Art by Ava Anderson
Transparency Item: The Perspectives section of the Graphic is comprised of articles based on opinion. This is the opinion and perspective of the writer.
Movie theaters and popular streaming services are flooding their audiences with numerous romantic comedy (rom-com) films.
In the past year, rom-coms like “Materialists” and “Bridget Jones: Mad About the Boy” had amazing box office successes, each grossing over $100 million globally, according to Box Office Mojo.
In addition to these films’ box office success, romance books have significantly surged in popularity, primarily in the form of BookTok — a large social media community devoted to discussing and reviewing books.
This community popularized many romance novels, which turned into an increase in post-pandemic print sales.
“Sales in the romance category rose 3.9%, to almost 44 million units” from 2023 to 2024, according to Publishers Weekly.
The adoration for this genre prompted many streaming services to bring these romance books to life in adaptations, increasing the number of rom-coms released each year.
Audiences who loved the books are excitedly awaiting these films. Many are participating in online conversations — often through BookTok — of fancasts, where fans of the book list desired actors and actresses to play their favorite characters in the adaptations.
Most notable about the rise of rom-coms is how the entertainment brought about an intellectual rebirth in the new generation. This rebirth is mostly manifested in increased emotional intelligence among rom-com audiences.
Emotional intelligence is defined as “the ability to recognize, understand, and deal skillfully with one’s own emotions and the emotions of others,” according to Merriam-Webster dictionary.
Studies show young adults who consume romantic media are more likely to have a higher level of emotional intelligence, according to the International Journal of Interdisciplinary Approaches in Psychology.
Some films in the rom-com genre can coincide with the literary fiction category.
Literary fiction prioritizes character, style and theme over having a plot, and at its heart has an overarching theme of displaying the human experience, according to Writer’s Digest.
Literary fiction plays a huge role in emotional intelligence because of how beautifully it portrays human experiences. Rom-coms have a substantial overlap with this category in respect to the depth of character development.
Audiences who read fiction can connect so well with on-screen or book characters’ relationships that they are emotionally transported into the story. Higher levels of emotional transportation in fiction readers correlate with readers being more empathic, according to the National Library of Medicine.
Empathy is the ability to understand and be sensitive to others’ emotions, according to Merriam-Webster dictionary. Correspondingly, the ability to exercise empathy in personal relationships lies at the center of emotional intelligence.
This skill transcends romantic relationships as well.
It is important for networking and making professional connections, which can be a vital skill for any job. Additionally, emotional intelligence adds a maturity level to all relationships, which can be key for younger generations as they grow into adults.
As many college classes incorporate group work into their course, students will benefit from having these emotional management skills which can help them better understand their groupmates’ ideas, opinions and emotions as they navigate a collaborative project.
With courses like Organizational Behavior, a Pepperdine class focusing on ethical management and practical application for business leaders, students can practice applying self-awareness, self-management and empathy skills which they can learn from watching or reading rom-coms.
This genre is reemerging in many forms, whether it’s a book or a film, and with it comes an emotional and intellectual revival.
Audiences, especially students, engaging with this entertainment will not only enjoy the drama and feel-good moments but acquire essential skills which help them better connect with the world around them.
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Contact Alyssa Hunnicutt via email: alyssa.hunnicutt@pepperdine.edu