Pamela Jaye Smith loves both romance and adventure in myths and movies. She’s a mythologist, international speaker-consultant, award-winning writer-producer-director and has written five books for media creators. Credits include Fox, Disney, Paramount, Microsoft, Universal, RAI-TV Rome, Romance Writers of America, UCLA, American Film Institute, Women in Film, Natl. Film Institute of Denmark, LA and Marseille WebFests, and many film festivals and story conferences. We spoke recently on why some romantic notions, underpinnings, and movies endure. Visit Pamela's websites, www.mythworks.net, www.alphababeacademy.com, and www.mythicchallenges.com
You can order Pamela's book, Romantic Comedies: These Films Can Save Your Love Life!, from Michael Wiese Productions.
Dave Watson: First, congratulations on the book. How did this book come about? Romantic comedies have endured for over a century in film, and centuries otherwise.
Pamela Jaye Smith: Thank you, Dave. I’m so pleased with the way the book turned out. My wonderful publishers Michael Wiese Productions has an amazing design and editing team and they crafted a beautiful movie guide for anybody of any age, gender, or situation who wants to improve their own Love Life in a fun, easy way.
As for the origins of this book, unlike past times when I’ve approached my publishers with a book idea, this grew out of some conversations that MWP VP Ken Lee and I had about an article suggesting that couples who watched Romantic Comedies together had a better stay-together rate than those who went to couples therapy. We thought it might be a good concept for a book.
After batting around some ideas and some sample chapters we had something that was almost-but-not-quite the thing. MWP founder Michael Wiese and Ken both suggested more humor and more mythic underpinnings, given that as a mythologist that’s my typical approach to story. I’m always up for putting more humor into this actually quite serious challenge of presenting and creating stories.
DW: You start with a section on self-esteem. Is this intertwined with love? Seems to be in films such as Annie Hall, Amelie, and others.
PJS: Absolutely! Self-esteem is vital to experiencing a fulfilling love relationship because without it you’re always wondering, “Why would they love me? It can’t be real? I should leave before they leave me….” Certainly we see people with an over-abundance of (often undeserved) self-esteem, but most of us err on the other side and it can side-swipe our relationships.
However, I think the best loves are the ones that inspire us to become better than we are. Those chivalric, transformative loves can be so rewarding both to the lovers and those around them as people strive to meet higher expectations.
DW: Your book has quite the mix of successful stories and movies. What for you separates the successful romantic comedies from those that don’t stick with audiences.
PJS: Good question, Dave. Certainly the simply entertaining movies have value. But the ones that become classics are the ones that touch upon and promote certain qualities. There were four criteria I used for deciding which movies to include. They had to promote one of these qualities: Idealism, Joy, Passion, Dignity. I found that for me the movies that were successful had at least two of these qualities, and often all four.
DW: You have a chapter titled, “Want more love? Give more love!” Does giving love and falling in love ultimately rest on who we are as human beings?
PJS: Absolutely. Love is a two-way street. If you’re not open to giving it, you’re not open to receiving it… and vice versa.
You know that saying, “Everybody loves a lover”? Well, sometimes new lovers can be obnoxious so it’s not always true. But generally speaking when someone feels loved they tend to want to spread that luxurious feeling around to others. If only everyone were in love all the time, what might this world become, right?
DW: Many films also appear repeatedly in your book, from Annie Hall to Amelie to Must Love Dogs. Are better love stories multi-faceted?
PJS: That’s what I discovered in doing the research and selections for this book. The multi-faceted stories are like a delicious six-course banquet over which you linger in delight, as opposed to a fast-food take-out you just gobble down and then forget.
The layers typically come in the form of secondary and tertiary characters but can also be about the unresolved issues of the lovers.
If you’re writing a rom-com I think you’d do well to make your characters complex, show us diverse aspects of their problems working out with other characters as well, and even include the dark side of what would happen if it does not work out (which can be shown in ancillary characters).
DW: Romance also seems hard to mix with other genres. Is this related directly to the characters or the overall story arc?
PJS: What an interesting question, Dave. Plot-wise, the rom-com is decidedly simplistic and formulaic: X meets Y, X loses Y, X goes through all sorts of trials and tribulations and eventually wins back Y. The relationship is the main focus so you don’t always get larger issues at play; The Princess Bride is a fun exception in that entire kingdoms are at stake. \\Character-wise, their main goals are to acquire or to avoid the entanglements of romance, so it does not afford many opportunities for larger concerns. And in our analyses I think we should keep in mind that these movies are meant to be entertaining. If we just appreciate them as that, all’s good. If we then can find deeper, higher meanings, all the better.
DW: One section is also centered on cynics being wounded romantics. This strain of romance doesn’t seem to tire. Why?
