Hi, everyone,

I'm planning to write my final thesis on "Love as a subject in movies". If you have anything to say about this, or any advice, hints etc. for me, don't hesitate to tell me.

Thanx,
Swimo

I've been thinking about your thread the last couple of days, trying to think of movie scenes that had a profound effect on me.

One scene that comes to mind is in the movie "Phenomenom"
As George (John Travolta) lay in his hospital bed knowing that he will soon die, he speaks these words to Lace (Kyra Sedgwick)

George: Do you think that you could love me for the rest of my life?
Lace: No, I'm gonna love you for the rest of mine.

That line always chokes me up.
Take from it what you can.

[This message has been edited by Leprechaun (edited 08-17-2000).]

Leprechaun,

thank you for your lines.

I guess almost everyone has at least one movie scene he or she remembers and calls back into his/her mind from time to time.

The scene that impresses you very strongly is an example of how movies reflect our hopes and dreams, I think. In most cases love is represented as the ideal idea we have of it. What do you mean?

Just take a look on the number of couples who get a divorce. I believe that most people never find the "love of their life" and take compromises. (Some of them may be able to make themselves believe that they have found the right one, but in fact they haven't.) Whereas in movies, especially Hollywood movies, the main character always seems to find his/her one and only Big Love.

A couple of other movies gealing with the Perfect match verses "love learned over time>

Perfect match:
Only You
Practical Magic
Till There was You
While You Were Sleeping
Moonstruck

Learned Love:
Ryan's Daughter
Remains of the Day

Enjoy

------------------
"The way to do, is to Be" - Socrates
"The way to be, is to Do" - Plato
"Do,Be,Do,Be,Do" - Sinatra

As the old song goes, 'Love is a many splendored thing.' And a many faceted thing too. It's defined as:
1) deep affection and warm feelings for another
2) the emotion of sex and romance for another
3) a beloved person
4) a strong fondness or enthusiasm

I think that I'd be tempted to add a negative love (like Tony and Maria in "West Side" story-they knew that their love was doomed from the start) and positive love (like any of the old Tracy/Hepburn films-you, and they, knew that they'd wind up together), manipulative love (like in "Cleopatra"-her affection for Caesar and Mark Antony was based on self-advancement/self-interest), controlling love (as in "Fatal Attraction")

Examples of the above would be:

1) Arthur and Guenivere in "Camelot"
2) Lancelot and Guenivere in "Camelot"
3) "Golda", "The Diary of Anne Frank"
4) "Arthur"

This may just scratch the surface...I hope it helps.

Good luck,

Rich (vendome)

Reminds me of an encounter:
It goes something like...

White guy to southwest native american:
You people sing a lot about the rain!

Southwest native american:
Because it is so scarce...
is that why you white people have so many love songs?

Cohalen & Vendome, thank you a lot for your suggestions of movies dealing with certain kinds of love. And for the scientific definitions of love, Vendome.

I have also been looking for distinctions of different kinds of love. First of all I found the distinction between platonic and sexual kinds of love. Philosophers believe that platonic love (the love to god, to yourself and to all human beings) is the basis of sexual love, such as affective, romantic, or hedonistic love.

But my basic research interest wouldn't be love, but the function of (Hollywood) movies to reflect (a global) society who's members share similar values. (For example ideals concerning love.)
Hollywood movies do not only reflect such ideas/values (by showing stories people like to see) but do also confirm these ideas by transporting them. They influence individuals' perceptions and therefore the whole society that itself has a strong impact on the individual (even on the one who wouldn't watch movies at all).

I hope you don't think I'm a freak now. First of all I love cinema and movies. But I'll have to write a thesis. (So why not writing on something I'm interested in?)
I see movie content analysis as one way to find out something about a society as a whole, and box office sales as one criterium to select the (love) movies for my investigation.
So my subjects are the analysis of visual data, Hollywood & society, Hollywood & reality, globalisation (the transport of cultural values by Hollywood movies) and love.

Does this make any sense?

It's very important to me what you all think of this, because I believe that people who are into movies know much more about all this than anyone else.

So thank you again!

Oh, and a special thank to Thiv. I do really like what you've written. It's one of these things you keep in mind, you know. May I quote you?

Swimo

Please do!
I got it from somewhere else but I'm sure the originator wouldn't mind.