Fave romcoms and other encounters with love

Love: Buddhism | Buddha Love - Video |  Consciousness | Love in the workplace | Romcoms |

Romcoms were a category of movie popular from the late 1980s through to the early 2000s. The genre included films such as When Harry Met Sally (1989), Groundhog Day (1993), Notting Hill (1999), Bridget Jones's Diary (2001), Love Actually (2003), Lost in Translation (2003) and The Notebook (2004). The term romcom is not totally appropriate as not all of the films were comedies, though they did have a connecting element, namely romance and the process of falling in love and dealing with the consequences. Of course romance has been a feature of literature, cinema, television, the stage and elsewhere for a long, long, time. Movies such as Casablanca set a cinematic standard for the genre back in 1943. Of course it was not a comedy - far from it - and the the couple did not end up together, living happily ever after; but, the viewing experience was nothing if not entertaining and perhaps even transformative. Made during World War II and a time of international conflict, it humanized the process of falling in love and of dealing with external factors which invariably impact upon that process, whether it times of war or peace.  

The present writer had steered away from romcoms until, following retired in 2021 and the reality of "free time", picking up a few cheap videos from the local Vinnies or second-hand store, led one day in May 2026 to sitting down a binging on a few. This did not happen in a vacuum, for outside of the cinematic context, the writer had encountered numerous romcoms and related scenarios from across time in modern day streaming platforms such as Netflix, YouTube and Disney+. The South Korean Netflix series were especially relevant, even though half required reading English subtitles. Since the late 2000s that country had been producing high quality series - often 16 episodes running 1 hour each and thereby enabling a complex and interesting narrative to be reveals, outside of the hastiness of the Hollywood equivalent. Character development was key, varied, and not rushed; the acting was competent; the production quality high; and the script writing of a similar standard. The romcom equivalent often featured fantastical elements, unique aspects of South Korean culture, and emotional weight at their heart. Tears followed on occasion for viewers in watching. 

---------------------

References

....

---------------------

Love: Buddhism | Buddha Love - Video |  Consciousness | Love in the workplace | Romcoms | 

Last updated: 12 May 2026

Michael Organ, Australia 

 

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Kahvas Jute and Chariot, 1970-2005

Image
Back in 1976,  as a pimply 19 year old from    Illawarra's northern suburbs, I attended one of my most memorable concerts ever - rock band Chariot at Wollongong Town Hall. I was amazed by the lead guitarist Dennis Wilson and especially the band's epic song More which, unfortunately, never made it into or out of a recording studio, or live release. I thereafter saw Wilson as nothing less than Australia's version of Eric Clapton, such was his talent, technique and sound, especially when expressed through his famous 1960 Gibson Les Paul Black Beauty guitar hooked into a wah pedal and a Marshall stack. Chariot led me to Wilson's previous band, and their one and only LP Wide Open from 1971, which I was fortunate enough to score a copy of shortly thereafter. The prior band was Kahvas Jute , a Sydney-based progressive rock group which performed in Australia and the UK between 1970-73. Upon disbanding it re-emerged as Chariot from 1974-77. There were subsequently two Kah...
Read more

Buses

Image
A fleet of Dion buses, Wollongong, 1948. I have been traveling on buses a lot lately. That's fine - it saves me money, gets me from A to B through to Z. Having got rid of a second car and looking to get a motorbike, the bus serves me well in the interim. Sometimes it just IS, i.e. I go from here to there and back again, mostly between Wollongong and the northern suburbs, but I have ventured as far west as up over the Escarpment to Campbelltown, and into the deep south of Stockland Shellharbour. Usually I just pay my fare and sit quietly, comfortably, if possible. Other times the whole experience can be a real pain, like when you walk to the bus stop and see the bus pull out, realising you have to sit around waiting for the next one in half an hour or so; or late at night when I am tired and just want to get home, have a shower, and hop into bed, and the bus trip seems interminably long; or when a noisy drunk gets on the bus and you don't know what they are going to do; or a...
Read more

Phantasmagoria in Two - Tim Buckley 1967-68

Image
MO :  Broulee | Dreams | Freewheelin' | Parliament | Prose 2001-4 | Phantasmagoria | Prose 2021+ | Red&Black | Roma | Seabird | Songs 1972-4, 2021-3 | St. Pauls | Uncle Jack | Phantasmagoria, n., a sequence of real or imaginary images like that seen in a dream . Contents Magical Rain/e Tutorials Covers References ------------------- 1. Magical One of the present writer's favourite songs is the exquisite Phantasmagoria in Two by Tim Buckley (1947-75). It is for a number of reasons, but primarily because of the impact of a live version from 1968 upon first hearing back in October 2001 .... but we will come to that later. The song was written by the American singer songwriter in early 1967 and a studio recording made in June of that year. It presented the listener with a poignant love song, traditional in its lyrics and full of statements of loss and parting. They went as follows: Phantasmagoria in Two If a fiddler played you...
Read more