I was watching "The Break Up" the other day starring Jennifer Anniston and Vince Vaughn hoping to watch a feel good romantic comedy. Little did I know they wouldn't be together at the end! The romantic comedy genre made me expect a happy ending and when it wasn't one I was upset. People watch romantic-comedies to feel happy and good, not to watch the couple break up and stay apart!! Now I guess taking a step back the title should have forewarned me but because the genre was romantic comedy I expected everything to work out in the end. Genres have very specific plot structures, often making them predictable, but also making the viewer comfortable and attached. When you're rooting for a couple in a movie you're enjoying it-when they never get together and it's left unresolved you feel let down. This is true of most genres. When you watch a horror movie when someone opens a mirror and then closes it someone is going to be standing behind them and when you watch an action there is always a huge explosion and a sex scene. While predictable sounds like a negative attribute for a movie to have it's not. Genres are a necessity, they are there to help people decide what kind of movie they want to watch.
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