"All you need is love..."
Happy Valentine's Day
God, I was wondering how long I'd have to keep that in my system. Much like a bad cup of coffee, Valentine's day has served as a reason to start shaking uncontrollably at three in the morning. Of course, I'm not in a relationship right now, so I feel justified in being a bit bitter, but that's not what I'm upset about. Love. That's what bothers me. Not the action, nor the word itself, but the casual way it is tossed around like a tennis ball at Wimbledon.
Now, stay with me here for a sec. How many times during the day do we hear the word? After a while, it loses it's sensation, the meaning. I find it hard to justify using the same word that we use to express the deep passion of intimacy to express the compassion we have for a child or the admiration we have for art. It's not the same thing, but we use the same word. "I love my kids" and "I love football" do not express the same feeling, and in using the same word to express this, we tend to lose some of the emotion intended in the moment.
I love you all. You cared enough to come here and for that, I can't express enough that I care in return, but I'm not going to pretend that it's the same kind of love I have for fajitas.
This is the season where hearts appear everywhere and the words "I love you" are tossed around like party favors. Don't believe me? Visit a Hallmark store. There's a saccharine cloud three city blocks thick surrounding the place.
The best place to find refuge, in my opinion, is the movies. Escapism at it's best. When they say it, it is our job as an audience to believe it. Call me a hopeless romantic if you will, but I fall for it every time. To demonstrate what I'm saying here, I've borrowed two scenes from personal favorite films whose scripts happen to be on the 'Net. (Trust me, I'm not trying to make money off of this or steal someone's creative property or income, I'm just endorsing a couple of great flicks. Put the lawyers away.)
If you haven't seen these films, do yourself a favor and watch them... The first clip is from Rob Reiner's "When Harry met Sally..." written by Nora Ephron.
| Nora Ephron: When Harry Met Sally |
Harry:
I've been doing a lot of thinking. And the thing is, I love you.
Sally:
What?
Harry:
I love you.
Sally:
How do you expect me to respond to this?
Harry:
How about you love me too?
Sally:
How about I'm leaving.
Harry:
Doesn't what I said mean anything to you?
Sally:
I'm sorry Harry, I know it's New Years Eve, I know you're feeling lonely, but you just can't show up here, tell me you love me and expect that to make everything alright. It doesn't work this way.
Harry:
Well how does it work?
Sally:
I don't know but not this way.
Harry:
Well how about this way. I love that you get cold when it's seventy one degrees out, I love that it takes you an hour and a half to order a sandwich, I love that you get a little crinkle above your nose when you're looking at me like I'm nuts, I love that after I spend a day with you I can still smell your perfume on my clothes and I love that you are the last person I want to talk to before I go to sleep at night. And it's not because I'm lonely, and it's not because it's New Years Eve. I came here tonight because when you realise you want to spend the rest of your life with somebody, you want the rest of the life to start as soon as possible.
Sally:
You see, that is just like you Harry. You say things like that and you make it impossible for me to hate you. And I hate you Harry... I really hate you. I hate you.
They kiss and make up. |
|---|
Nora Ephron does have a talent for pulling strings when she puts her mind to it. Of course, I could make an evening of "When Harry Met Sally...", "Sleepless in Seattle", and "Michael". (Unfortunately, "Mixed Nuts" wasn't up to par, but everyone has an off beat once in a while.)
The second is from James Cameron's Titanic, which I still get emotional over even though it's been four weeks since I've seen it. (note: if you haven't seen it, go now... read no further. The web page will still be here when you get back.)
| James Cameron: Titanic |
ROSE
I love you Jack.
He takes her hand.
JACK
No... don’t say your good-byes, Rose. Don’t you give up. Don’t do it.
ROSE
I’m so cold.
JACK
You’re going to get out of this... you’re going to go on and you’re going to make babies and watch them grow and you’re going to die an old lady, warm in your bed. Not here. Not this night. Do you understand me?
ROSE
I can’t feel my body.
JACK
Rose, listen to me. Listen. Winning that ticket was the best thing that ever happened to me.
Jack is having trouble getting the breath to speak.
JACK
It brought me to you. And I’m thankful, Rose. I’m thankful.
His voice is trembling with the cold which is working it’s way to his heart. But his eyes are unwavering.
JACK
You must do me this honor... promise me you will survive... that you will never give up... no matter what happens... no matter how hopeless... promise me now, and never let go of that promise.
ROSE
I promise.
JACK
Never let go.
ROSE
I promise. I will never let go, Jack. I’ll never let go.
|
Now, I don't do endorsements that often, but I do want to share that I am not the only one who sees the significance of the word and it's meaning. In a discussion on Mr. Cranky's movie review board, I read a reply that was so insightful and said so clearly the very things I was thinking that I needed to share it. Not want... need. Powerful statement, but don't just take my word for it that it's dead on in it's accuracy... Read for yourself. I promise if you've seen the film, you won't be disappointed.
Special thanks to Drew's Script-O-Rama for the links to the scripts.
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