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'Love' in films

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I was watching 'Enchanted' with my step-daughter and the love-story element got me thinking of the portrayal of love on the big (and small) screen. The ideal of love that they present is primarily emotionally driven, with little or no regard for rational consideration.

Enchanted essentially argues that emotional whim is a better and more solid way to a long-lasting, happy relationship than a rational, considered decision based on mutual interests etc, this is explicitly stated as criticism to one of the main characters...

At the end of the movie the arch rationalist is swept up in emotion and lives happily ever after with the princess...

Am I totally off-base thinking that this could be incredibly damaging to a child's development and view of romantic relationships for the future - particularly when if that is the single message they get consistently from television?

This made me think about some other movies I have enjoyed as an adult with a romantic theme, such as "Before sunrise" & "Before sunset" (- though I've not seen them since discovering Objectivism) and "In search of a midnight kiss." They portray love and romance in such a way as to suggest that decisions taken are purely emotional and mystical, based on feelings without regard for rationality - the basic premise of these films revolves around being caught-up in the moment. That seemed to be the view presented in most films, I couldn't think of any films that show love as rational.

Thought it might be an interesting topic, had a quick search and didn't see anything similar. Thoughts?

Edited by rebelconservative
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Just like with any other aspect of life, the wrong outlook can be damaging. Most movies hold self-sacrifice as the ideal, or following the whim of the moment... Some movies even tell you not to try so hard, just chill and everything will be alright as if great achievements were "unnatural" and only make you miss out on your real life. I try to stay away from those, actually I´ve been watching a lot less movies now than I did before discovering Objectivism, instead I listen to music and read books (where the good is stronger and lasts longer).

One movie, which I think portrays love in the right way, is Mel Gibson´s Braveheart. It´s like this: "I love you, you love me, let´s be together and share our happiness". There is no rational consideration, but you understand that they share the same viewpoints and hold similar values, and it´s so beautifully filmed that it almost makes me cry.

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Ayn Rand wrote the screen play, "Love Letters," which is an adaptation of the story of Cyrano de Bergerac. There's an example of romantic love.

Love is an emotion, after all. It isn't a decision. I don't know the story of "Enchanted" so I can't comment on it. Is that a cartoon movie?

Mindy

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Love is an emotion. Emotions are influenced by decisions. Decisions can often be made watching a movie, as it often bypasses the cognitive processes to assist in coming to some particular decisions.

How do you mean that, "emotions are influenced by decisions?"

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You are right, 'love' is an emotion. Perhaps I should have said 'relationships in film' as the idea being presented is that one rushes headlong into romance on the whim of the moment, rather than through rational assessment and exchange of values.

I still haven't seen the movie, so I don't know how the relationship began, but a person's face, awake, tells volumes about their personality. Whether their gaze is direct or unfocused, whether their attitude is benevolent or malevolent, whether they are purposeful or passive, fearful or confident, etc. The "eyes are the window on the soul" is true, and might explain what is happening in the sort of stories you are talking about. However, I don't to defend the cultural norm in love-stories, either.

I know I have instant positive or negative reactions to people on this basis. It is only a clue to the person, but it turns out to be surprisingly accurate, in my experience.

Mindy

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All manner of suspect things get passed off as okay under the justification of "it's love!" - and the movie industry is a major culprit of evasion,imo.

Their scriptwriters have entrenched the message that love is a fundamental right for all, irrespective of the integrity and self-worth of the characters.

The pursuit of love is the right we have. While I do believe that 'sense of life' is highly important in the attraction between lovers, too many movies offer no prime cause of love save he's strong and handsome and makes her laugh/ rescues her/ etc., and she's, well...beautiful.

Or else they have in common some destructive weakness like e.g. drug addiction, and have equally low self-esteem.

"Love must prevail" - as if love is a separate mystical entity, independent of the participants. That's pure intinsicism.

Also, with the increasingly younger film-viewer in mind, I do think that there is a gradual 'dumbing- down' of love, by movie makers, so that every teenager can now pass off his or her immature infatuation, as the real thing.

Actually, that's mostly what a lot of movies portray, not love, but infatuation; and the 'loving' couple won't last long in the real world.

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