guilty pleasures

Guilty Pleasures

A Film by Julie Moggan

Community

Engagement & Education

Discussion GuiDe

www.pbs.org/pov

POV

|2DISCUSSION GUIDe

Guilty Pleasures

Letter from the fiLmmaker

DISCUSSION GUIDe

Guilty Pleasures

LonDon, March 2012

at the age of 30, i broke up with the man who’d been my

boyfriend since i was 17. The romance of my teenage years was

over, and i was left with some big questions about love. shortly

afterward, i came across an article stating that every four sec-

onds a romance novel published by harlequin or its British

counterpart, Mills & Boon, is sold. i thought Mills & Boon was a

dying institution, with a readership made up solely of elderly

British ladies. in fact, the company was hugely successful all

over the world, exporting to 109 countries across six conti-

nents. i was clearly not the only one preoccupied with ques-

tions of love.

i purchased my first romance novel, Bedded by the Greek Bil-

lionaire, and so began a two and a half year journey into the

wonderful world of harlequin and Mills & Boon. i met with read-

ers, writers and editorial staff in the united Kingdom, united

states, Japan and india. Looking closely at people’s deep af-

fection for harlequin and Mills & Boon the world over became

a way to address universal questions about the meaning of true

love.

in Tokyo, i attended reader tea parties and met with women

who’d dedicated whole rooms of their homes to romance novel

collections. in Delhi, i visited libraries full of Mills & Boon books

dating back to the 1950s and met men who fondly reminisced

about using the books as love making manuals in their younger

days. i brunched with male cover models in new York and trav-

eled to san Francisco to join 2,000 delegates at a romance

writers’ convention.

in the end, i chose to tell the stories of just a handful of the

characters i’d met on my travels: three readers, their real life

romeos, one romance writer and a cover model. i came to re-

alize that the film i wanted to make was not really about the harlequin franchise or the marketing of desire. What i wanted

to explore, through the nucleus of the romance novel phenomenon, was the gap between our dreams of how we’d like our

lives to be and the reality of how they actually are. shirley and Phil, hiroko and seiich, shumita, roger and stephen stood out

to me as warm, honest, and hugely likeable individuals, all yearning for something more in their lives. Their struggles to bridge

the gap between romantic fantasy and everyday reality (and the generosity with which they shared these struggles on cam-

era) offered a rich canvas on which to explore the universal quest of love.

My hope is that the finished film will take audiences beyond some of the negative clichés associated with the romance genre,

allowing them—whether fans of the novels or not—to recognize aspects of themselves and their own experiences in the lives

of the subjects.

Julie Moggan

Filmmaker, Guilty Pleasures

Filmmaker Julie Moggan

Photo courtesy of Bram Belloni

|3DISCUSSION GUIDe

Guilty Pleasures

4 Introduction

5 Potential Partners

5 Key Issues

5 Using This Guide

6 Background Information

6 Overview of the Romance Genre

7 The Romance Book Buyer

8 Romance Genres and Subgenres

9 About Mills & Boon and Harlequin

10 Selected People Featured

in Guilty Pleasures

11 General Discussion Questions

12 Discussion Prompts

16 Taking Action

17 Resources

18 How to Buy the Film

Writer

Faith Rogow, PhD

Insighters Educational Consulting

Guide Producers and background research, PoV

eliza Licht

Vice President,

Community Engagement & Education, POV

Jamie Dobie

Coordinator,

Community Engagement & Education, POV

design:

Rafael Jiménez

eyeball

Copy editor:

Natalie Danford

thanks to those who reviewed this guide:

Julie Moggan

Director, Guilty Pleasures

Rachel Wexler

Producer, Guilty Pleasures

Lynne Blinkenberg

Director of Community Engagement,

Wisconsin Public Television

tabLe of Contents Credits

every four seconds a romance novel published by harlequin

or its British counterpart, Mills & Boon, is sold somewhere in

the world. Julie Moggan’s Guilty Pleasures takes this global

phenomenon seriously, even as it provides an amusing and

touching glimpse into the lives of five romance devotees.

