that I suspect a fear of vulnerability is at the root of it. Talk things out, and you could get hurt by letting someone else know too much about yourself. Keep it simple and enigmatic and primarily about action rather than discussion, and you can (a) minimise your exposure and (b) divert attention to the object of action if you get hurt and fear you have revealed too much about yourself. Plus it gives you more opportunity to laugh ti all off as a joke (again, if you're feeling exposed and vulnerable.)
** sex = Discussion of, implication of, or actual depiction of. I know many guys who do not watch chick flicks who would think that *any* sex in a film would disqualify it as a chick flick. They are the same guys, IME, who think that women don't actually enjoy sex but engage in it just to be nice to or to control their male partners. IOW, guys who don't actually understand women very well.
Likewise, I think there are some women who think guys aren't into romance. They are; it just needs to be mostly in very symbolic or active form. There are lots of romances in, for instance, John Wayne movies, and they're not there only to make them more appealing to women. Guys are into love and passion as much as gals; they just have an easier time handling it being expressed in action and competition. The Quiet Man is a great example (with the bonus that a really popular 18th century song and military march-_The Rakes of Mallow--gets used as the primary musical motif).
Judging from popular usage, I think it's not only that the main characters are women, but that the characters discuss their relationships with words* and that the balance between sex** and romance, if either are present, is weighted towards the latter.
* Men are reputed to not appreciate or be comfortable with relationships. I think this isn't really the case as that men prefer to deal with relationship issues in oblique or symbolic terms rather than discuss them in concrete terms. War movies, the classic 'guy' genre, are generally chock-full of very deep and complex relationships--it's just that they are created and sustained more by action and nuance than by extended explication and discussion. I'm not sure where this aesthetic of minimalism comes from, except that I suspect a fear of vulnerability is at the root of it. Talk things out, and you could get hurt by letting someone else know too much about yourself. Keep it simple and enigmatic and primarily about action rather than discussion, and you can (a) minimise your exposure and (b) divert attention to the object of action if you get hurt and fear you have revealed too much about yourself. Plus it gives you more opportunity to laugh ti all off as a joke (again, if you're feeling exposed and vulnerable.)
** sex = Discussion of, implication of, or actual depiction of. I know many guys who do not watch chick flicks who would think that *any* sex in a film would disqualify it as a chick flick. They are the same guys, IME, who think that women don't actually enjoy sex but engage in it just to be nice to or to control their male partners. IOW, guys who don't actually understand women very well.
Likewise, I think there are some women who think guys aren't into romance. They are; it just needs to be mostly in very symbolic or active form. There are lots of romances in, for instance, John Wayne movies, and they're not there only to make them more appealing to women. Guys are into love and passion as much as gals; they just have an easier time handling it being expressed in action and competition. The Quiet Man is a great example (with the bonus that a really popular 18th century song and military march-_The Rakes of Mallow--gets used as the primary musical motif).
