When Jacob Tierney's Heated Rivalry happened to me a couple of months ago, I was immediately impressed by its spectacular distinction as a quintessential romantic fairy tale. It also presents a fascinated case of the Prince and the Princess trope...
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It's one of the oldest tropes of romantic storytelling: the narrative needs a Prince. Whether an old fable or a contemporary multi-season TV saga, all fairy tales about love must contain a Princely presence to ensure the proper swooning of the target audience.
And there is nothing arbitrary about that. The trope endures the test of times, transcends genders, and surpasses limits of the genre because it's rooted in the most primary, the most fundamental principles of romancing.
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It materialized in my mind while I was writing The Most Romantic Hero of the Roaring Twenties essay. Papa's heart was always brimming with affections—for so many people, places, experiences... It's captivating. Just like those bewtiching women with their mysterious powers...
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Hemingway's roman à clef The Sun Also Rises is through and through a romantic novel—full of passions and yearnings. At the time, 26-year-old Papa struggled with temptations, desires, and deceit. He channeled the complexity of it all through his alter ego Jake Barnes onto the pages of his first novel... And he brilliantly managed to do it without breaking away from his "iceberg" philosophy.
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Speaking of romantic heroes... Catching all these glimpses of teasers and trailers for the latest film adaptation of Wuthering Heights1 inevitably reminded me how much I disliked the novel all those decades back when I read it. Still vividly recalling the experience of it, I have to admit that my sentiments have not changed. It... Continue Reading →
This short reel is a visual meditation that sparked in my imagination while I was working on the essay The Most Romantic Hero of Contemporary Pop Culture... Not a summary, but a parallel reflection in images. The full essay can be read here --> The Most Romantic Hero of Contemporary Pop Culture
Chivalry is dead and all that... We know only too well that it's not easy to find a true romantic hero in the contemporary cultural media. Yet, I found one—some time ago—and I am sticking with my choice: Tarantino's Butch Coolidge is the most romantic hero placed in our everyday reality. Read More
