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Protagonist - this is the character that the audience routes for, he/she is usually the new kid in school,the new

employee, or generally the rookie character in any setting. The audience is meant to connect emotionally

with this figure, as they are able to identify with their feelings of exclusion and inability to get the girl or guy.

Conventionally, the protagonist starts off in the film as the geeky nerdy charecter with little status or apparent

beauty, yet as the film progresses they gain status and in chick flick comedys, get a makeover, and finsh the

film as the sexy convident charecter that they wished they were at the start of the film, as in The Princess

Diaries with Anne Hathaways role. This character can be played straight, meaning that they lack of comedy

and generally dont react to or notice the comedy in other aspects of the film, as in Adam Sandelers role in theRomCom 50 Firsts Dates. Playing straight doesnt mean the charecter isnt funny, ratehr that they are not the

main spource of the humour rather their reactions to the sometimes bizzare charactersand situations they

encounter is, as Adam Sandeler was to the humourous charecter of Drew Barrymore. On the otherhand, they

may be the comedic charecter in the film whose social awkwardness, or backfired efforts can create lots of

humour in the film. Regardless of which way the charecter is played they are very endearing for the audience

as the viewer asscoiates with the charecters plight and wants them to succeed.Antagonist- thischaracter has usually been round the block a few times and has been able to establish

themselves as the king or queen of the situation and the top of the pile. In RomComs they are usually the

current jerkass boyfriend or cheating girlfriend of the protagonists love intrest, or they too are competing for

the love of the love intrest. They always seem to be the more obvious choice for the romantic intrest, as they

start the film usually as the high status, fit of form Jock or Popular Girl but nearly always by the denonument

are portryed as petty and lacking in beauty compared to the newly reformed protagonist. This charactertraditionally sees the entrance of the protagonist as a threat to their status and does all that they can to

cement it by pushing the protagonist down. By the end of the film the antagonist usually gets their

comeuppance as their efforts backfire and they end up on the bottom of the social heirarchy and the

protagonist at the top. In a series we have more time to explore characters, so usually we discover what it was

that turned them so evil or petty in the first place, as with the mother charecter in the tv sit-com Miranda. This

can partially be seen in movies yet to to sucha deep extent as they dont have the time, as in Mean Girls,

where we discover it was all parental pushiness that drove the antagonist to act in a certain way. In some films

instead of ending up at the bottom they may reform and become a friend of the protagonist once they set

aside their differences and work together to reach a goal.The Romantic Intrest- this is a key stock charecter in the RomCom genre being an object of attraction for the

protagonist. Conventionally this charecter is often a female friend of the protagonist, who might have

freindzoned him or doesnt think he likes her, yet the charecter can be a male, as in Disneys Cinderella. This

romantic love interest can be divided into two characters, as in the case of along came Polly wherein Ben

Stiller cant decide between two girls.Deuteragonist (sidekick)- this is the ying to the protagonists yang, this charecter compliments the protagonist,

usually having the opposite charecteristics. They can mentor the charecter in trying to get the romantic intrest

or just be the comic relief to the intensity of the main charecter.

In RomComs these conventions of representations are as follows:

The protagonist: this character in RomComs is nearly always a white male, as demonstrated by the films AlongCame Polly,50 First Dates among many others. This is usually done because it is societys perception that it is

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the guy that should go after the girl and certainly in western society, white ethnicity is the majority so is the

one that is portrayed most often. However in more modern films, such as The Proposal and Leap Year, this

idea of the male falling hopelessly in love is being subverted, with the girl chasing the guy in correspondence to

rising feminist views. However films portraying this idea is still relatively rare.

Antagonist: This character is conventionally the handsome Jock or the beautiful popular girl. Representations

of these characters tend to portray the beautiful as brainless and stupid, all brawn no brain, and the reverse is

true, ugly but smart (however these ugly characters usually end up beautiful at the end). These charactersare also portrayed as spiteful and mean even beyond the point of realism, just to distinguish for the audience

that this is the baddie so to speak.Ethnicity: This plays a great part of the modern media. Although now removed from its racist roots, characters

of different origins tend to conform to stereotypes, especially in this genre, as this is where comic relief can be

found. A prime example of this the Sassy Black Woman stock character, wherein any fat black woman will be

portrayed as vivacious and loud and unafraid to speak her mind. In comedies where the female is the lead,

they often play the deuteragonist as they can make a good counterpoint to the more grim or snarky members

of the cast. A male example shows all black males to be good at basketball and smooth with the ladies, a

reason to be made the protagonists sidekick/mentor. It is also very rare to see ethnic characters made the

standalone lead in these films without a point being made of the fact they are ethnic, again a nod to society's

previously, and perhaps currently racist views.Sexuality: in the media, especially RomComs there sexuality nearly always means heterosexuality. Gaycharacters are nearly always male and there is the strong representation of the camp gay who will often

speak with a lisp, and is given to flouncing, prancing, and standing with one hand on his hip as the other is held

out in a limp-wristed gesture. Although attitudes are slowly changing, as demonstrated by media such as the

TV program Glee, this is representation is still extremly prominent.

In the RomCom genre, many different sound devices are use to create effect. The most

common of these is atmospheric music. This usually takes the form of lively upbeat songs,such as in the opening to 50 First Dates, which it begins with a slow romantic ukulele strum,

a reference to the Rom of RomCom, which is quickly juxtaposed by a lively upbeat track,

setting the tone for the comical fast paced events to follow. Its not just music thats used

however, Directors like to make use of diegetic sounds, particularly bird song, to infer the

natural love that is forming on the screen. However in the comedy and RomCom genre

atmospheric music is the main audio device, as Foleys and other sounds are more typical in

the thriller/horror genre as they seem to be slightly out of place in the romantic RomCom

world.