We Need More Black Romance Movies
It’s time to show a softer side of Black culture
What’s your favorite romance movie? Wait, let me guess… “The Notebook?” I know, it’s my favorite too. Well, at least it was until “Sylvie’s Love” came long. If you haven’t watched the Amazon PrimeVideo Original, “Sylvie’s Love” follows the script of the classic romance movie; upper-class girl who’s been treated nothing less of a princess her entire life, falls for a lower-class boy who has nothing to offer her except his entire heart and eternal devotion. Sylvie, the lead, is set to marry her well-to-do fiancé, when she meets Robert, a starving musician who plays a mean tenor saxophone.
Robert was in love with Sylvie from the day he laid eyes on her, and didn’t let her very prominently present wedding ring deter him from winning her heart. Sylvie is hesitant at first but can’t resist the pull of true love. They spend the summer together, bike riding through the park, having picnics in the meadow, kissing under the night stars, and cuddling in front of the TV. In true romance-movie fashion, Sylvie’s family forbids the relationship, and she is forced to go through with the wedding she had set with her fiancé. A few years past, and as fate would have it, Sylvie and Robert find their way back to each other; and despite a few bumps in the road, love prevails, and they live happily ever after. Now, you might be thinking, “This sounds eerily similar to The Notebook.” What was so good, or different, about this movie that made me watch it 10 times within two weeks? Well, let me enlighten you: the characters were Black.
Not only was this a romance movie with Black lead characters, but the movie was so gentle, and sweet, and heartwarming; it was intimate, non-intimidating, intensely passionate, even whimsical at times, and… romantic. By now, you’re probably thinking, “Well, duh. It’s a romance movie, it’s supposed to be all those things.” Yes, you’d be correct, but the thing is, we (Black culture) don’t really have many movies like this. Most of the movies that are filed into the Black Romance genre, are actually quite the opposite. The idea of “romance” in a Black romance movie always seems to gather around the topics of encountering struggle, enduring racism, experiencing violence, or having the woman to go through many obstacles with the guy, before he decides that he’s ready and willing to be in a relationship with her. It’s quite traumatic if I’m being honest.
Rarely ever are we presented with true romance films, like “Sylvie’s Love,” where the lead characters’ relationship is untouched by some form of trauma or tribulations related to the stereotypes of being Black. Rarely ever do we get films that provide quirky Rom-Com escapism, that highlights awkward dates, or serendipitous run-ins of a future husband and wife, or follows the life of an unexperienced young woman whose life comes completely alive upon meeting her billionaire soulmate (a la 50 Shades of Grey).
As a young Black woman, and a true hopeless romantic, I have devoured almost every Bronte novel, binged watched every single Nicholas Sparks inspired movie, and have re-watched my favorite romance-drama series, “Virgin River” and “Sweet Magnolias,” an umpteenth amount of times. With all the inclusion that the world is trying to provide to Black America, why not include gentle love stories? I mean, I loved Jamie Dornan as Christian Grey, and Ryan Gosling as Noah Calhoun, as much as the next girl, but I would also love to see a fantasy that includes a Black man being vulnerable and expressive, and weakened at the knees for a Black woman.
I would like to have a Black romance that shows the male lead being chivalrous, and old-fashioned, and gentlemanlike; opening doors, bringing flowers, whisking the girl away on extravagant romantic getaways, and willing to give all that he has, to simply be in her presence. A Black romance movie that simply focuses on romance, love, and all things encountered within the two; completely free of any triggering, exhausting, or agitating side-storylines of police brutality, rough dialogues, or historic mistreatment.
I believe portrayal is a very powerful tool because we often mimic and imitate the things we constantly see; and with that, we also began to accept those things as the norm the more they are presented to us. I think, not only does Black culture deserve its own “Notebook” to be the standard of our portrayed love stories, but it’s something the world deserves as well. With all the movies that highlight slavery, and the Civil Rights movement, and current social injustices, why not open a door that displays other, softer components of who we are; showing other things that we are capable of.
I mean, let’s be honest, who wouldn’t want to see Idris Elba staring in a movie as a doting husband, or Kofi Siriboe assuming the role of a big-hearted fellow boldly, shamelessly confessing his love to his sweetheart. I hope more of the film industry will follow behind “Sylvie’s Love,” and give the world what it is so desperately missing: more Black romance movies!
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