Dear All

With sincere apologies for cross-posting I would like to take this opportunity to invite you to register for:

Love Maybe: A Romantic Comedy Study Day

A Study Day on the Romantic Comedy, University of Nottingham Thursday, 19th August 2004

We are pleased to be able to confirm Bruce Babington, Celestino Deleyto and Martin Shingler as keynote speakers. Panels will be focused around the following areas:

Something Old and Something New: The Romantic Comedy and the Hollywood Star System

Space and Identity: Places and People to Fall in Love With

Sealed with a Kiss: Narrating the Romantic Comedy

The "lightweight" yet contested natures of both romance and comedy within film have led critics to skew arguments around, or to ignore completely, the vital contribution made to culture by the romantic comedy. This one day event is a response to Love Actually's claim that "love is all around us". Exploring the prevalence and longevity of the romantic comedy in film we ask whether the need for love is indeed at the heart of the romantic comedy. The aim is to delve into the production, marketing, distribution and reception of romantic comedies to uncover the textual and industrial reasons for their enduring popularity. In addition, we hope to develop and challenge previous feminist and "screwball" debates around the romantic comedy, to see whether these interventions really speak to the heart of the genre. This study day is intended to provide a forum for debate on the romantic comedy that will widen the scope of debates around the genre, as well as perhaps enabling us to look at these films in a new light.

Detailed programme information and registration form available at the following link: http://www.nottingham.ac.uk/film

For further information please contact Rayna Denison at [log in to unmask], or by post to:

Rayna Denison
The Love Maybe Committee
Institute of Film Studies
School of American and Canadian Studies
University of Nottingham
University Park
Nottingham
NG7 2RD