TakingITGlobal - Panorama - Love in the Movies

Published on: Oct 6, 2002

Topic:

Type: Opinions

https://www.tigweb.org/express/panorama/article.html?ContentID=680

At seventeen, I can honestly say that there were times where I thought I was in love. Just the sight of that special somebody would send my stomach doing somersaults until I thought my heart would jump from my throat. It's a great feeling, looking forward to every single little moment with that person. But with time, those feelings fade and you're faced with reality when you realise that just like beauty, lust eventually fades. Sure he's still the sexiest thing I ever saw in my life, but what I thought was love revealed itself to be nothing more than an infatuation.

Looking at the various forms of media, it's easy to be fooled into thinking that infatuation is equal to love. You know the story: girl meets guy, they sleep together, face some sort of conflict, and will emerge triumphant at the end to live in a perfect relationship.

If only it could be that easy in real life. However, if that was the case, then would that love be more satisfying? About four months ago, I was watching a re-run of Seventh Heaven where the father of that dynamic family made a profound statement (of course, due to the author's short memory span, she'll be paraphrasing): 'Loving perfection is easy, but imperfection... now, that's the challenge, but in the end it's more rewarding and satisfying.' Now I ask you: What triumph is there in loving somebody if you can't love them for EVERYTHING that they are, bad included? What reward is there in a situation if that situation is too easy?

It's easy to believe that we're entitled to a perfect life with perfect relationships. Projected media perceptions have lead us to accept relationships equivalent to a sleazy flings - with no commitment - and sometimes, even no respect. It's become a cultural infection that's spreading and biting into the reality of the idealists who created such a pretty, easy picture.

I have never been a big fan of romance films and stories (except for the more twisted and perverse ones perhaps), or those cliched ideals of 'forever' and 'sealed with a kiss.' So, it may be a bit presumptuous of me to say that we all have this great fear of facing the truth, and as a result will project our wishes for an 'easy way out' onto other people - either directly or through mediums such as literature and music.

The truth of the matter is that things aren't as we hope them to be in real life. People are far more complicated than the stereotypes we create, and consequently, relationships are far more complicated. Perfection doesn't exist in our world for the simple reason that there is no unanimous view of what perfection is. People (including myself) need to realise this. We must accept imperfection and bring commitment, honesty, trust, and above all else, respect, back into our everyday interactions with people. It is only when we begin teaching our children this (after all, education isn't found only in the schools, it must also begin in the home), along with teaching the capacity to seperate idealistic fantasy from reality.

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by Catarina Abreu
Published on: Oct 6, 2002
Topic:
Type: Opinions
https://www.tigweb.org/express/panorama/article.html?ContentID=680


At seventeen, I can honestly say that there were times where I thought I was in love. Just the sight of that special somebody would send my stomach doing somersaults until I thought my heart would jump from my throat. It's a great feeling, looking forward to every single little moment with that person. But with time, those feelings fade and you're faced with reality when you realise that just like beauty, lust eventually fades. Sure he's still the sexiest thing I ever saw in my life, but what I thought was love revealed itself to be nothing more than an infatuation. Looking at the various forms of media, it's easy to be fooled into thinking that infatuation is equal to love. You know the story: girl meets guy, they sleep together, face some sort of conflict, and will emerge triumphant at the end to live in a perfect relationship. If only it could be that easy in real life. However, if that was the case, then would that love be more satisfying? About four months ago, I was watching a re-run of Seventh Heaven where the father of that dynamic family made a profound statement (of course, due to the author's short memory span, she'll be paraphrasing): 'Loving perfection is easy, but imperfection... now, that's the challenge, but in the end it's more rewarding and satisfying.' Now I ask you: What triumph is there in loving somebody if you can't love them for EVERYTHING that they are, bad included? What reward is there in a situation if that situation is too easy? It's easy to believe that we're entitled to a perfect life with perfect relationships. Projected media perceptions have lead us to accept relationships equivalent to a sleazy flings - with no commitment - and sometimes, even no respect. It's become a cultural infection that's spreading and biting into the reality of the idealists who created such a pretty, easy picture. I have never been a big fan of romance films and stories (except for the more twisted and perverse ones perhaps), or those cliched ideals of 'forever' and 'sealed with a kiss.' So, it may be a bit presumptuous of me to say that we all have this great fear of facing the truth, and as a result will project our wishes for an 'easy way out' onto other people - either directly or through mediums such as literature and music. The truth of the matter is that things aren't as we hope them to be in real life. People are far more complicated than the stereotypes we create, and consequently, relationships are far more complicated. Perfection doesn't exist in our world for the simple reason that there is no unanimous view of what perfection is. People (including myself) need to realise this. We must accept imperfection and bring commitment, honesty, trust, and above all else, respect, back into our everyday interactions with people. It is only when we begin teaching our children this (after all, education isn't found only in the schools, it must also begin in the home), along with teaching the capacity to seperate idealistic fantasy from reality. « return.