So last weekend, I got to see the movie I've been looking forward to for a couple months (I don't watch alot of new movies in theatres) - "Think Like a Man". Believe it or not, I read the book featured in the movie. It was a fascinating random find in a grocery store so I actually bought it (I don't buy many books either. I either borrow it from the library or order it on Amazon).
I got some friends to come with me who hadn't read the book but I was sure it would be a funny movie that could be enjoyed by almost anyone.
Brief synopsis: 4 ladies are frustrated with their single status and 4 men are content with their non-committed sex lives. A new book comes out called Act Like a Lady, Think Like a Man that is very publicized and quickly becomes a bestseller. The ladies all read it and try to follow the advice (i.e. increase standards, ask about his goals, make him wait for "the cookie"). The men become frustrated and confused at their tactics until they discover the book one day and are outraged, so they use the ladies' tactics against them.
It was funny, but as my friend said, "It was funny when it shouldn't have been." I understood what she meant because they movie was filled with alot more profanity and blatant sexual references than I'd ever seen in a romantic comedy. Traditionally, this isn't the kind of movie I would watch, but I found the cultural study opportunity irresistible (in my defense, it was not rated R, but PG-13. I have come to the sad realization that movie ratings can no longer adequately protect/warn you from cinematic offenses to the moral conscience).
After watching this movie, I also realized what a huge effect my American Studies major had on me. I love the humanities (arts, cultures, music, languages, peoples, foods...just the DIVERSITY of human life) and graduated from the College of Humanities at BYU. Any degree from such a college trains you to analyze, study, and question human creations. I've been to dozens of concerts and movies and read dozens of books while taking notes to write papers on. Even when I didn't have to write about them, I found myself naturally analyzing the meaning behind the content, wondering about the author's intent and background, and pondering the larger cultural implications being made. My B.A. has magnified my naturally pensive nature into one of incessant thoughts that must be expressed through word or pen...
Anyhow, back to the movie. I could tell my friends (who were all also LDS) were uncomfortable watching the movie but they were politely hesitant to say so. I didn't know how I felt after the movie but I've decided that I don't regret it. It was a fascinating look into the immoral and realistic mindset of our modern sex-driven young society at large. As one of the characters said, "All I wanted was sex without a relationship, but all I got was a relationship without sex!" Unfortunately, this is the common mindset today.
HOWEVER, I am grateful for the way it ended (spoiler alert, albeit a very obvious one!). Once the ladies find out their men have been manipulating them, they dump them. The men's freedom is shortlived, abruptly ended when their sole married friend happily goes home to cook dinner. The men come to realize that their one-night stands, in fact, do NOT bring fulfillment and the truest happiness means committing to and providing for the woman you love. Without this clear redeeming support of traditional monogamous heterosexual marriage, I think I would have just been disgusted.
There ARE nuggets of truth and goodness out there in this tainted world. It just takes some digging to find.