ironies abound in the contrasts between the real lives of the

books’ readers and the fantasy world to which they escape.

at its core, Guilty Pleasures explores a universal human

struggle to reconcile inner fantasy with the tragicomic truths

of real-life relationships. it reminds viewers that everyone

must ultimately find their dreams in the real world.

introduCtion

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Guilty Pleasures

Cover artwork of select romance novels

Photo courtesy of Julie Moggan

Guilty Pleasures is well suited for use in a variety of

settings and is especially recommended for use with:

• your local Pbs station, bookstore or library

• Groups focused on any of the issues listed in the

key issues section

• high school students

• faith-based organizations and institutions

• Cultural, art and historical organizations,

institutions and museums

• Civic, fraternal and community groups

• academic departments and student groups at

colleges, universities and high schools

Guilty Pleasures is an excellent tool for outreach and

will be of special interest to people looking to explore

the following topics:

• books

• Creative writing

• english/language arts

• escapist literature

• fantasy

• feminism

• Gender roles

• harlequin/mills & boon publishers

• Literature

• Love

• Popular culture

• Psychology

• Pulp fiction

• romance

• romance novels

• sensuality

• Women’s studies

|5DISCUSSION GUIDe

Guilty Pleasures

usinG this Guide

This guide is an invitation to dialogue. it is based on a belief in the power of human connection, designed for people who

want to use Guilty Pleasures to engage family, friends, classmates, colleagues and communities.

The discussion prompts are intentionally crafted to help a wide range of audiences think more deeply about the issues

in the film. rather than attempting to address them all, choose one or two that best meet your needs and interests. and

be sure to leave time to consider taking action. Planning next steps can help people leave the room feeling energized and

optimistic, even in instances when conversations have been difficult.

For more detailed event planning and facilitation tips, visit www.pbs.org/pov/outreach

key issuesPotentiaL Partners

baCkGround information

|6DISCUSSION GUIDe

Guilty Pleasures

overview of the romance Genre

in 2012, the romance genre took the largest share of the con-

sumer book market worldwide, 12.9% ($1.358 billion), beating

out religion/inspirational ($759 million), mystery ($682 mil-

lion), science fiction/fantasy ($559 million) and classic liter-

ary fiction ($445 million). according to the popular genre

magazine rT Book reviews (formerly known as romantic

Times), the average romance reader today spends about

$100 monthly reading anywhere from 10 to 40 books a

month.

readers, critics and academics argue over the roots of the

romance genre, though many credit Jane austen as the

genre’s originator. others trace the modern romance genre

back to Middle english romances of the mid-14th century or

the stories of King arthur, of charlemagne and roland or of

alexander the Great. The romance industry as it exists today

began in england, but communities of romance readers and

writers exist all over the world, from Bangladesh to south

africa to Mexico.

in A Natural History of the Romance Novel, Pamela

regis outlines the eight narrative conventions that

make a romance a romance: society defined, the meeting,

the barrier, the attraction, the declaration, the point of ritual

death, the recognition and the betrothal. according to the

romance Writers of america, two basic elements comprise

every romance novel: a central love story and an emotionally

satisfying and optimistic ending.

sources:

ogas, ogi. “The online World of Female Desire.” The Wall street

Journal, april 30, 2011.

http://online.wsj.com/article/sB10001424052748704463804576291181

510459902.html

romance Writers of america.

http://www.rwa.org/cs/the_romance_genre/romance_literature_statistics

Tschorn, adam. “Bodice-rippers unite.” The Los Angeles Times, april 9,

2011.

http://articles.latimes.com/2011/apr/09/entertainment/la-et-romance-

convention-20110409

Roger, who writes under the pseudonym Gill Sanderson



|7DISCUSSION GUIDe

Guilty Pleasures

the romance book buyer

a 2011 romance book consumer survey sponsored by the

romance Writers of america showed the following:

• romance book buyers divide largely along gender

lines: 91% of romance book buyers are women, and

only 9% are men.

