Prep Blog 2

In my last blog post, I discussed the setup of my research. I listed the movies I would be examining and why I chose them. I also discussed an in-depth background of my topic while including examples of the term Nice Guy in pop culture. As a result, I displayed how, though the concept is new, it is still present in society and influences much of the content being pushed out to consumers. Therefore, I established significance and context for the topic.

With my mentor, Shannon Saul, I went through my topic and made sure that everything was clearly explained. I wanted to be certain that anyone interested in my topic would have no questions after my explanation.

As I began examining the films, I became aware of a few holes in my method. I started with Love, Simon (2018), though as I started watching, I realized that the character's benign research had a fair amount of character depth, though he definitely fit several of the characteristics that make one a Nice Guy.

Lockyer, Margaret. “Love, Victor vs Love, Simon: Comparing the Grand Romantic Gestures.” CBR, June 20, 2020. https://www.cbr.com/love-victor-love-simon-grand-romantic-gestures/.

Additionally, while watching 10 Things I Hate About You (1999), I realized that the relationship I was examining was a part of the B Plot, meaning that it is a subplot to the main plot, A Plot, which contains the main romantic storyline. As a result, the characters were automatically less deep than that of the A Plot. While the man in the relationship met many of the requirements to be a Nice Guy, the female counterpart did not have much more character depth than he.

Wilkinson, Alissa, Constance Grady, Aja Romano, and Allegra Frank. “10 Things I Hate about You Is as Fresh as Ever, Even 20 Years Later.” Vox. Vox, March 29, 2019. https://www.vox.com/culture/2019/3/29/18287403/10-things-i-hate-about-you-20-anniversary-heath-ledger-julia-stiles-shakespeare.

As a result, I began to watch my character-depth method fall through. I realized that it would be incredibly hard to simply measure the character depth when these characters were given less screen time and, subsequently, less development.

So, I decided to tweak my method of measurement a little bit. Instead of simply measuring their character depth, I am now going to compare the male’s character depth to the female’s character depth. According to the Nice Guy ideology, the female will have much more character depth than the Nice Guy. So, I am going to compare their depth in order to decide which counterpart has more depth. My hypothesis is that the Nice Guy will have less character depth than their female counterpart.

Though this will be a little more work, I believe that it will produce more accurate results. By analyzing both characters in the relationship, I will be able to better understand the relationship and look at the implications of the trope.

Also, while relooking at my selection of movies, I noticed that the two 2010s movies were released near each other, toward the end of the decade. I would rather analyze movies that are more spread apart so that I could get a larger variety and a better understanding of the entire decade, rather than just a certain part of the decade. Therefore, I decided to switch out Tall Girl (2019) for The Duff (2015), which is farther apart from Love, Simon. Because I had not yet watched Tall GIrl, it was not time consuming, for I did not waste any time watching a movie that I would later decide was unnecessary.

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Sharkey, Betsey. “Review: Strong Acting Can't Right Topsy-Turvy Priorities in 'the Duff'.” Los Angeles Times. Los Angeles Times, February 20, 2015. https://www.latimes.com/entertainment/movies/la-et-mn-the-duff-review-whitman-amell-thorne-20150220-column.html.