PJS: I think it’s because so many of us have been wounded by love -- or the lack of love -- whether as children or as adults. We have seen how badly supposed love can turn out. We have observed the small disappointments of slights and the gut-wrenching ache of betrayals. We fear the possible rejection and the abandonment… and rightly so.
Too many times our own love relationships are colored by the actions of our beloved’s previous lover(s).
Another appeal of the cynic is that they offer a challenge of seduction and a lot of people thrive on that to prove themselves. After all, if you can get a cynic to fall in love with you, you must be someone pretty special.
In reality as well as in rom-coms, the cynic will often be the most sensitive and romantic lover, once the barriers have been broken through or dissolved. That is a treasure not to be treated lightly.
DW: What’s next for you?
PJS: I’m pleased that the Romantic Comedies book is receiving a positive reception and there’ll be some books-signings here in LA, as well as interviews such as yours – and thank you again for this opportunity.
My next book project is the expansion and updating of my book Beyond the Hero’s Journey: Other Powerful Mythic Themes.
I’m honored to participate in the Storytelling for Social Profit project and to be on their Think Tank. Many experts in diverse fields have been interviewed about how story can affect the world and some practical steps we can take towards that.
In March I’ll be returning to Austin for South by SouthWest to host a Meet-Up. As a graduate of UT in English, Latin, and Film I’m looking forward to being back in that fun, smart, and talented city. Also coming up are the Artemis Film Festival and the LAWebfest.
DW: What is your favorite romantic cinematic moment? One that inspired you early on and still does to this day?
PJS: Well, this isn’t from a rom-com but it is a highly romantic cinematic moment and is often echoed in romantic comedies. In the 1967 musical Camelot, starring Vanessa Redgrave (Queen Guinevere), Richard Harris (King Arthur), and Franco Nero (Lancelot) the love triangle threatens not only the royal marriage but also the entire kingdom and all that Arthur has accomplished with the idyllic Round Table. Guinevere and Lancelot both love and adore Arthur but they cannot deny their all-consuming desire for each other. The moment is when Guinevere finally gives in. Lancelot is in his bed in the dark, tossing and turning, tormented we presume by his desire for the Queen. The door opens and light beams into the room. Guinevere is silhouetted in the doorway, gown billowing, her own torment of duty overcome by deep desire. That look….That moment…. It took our breath away.
In most successful romantic comedies there is also that one Guinevere and Lancelot moment when all considerations fall by the wayside and Love prevails. Unfortunately in Camelot it led to dire circumstances but in most rom-coms it leads to delight and joy.
This moment so inspired me that I selected as one of the book’s section header quotes, this observation from novelist Frank De Ford, “The most enduring loves are not the ones we choose, but those we are powerless to resist.”
May we all have at least one of these loves in our lifetimes.
Clip: Camelot
You can order Pamela's book, Romantic Comedies: These Films Can Save Your Love Life!, from Michael Wiese Productions.
Dave Watson: First, congratulations on the book. How did this book come about? Romantic comedies have endured for over a century in film, and centuries otherwise.
Pamela Jaye Smith: Thank you, Dave. I’m so pleased with the way the book turned out. My wonderful publishers Michael Wiese Productions has an amazing design and editing team and they crafted a beautiful movie guide for anybody of any age, gender, or situation who wants to improve their own Love Life in a fun, easy way.
As for the origins of this book, unlike past times when I’ve approached my publishers with a book idea, this grew out of some conversations that MWP VP Ken Lee and I had about an article suggesting that couples who watched Romantic Comedies together had a better stay-together rate than those who went to couples therapy. We thought it might be a good concept for a book.
After batting around some ideas and some sample chapters we had something that was almost-but-not-quite the thing. MWP founder Michael Wiese and Ken both suggested more humor and more mythic underpinnings, given that as a mythologist that’s my typical approach to story. I’m always up for putting more humor into this actually quite serious challenge of presenting and creating stories.
DW: You start with a section on self-esteem. Is this intertwined with love? Seems to be in films such as Annie Hall, Amelie, and others.
PJS: Absolutely! Self-esteem is vital to experiencing a fulfilling love relationship because without it you’re always wondering, “Why would they love me? It can’t be real? I should leave before they leave me….” Certainly we see people with an over-abundance of (often undeserved) self-esteem, but most of us err on the other side and it can side-swipe our relationships.
However, I think the best loves are the ones that inspire us to become better than we are. Those chivalric, transformative loves can be so rewarding both to the lovers and those around them as people strive to meet higher expectations.
DW: Your book has quite the mix of successful stories and movies. What for you separates the successful romantic comedies from those that don’t stick with audiences.
PJS: Good question, Dave. Certainly the simply entertaining movies have value. But the ones that become classics are the ones that touch upon and promote certain qualities. There were four criteria I used for deciding which movies to include. They had to promote one of these qualities: Idealism, Joy, Passion, Dignity. I found that for me the movies that were successful had at least two of these qualities, and often all four.