• The majority of u.s. romance book buyers fall into

the 30 to 54 age group.

• The weighted mean annual income of a romance

book buyer who buys only print books is $58,000,

but romance e-book buyers have a mean annual

income of $70,000.

• More than half of the respondents reported living

with a spouse or significant other.

• The top factor when deciding to buy a romance is

the story (46%); next is the author (23%).

• half of the romance book buyers surveyed reported

purchasing at least one new romance per month.

The remainder purchased one every two to three

months (22%) or less frequently.

Geographic distribution of romance readers in the united

states can be broken down as follows:

• northeast: 17%

• Midwest: 26%

• south: 38%

• West: 19%

source:



Shumita



|8DISCUSSION GUIDe

Guilty Pleasures

romance Genres and subgenres

according to the romance Writers of america, there are

two formats for romance fiction:

• series or category romances: books issued under a

common imprint/series name that are numbered

sequentially and released at regular intervals, usually

monthly, with the same number of releases each

time. These books are most commonly published by

harlequin’s silhouette imprint.

• single-title romances: longer romances released

individually and not as part of a numbered series.

single-title romances may be released in hardcover,

trade paperback or mass-market paperback formats.

While all romances have central love stories and emotionally

satisfying endings, they may have any tone or style, be set in

any place or time and have varying levels of sensuality.

romance fiction can be broken down further into various

subgenres, based on setting and plot elements. These sub-

genres include:

• Contemporary

romance novels that focus primarily on romantic

relationships and typically set after 1945.

• historical

romance novels set in any time period prior to 1945

and taking place in any location.

• inspirational

romance novels in which religious or spiritual beliefs

(in the context of any religion or spiritual belief

system) are a major part of the romantic

relationship.

• novels with strong romantic elements

a work of fiction in which a romance plays a

significant part in the story, but other themes or

elements take the plot beyond the traditional

romance boundaries.

• Paranormal

romance novels in which the future, a fantasy world

or paranormal happenings are an integral part of the

plot.

• regency

romance novels in which the majority of the story is

set in the regency period of the British empire.

• romantic suspense

romance novels in which suspense, mystery or

thriller elements constitute an integral part of the

plot.

• young adult romance

novels with a strong romantic theme geared toward

young adult readers.

source:




|9DISCUSSION GUIDe

Guilty Pleasures

about mills & boon and harlequin

• every four seconds a harlequin or Mills & Boon

romance novel is sold.

• Gerald Mills and charles Boon founded Mills & Boon

Limited in 1908.

• Mills & Boon is now part of harlequin enterprises, a

global company that sells more than 130 million

books worldwide each year.

• These novels are published in 26 different languages

and sold in 109 countries.

• The company has a global base of 1,300 authors.

• Mills & Boon is one of the top ten adult fiction

publishers in the united Kingdom.

• Mills & Boon sells 10 million books each year in the

united Kingdom; 7 million of those are romance

novels.

• u.K. monthly Mills & Boon readership is more than 1.3

million.

• Mills & Boon series books are released in two

shipping cycles each month (the first and third

Friday of the month) and have a one-month shelf

life.

• approximately 70 titles are published every month

in the united Kingdom, including more than 50

brand-new series titles.

• in the past 50 years, Mills & Boon characters have

had 10,325 weddings, 29,500 kisses and 35,250

hugs.

• “Mills & Boon” is an entry in the oxford english

Dictionary given the definition “a (type of) popular

romantic novel.”

source:

Mills & Boon.

http://www.millsandboon.co.uk/facts.asp

A collection of romance novels



|10DISCUSSION GUIDe

Guilty Pleasures

shumita: a woman in india who hopes that her straying

husband will return.

hiroko: a Japanese housewife whose fantasies center around

ballroom dancing.

shirley: a British mother of three who looks for ways to spice

up her marriage.

stephen: a new York model who has been on more than 200

romance novel covers.

Gill, aka roger: an english pensioner who has penned many

romance novels.

