Disclaimer: Dan, don't freak out. I'm just exercising my shoddy logic here. =)
Here's a bit of a conundrum: if, as Canadian law has it, we are guilty on intent alone (regardless of whether the crime we attempt succeeds or not), would watching romance films be considered a form of cheating? I know there's been a bit hubbub over whether online relationships constitute cheating, but I think this one's more pertinent; after all, it's an entire genre unto itself. The concept of "cheating" implies that some trust has been violated -- some contract must be violated -- and some involved party harmed by the act, so consider individuals (or even couples) who watch romances. But in buying into a romantic film/book/etc., can couples say they maintain mutual trust in their relationship while watching another, more perfect version of the way their relationship ought to be? Doesn't that very act undermine confidence in what is real, and basically say that reality isn't good enough? (The argument that the media and entertainment industry perpetuates a false ideal is older than Hugh Hefner, but maybe we've been letting the consumer off the hook a little too easily.)
OK, so what spurred this on? Put quickly, 6 hours of A&E's Pride and Prejudice and a (long) evening with two old friends from junior high. In retrospect, Pride and Prejudice was probably a really bad choice for me: it involves English accents, a witty heroine and Colin Firth. Well, not Colin Firth so much, but I don't remember any scenes that revolved exclusively around scones and tea, so he'll have to do instead. There are too many tie-ins to everything else to be mentioned here: English as the new Religious Studies, East-West loyalties, how the old empancitory principle of 'happiness' in life over material security has become the unattainable ideal, the problem of empire waists.
Here's a bit of a conundrum: if, as Canadian law has it, we are guilty on intent alone (regardless of whether the crime we attempt succeeds or not), would watching romance films be considered a form of cheating? I know there's been a bit hubbub over whether online relationships constitute cheating, but I think this one's more pertinent; after all, it's an entire genre unto itself. The concept of "cheating" implies that some trust has been violated -- some contract must be violated -- and some involved party harmed by the act, so consider individuals (or even couples) who watch romances. But in buying into a romantic film/book/etc., can couples say they maintain mutual trust in their relationship while watching another, more perfect version of the way their relationship ought to be? Doesn't that very act undermine confidence in what is real, and basically say that reality isn't good enough? (The argument that the media and entertainment industry perpetuates a false ideal is older than Hugh Hefner, but maybe we've been letting the consumer off the hook a little too easily.)
OK, so what spurred this on? Put quickly, 6 hours of A&E's Pride and Prejudice and a (long) evening with two old friends from junior high. In retrospect, Pride and Prejudice was probably a really bad choice for me: it involves English accents, a witty heroine and Colin Firth. Well, not Colin Firth so much, but I don't remember any scenes that revolved exclusively around scones and tea, so he'll have to do instead. There are too many tie-ins to everything else to be mentioned here: English as the new Religious Studies, East-West loyalties, how the old empancitory principle of 'happiness' in life over material security has become the unattainable ideal, the problem of empire waists.