DW: You have a chapter titled, “Want more love? Give more love!” Does giving love and falling in love ultimately rest on who we are as human beings?
PJS: Absolutely. Love is a two-way street. If you’re not open to giving it, you’re not open to receiving it… and vice versa.
You know that saying, “Everybody loves a lover”? Well, sometimes new lovers can be obnoxious so it’s not always true. But generally speaking when someone feels loved they tend to want to spread that luxurious feeling around to others. If only everyone were in love all the time, what might this world become, right?
DW: Many films also appear repeatedly in your book, from Annie Hall to Amelie to Must Love Dogs. Are better love stories multi-faceted?
PJS: That’s what I discovered in doing the research and selections for this book. The multi-faceted stories are like a delicious six-course banquet over which you linger in delight, as opposed to a fast-food take-out you just gobble down and then forget.
The layers typically come in the form of secondary and tertiary characters but can also be about the unresolved issues of the lovers.
If you’re writing a rom-com I think you’d do well to make your characters complex, show us diverse aspects of their problems working out with other characters as well, and even include the dark side of what would happen if it does not work out (which can be shown in ancillary characters).
DW: Romance also seems hard to mix with other genres. Is this related directly to the characters or the overall story arc?
PJS: What an interesting question, Dave. Plot-wise, the rom-com is decidedly simplistic and formulaic: X meets Y, X loses Y, X goes through all sorts of trials and tribulations and eventually wins back Y. The relationship is the main focus so you don’t always get larger issues at play; The Princess Bride is a fun exception in that entire kingdoms are at stake. \\Character-wise, their main goals are to acquire or to avoid the entanglements of romance, so it does not afford many opportunities for larger concerns. And in our analyses I think we should keep in mind that these movies are meant to be entertaining. If we just appreciate them as that, all’s good. If we then can find deeper, higher meanings, all the better.
DW: One section is also centered on cynics being wounded romantics. This strain of romance doesn’t seem to tire. Why?
PJS: I think it’s because so many of us have been wounded by love -- or the lack of love -- whether as children or as adults. We have seen how badly supposed love can turn out. We have observed the small disappointments of slights and the gut-wrenching ache of betrayals. We fear the possible rejection and the abandonment… and rightly so.
Too many times our own love relationships are colored by the actions of our beloved’s previous lover(s).
Another appeal of the cynic is that they offer a challenge of seduction and a lot of people thrive on that to prove themselves. After all, if you can get a cynic to fall in love with you, you must be someone pretty special.
In reality as well as in rom-coms, the cynic will often be the most sensitive and romantic lover, once the barriers have been broken through or dissolved. That is a treasure not to be treated lightly.
DW: What’s next for you?
PJS: I’m pleased that the Romantic Comedies book is receiving a positive reception and there’ll be some books-signings here in LA, as well as interviews such as yours – and thank you again for this opportunity.
My next book project is the expansion and updating of my book Beyond the Hero’s Journey: Other Powerful Mythic Themes.
I’m honored to participate in the Storytelling for Social Profit project and to be on their Think Tank. Many experts in diverse fields have been interviewed about how story can affect the world and some practical steps we can take towards that.
In March I’ll be returning to Austin for South by SouthWest to host a Meet-Up. As a graduate of UT in English, Latin, and Film I’m looking forward to being back in that fun, smart, and talented city. Also coming up are the Artemis Film Festival and the LAWebfest.
DW: What is your favorite romantic cinematic moment? One that inspired you early on and still does to this day?
PJS: Well, this isn’t from a rom-com but it is a highly romantic cinematic moment and is often echoed in romantic comedies. In the 1967 musical Camelot, starring Vanessa Redgrave (Queen Guinevere), Richard Harris (King Arthur), and Franco Nero (Lancelot) the love triangle threatens not only the royal marriage but also the entire kingdom and all that Arthur has accomplished with the idyllic Round Table. Guinevere and Lancelot both love and adore Arthur but they cannot deny their all-consuming desire for each other. The moment is when Guinevere finally gives in. Lancelot is in his bed in the dark, tossing and turning, tormented we presume by his desire for the Queen. The door opens and light beams into the room. Guinevere is silhouetted in the doorway, gown billowing, her own torment of duty overcome by deep desire. That look….That moment…. It took our breath away.
In most successful romantic comedies there is also that one Guinevere and Lancelot moment when all considerations fall by the wayside and Love prevails. Unfortunately in Camelot it led to dire circumstances but in most rom-coms it leads to delight and joy.
This moment so inspired me that I selected as one of the book’s section header quotes, this observation from novelist Frank De Ford, “The most enduring loves are not the ones we choose, but those we are powerless to resist.”
May we all have at least one of these loves in our lifetimes.
Clip: Camelot