Selected People Featured in Guilty Pleasures

One way to get a discussion going is to pose a general

question such as:

• if you could ask anyone in the film a single question,

who would you ask and what would you ask him or

her?

• What did you learn from this film? What insights did

it provide?

• if a friend asked you what this film was about, what

would you say?

• describe a moment or scene in the film that “spoke

truth” to you. What was it about that scene that was

especially compelling?

GeneraL disCussion Questions

|11DISCUSSION GUIDe

Guilty Pleasures

Hiroko and Seiich compete in ballroom dancing


disCussion PromPts

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Guilty Pleasures

the appeal

The film opens with this line: “every four seconds, a harle-

quin romance is sold somewhere in the world.” in your view,

what is the appeal of these books? What do you learn from

the film about why these books are so popular?

What do you do for escape or pleasure? how does your en-

joyment of that activity compare with the reasons given by

the women in the film for their love of romance novels? here

are some of those reasons:

“There was a lot missing in my life and that’s why i

enjoyed reading the books,” says shirley.

The books are filled with excitement—no down time.

everyone wants passion. if a partner doesn’t provide it,

it’s sought somewhere else.

hiroko’s husband, seiich, says, “My wife often asks me to say

nice words to her like in the novels. But i can’t really say

these words, so i think it’s okay that she reads to compen-

sate for what i can’t give her.” Why do you think he has trou-

ble talking like the men in the novels and why do some

women like the language of the novels so much?

stephen says, “We’re all yearning for love.” in your view, do

harlequin books satisfy that yearning?

Stephen at a photo shoot


disCussion PromPts

|13DISCUSSION GUIDe

Guilty Pleasures

the Genre

What is the distinction between fantasies involving romance

and other fantasy worlds with popular appeal (e.g., online

games or star Trek conventions)? What is the function of

fantasy in our lives?

The film includes lots of “racy” passages from harlequin ro-

mances. What is the difference between romance novels

sold in mainstream retail outlets and pornography, which is

available only in adult retail outlets?

in the film, we find out that author Gill sanderson is, in fact,

a middle-aged single man named roger. Did that surprise

you? Does it matter who actually writes the books?

roger says, “Women are more interested in relationships

and in talking about relationships than men. Women like to

be told things, over and over again.” in your experience, is

this true? how do the designs and marketing of romance

novels reflect and reinforce this belief about women?

roger explains the romance formula, saying that in every

book, readers have “learned something about them-

selves and about love.” What types of things do you

think they learn? What are the primary messages of harle-

quin romances? how do the values embedded in those mes-

sages compare to the values you would hope to convey to

young people?

the effects

shirley’s husband, Phil, says, “oh, she likes reading, but it’s a

harmless pastime.” Do you agree? are harlequin romances

simply inconsequential fantasies?

hiroko says, “after i’d been reading them a long time, i

wanted to experience my harlequin dream world in reality.”

What role did the novels play in influencing the real-life de-

cisions of the women in the film? What actions did they take

to bring their fantasies to life?

reflecting on her failed marriage, shumita asks, “What hap-

pened to all the promises these books made to me?” at what

Roger, who writes under the pseudonym Gill Sanderson


disCussion PromPts

|14DISCUSSION GUIDe

Guilty Pleasures

point does healthy fantasy cross over into setting up false

expectations for real life? What role do books play in shap-

ing people’s ideas and behaviors?

romance novelist roger says, “The heroes have got to be

alpha-men. They’ve got to be fit, good-looking, they can’t be

fat. could you have a red-headed hero? never done one,

never will.” Why would it be a problem to have a red-headed

hero (especially for a British author)? More generally, what

assumptions about men, women and “acceptable” gender

roles does this worldview reflect? is it a worldview that you

share?

What would the world be like if real life were like a harlequin

novel? Who would the “winners” and “losers” be? Who

would have the best chance at achieving success and hap-

piness and who would have little chance?

hiroko struggles with the cost of her dance lessons. What

percentage of your income would you spend on making a

fantasy come true, and what do you think you would gain

from it?

