Romantic comedy, commonly referred to as rom-com, is a genre which has come to occupy a dominant role in cinema, especially within mainstream films. Romantic comedies have a long cinematic history, having been a 'cornerstone of Hollywood entertainment since the coming of sound'. Contemporary romantic comedy in European/American films is often considered to be 'slavishly formulaic' and 'essentially calculating in its execution, cynically manipulating an emotional and sentimental response from the viewer'. Lippman draws on the work of Green and Brock to suggest that the meanings attributed to these portrayals of stalking, and of love, are influenced to the degree of 'transportation' experienced by the viewer. In addition to the ways in which romantic comedies tend to strengthen the agency of the male protagonists and their comedic discourses and persona, the biases suggested earlier are very evident in compilations of 'Top Romantic Comedies'. Romantic leads are usually middle-class, and rarely disabled.