Forms of Love

Forms of Love

One of the stupid things about pop culture is that it shows only one kind of love: the romantic, heteronormative white-couple version. Well, yes, there is that. But there are many other forms of love.

The collection opens with an exploration of unhealthy co-dependency and our persistent human longing for it, as director Chintis Lundgren reminds us in her film Life with Herman H. Rott.

The intensity of our anger and affection often shifts through our closest relationships, especially friendships. Desire, uncertainty, and the fleeting intensity of the present moment are explored in the Annecy-selected puppet animation A Bird Hit My Window and Now I’m a Lesbian.

Seeking romance in dreams can be another way of securing love in our lives. In Betty Boop, the pop-culture icon revisits the story of Cinderella in a subtly satirical tone.

If fairy tales teach us to search for a single, everlasting love, the film Puppy Love speaks about pure sexual desire that lasts no longer than a couple of minutes. It addresses very important and often underrepresented themes in our society: sexual abuse and consent. Any sexual act without full consent from both sides can be classified as abuse. Rape does not only mean physically forcing someone; it can also mean not listening to your partner when they do not want to continue. Manipulation should never be mistaken for love. For victims of abuse, accepting this reality can be difficult, and we must stand by those who have experienced grooming or coercion.

Benigni also talks about a somewhat unhealthy form of love, though on a much lighter note. Lovesick Teenage Cyclops feels like it was taken directly from our teenage dreams about having a crush at sixteen, and Slug Life brings this crush into reality.

Pure love – since we always place our hopes in its highest vibration – is finally present in Well Wishes My Love, Your Love.