Shumita's former partner Sanjay


disCussion PromPts

|15DISCUSSION GUIDe

Guilty Pleasures

Love and romance

roger says, “We celebrate, in every Mills & Boon book, the

power of love. and it is the emotion, i think, which governs

most people’s lives.” is that true for you? What roles do ro-

mance and sex play in your life? What cultural or religious

messages shape your beliefs about those roles?

stephen talks about “twin flames” and “soul mates.” Do you

believe in “soul mates”? What is the source of that belief?

how does it compare to marriage and sexual partnerships

in other time periods and cultures? Why do you think the

notion of “soul mates” might be particularly popular in this

culture and time period?

in the books, great value is placed on physical appearance.

Yet the handsome model who literally represents the quin-

tessential romance novel hero is divorced and single. What

does that say about the connection between good looks and

successful relationships?

Do you notice any correlations between the characteristics

of typical romance novel heroes and the characteristics of

the men the film’s women choose to marry? how about

between the actions of romance novel heroes and the

way that these men treat their wives?

Where do the people in the film seek advice on finding the

passion they are looking for? Who do you look to for advice

on love and relationships?

hiroko dresses up for her dance teacher and says that when

she met him it was “love at first sight because he has the

look of the heroes in the harlequin novels.” in reality, she has

no relationship with him; she creates a fantasy around him.

how do people differentiate between fantasies they would

like to see happen and fantasies that they enjoy but want to

keep as fantasies?

sanjay says there is no chance he and shumita will get back

together because “she’s a militant feminist.” What do you

think he means by that and why would it preclude continu-

ing their marriage?

Part of the romance novel formula is a happy ending. What

would your happy ending look like? What could you do to

get there?

Stephen and partner


additional media literacy questions are available at:

www.pbs.org/pov/educators/media-literacy.php

Taking Action

• Analyze covers of romance novels. What are their messages?

What stereotypes do they reinforce? Who is the target

audience and how do you know? Talk about what you

learned from seeing the photo shoot in the film and discuss

the ways in which media shape the content of our fantasies.

• Convene a book club. Read and discuss a romance novel.

Then watch and discuss the film. Follow that by reading and

discussing another romance novel and note any differences

in the post-viewing reading experience.

• Using Stephen’s board as an example, create your own vision

board. Share it with people who can help transform your

visions into reality.

|16DISCUSSION GUIDe

Guilty Pleasures

Hiroko and Seiich compete in ballroom dancing


FILM-RELATED WEB SITES

romance novels

HARLEquIn

www.harlequin.com

The official website of the world’s largest publisher of

romance novels includes author blogs and reader

forums. For the British division, Mills & Boon, visit

www.millsandboon.co.uk.

ROMAnTIc nOVELISTS’ ASSOcIATIOn

http://www.rna-uk.org/

The website of this writers’ organization (which roger

mentions in the film) includes information about activ-

ities promoting the genre, as well as a blog where you

can find out more about romance novel authors and

their work.

ROMAncE WRITERS OF AMERIcA

http://www.rwa.org/

This organization’s website is dedicated to advancing the

professional interests of career-focused romance writers

through networking and advocacy.

Concerns

Journal of family Planning

and reProductive HealtH care

http://jfprhc.bmj.com/content/37/3/179.full–

in this 2011 blog post, psychologist susan Quilliam critiques

the lessons that romance novels deliver about sex.

Journal of international Women’s studies

http://www.bridgew.edu/soas/jiws/nov06/Romancen-ovels.pdf–

in this traditional academic article, “Gender, romance nov-

els and Plastic sexuality in the united states: a Focus on Fe-

male college students,” published in 2006, huei-hsia Wu

analyzes differences in young male and female romance

novel readers.

PsycHology today

http://www.psychologytoday.com/blog/loves-evolver/201007/how-much-do-romance-novels-reflect-womens-desires

in a post on the magazine’s website entitled “how Much Do

romance novels reflect Women’s Desires?” Maryanne

Fisher offers a quick take on romance novel characters as

role models.

resourCes

|17DISCUSSION GUIDe

Guilty Pleasures

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