Eighth Entry: #2 Research Essay Glossing Activity

The general theme of my paper is how romantic comedies affect many women’s perception of a relationship. One central theme I could see was how I kept reefing to how women look at situations, and base the outcome on romantic comedies. Many women go into relationships believing certain fabrications from romantic comedies, such as drama is always present in a relationship, and no matter what happens prince charming will sweep you off your feet. Although sometimes these situations may occur, it is very rare and most women will probably never experience anything to that degree.

One idea in my paper that I was surprised by was the reasoning that it is someone’s job to formulate the romantic comedy premises. I made a good point in saying that there are multiple people who can come up with ideas and dialogue, probably using their imagination and not experience. I think I need to elaborate on this topic more and discuss how the situations many women see on the screen are paid to create elaborate plots that will engage the audience and want them to feel what the characters are feeling.

I feel like my paper does not go into enough detail on how some women are being affected. I think I need to put an example of someone, other than myself in my paper so that readers can see how much of an effect romantic comedies, such as “When Harry Met Sally”, have on society. I think more elaboration and specific situations will engage my readers more thoroughly and allow them to connect with my topic.

Seventh Entry: #2 Research Essay Sources

I found it pretty hard to find any information on my topic because it is very broad, and movie reviews are the only things that came up. I had to change my approach several times on each database. I usually started with “Romantic Comedies in Reality” and when nothing came up I used “romantic comedies perception of reality”, “Romantic comedies effects on women”, “the reality of romantic comedies”, and “how romantic comedies effect women’s emotions”. It was difficult to find anything because I don’t think the topic is generally considered academic, and most of the databases dealt with academic information. When information did show up, it was usually from newspapers and it was hard to distinguish whether it would be a reliable source versus an opinion column. When I tried to narrow my search with certain films such as “the Holiday”, or “When Harry Met Sally”, I found it hard to get anything but praise for the actors and their parts. The realization of my search was that I believe the technology that gave us movies impact the way we look at life in every way. I can’t find how movies have changed our perception or outlook on a certain aspect of our life, such as romance; because romantic movies and movies in general have become such a huge part of our society that it is hard to distinguish what reality is. Most of the databases provided by the library did help me find a few pieces that help support my topic. The search engines were less helpful, especially Google, which was surprising. Doing research for my topic has actually made me more interested in how a woman’s ideal romance has evolved through film and how technology has played a huge impact modern day culture.

Sixth Entry: #2 Research Essay Topic

My topic is how specific movies can alter someone's perception of reality; specifically romantic comedies that alter a woman’s understanding of relationships. Most women have preconceived notions of what the perfect relationship is suppose to be and most of them got their ideas from movies. Although movies can have some truths, they are rarely fact. Technology has influenced our society to believe that relationships should focus on the pleasant or romantic side of a relationship, and not the problems that are encountered. Film alters our perception of reality and glorifies romantic endeavors that are solemn and fundamental. By watching films that idolize romance, some women may be disappointed in their romantic adventures, and look for a relationship that is only exists in movies.
I can narrow down my topic and focus on a few movies that I think alter perception of romance. By giving specific examples, my paper will have more credibility.
Experts have addressed this topic somewhat in magazines, but movie critics have a more in-depth focus on perception and the way society deals with a movie’s message.
By exploring why romantic comedies alter a woman’s understanding of a relationship, women may be better able to evaluate what they are looking for in a relationship, and how to approach one.
I want to pursue this topic because film has the ability to influence every part of our life and sometimes this influence may not be as visible as we think. By examining the affects of film on a society, specifically women, will be able to examine their own lives and see how film has affected their romantic endeavors and the people they love.

Fifth Entry: Personal Essay Revisions

While I was looking over the peer review sheet, I realized that some of the examples and situations I encounter in my paper needed more explanation for the reader. During peer review, the people in my group pointed out some confusing points in my paper that any reader might have had trouble with. I had to remember that I was writing for an audience that doesn’t know how my family interacts and they have little to no background outside of what they read in my paper. I also got feedback that I needed to do more showing, or elaborate on certain events that could have a greater impact on my topic. The feedback was very helpful because after I read over the comments, I could see exactly where my audiences might get confused. I had to re-read my paper as if I didn’t know anything about Bar Harbor so I could avoid assumptions I might have made about my audience. By elaborating certain events in my story, the audience would be able to relate to me and the situations I encounter. I would also have the ability to draw my reader in and make the topic more interesting so that I can keep their attention. For example, I should expand on the topic of the lobster races. Most people probably don’t know what they are, and the more my reader knows, the more invested they may become in my paper. Most of the revisions I make will help clarify significant events that can support and develop the overall message of my story.