Monday, May 15, 2006
There's More than Meets the Eye
Sleepless in Seattle - It's Fantasy alright ... but wait there's more. Okay so I found some elements of realism in the movie, but overall Ephron is depicting the fantasy world we all want when it comes to love and finding that "someone." And the irony is that she knows she's doing this! She knows that she is writing and directing a movie, where the characters and concept is completely unrealistic. On the special features (yes I'd watch them because really why else do we buy the DVD's if not for the special features) in a featurette she said, "A great deal of what we know about love has been shaped by movies."
Knowing that Ephron is aware of this factor and knowing the type of movies she makes, Do you think she's making commentary on the movies? Do you think she's deceiving the audience? She continues onto say that, "One of the thing I tell my actors is that it isn't a movie about love, its a movie about love in the movies." So Ephron isn't just making a cute movie about love. Rather she is commenting on society's view of love, what shapes it, how movies influence us. Do you feel Ephron is true? Has what we known about love been shaped by the movies? And if so can this be fixed or changed? Or is this subconsciously happening as we watch movies?
Maybe we haven't given Nora Ephron enough credit as a writer or a director. Perhaps we assume that because she is a woman and that most of her movies incorporate a lot of romantic conventions (cheesy music, melodrama, unrealistic concepts of falling in-love) and fantasies that she couldn't be making some social, cultural, gender or media commentary. Well, guess what ladies and gents - she is. You might not realize it on the surface and it might not be in the greater theme of the movie but there are hints and clues throughout. Ephron is mocking the same romantic conventions she is using. She is mocking films and how they effect us as people, how they shape our minds and views. (In You've Got Mail she was definitely mocking our society's dependency on technology). So maybe we should keep all of this in mind when we view Ephron's next film. Look for the clues. Look for the commentary on movies, technology, popular culture and all of their effects on us as a society.
Or you could just snack on some popcorn and enjoy the movie for what it is - pure entertainment.
// posted by singleinthecity @ 3:19 AM 
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