Thursday, September 18, 2014

"God of Love" by Luke Matheny

Fozzie: "What's this dish?"
Ray: "It's chicken pot pie, Pennsylvania-Dutch style."
Fozzie: "Doesn't she like seafood?"

I had actually watched this film before, in my freshman year film production class, and it's one of my favorites. I love its creativity, of being a sort of mythological origin story for the god of love, but without announcing itself as such until the end. My other favorite aspect of it is its social commentary.

Ray was head over heels for Kelly, but she didn't feel the same. By just about any rulebook, he should have stopped there, out of respect for himself if not for her. But frankly, he didn't really care that she didn't feel the same; he had his mind set on changing her. In the quote above, Ray's friend Fozzie points out that the food Ray was planning for his date with Kelly wasn't what she liked. This is the most direct example of how Ray disregards Kelly's actual opinions. While she's under the effects of the love dart, he spends his time trying to impress her, and enjoying the attention she gives him. It's clear that that's all he really wants -- her attention. Not until the end does Ray realize that Kelly should be with Fozzie, the one who really does care about her.

This is a very common issue in relationships in the world today, where they aren't based on love, but rather on a desire for possession. We want someone to want us, and so we focus on gaining their attention, but we don't actually think about what the other person wants. A relationship between Kelly and Ray would be shallow and short-lived, because it's only skin-deep. Ray, as we see at the end, is better suited to aid others while, on a personal level, spending some time on his own. This seems representative of how we need to learn and understand ourselves before we can love someone else.

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