I first saw this classic film in college; the "free-move" at an old theater on campus. I remember a friend giving me grief for going to see it; a remark based on the film's portrayal more than the plot or any so-called "explicit content"; the seduction of a young man by a married, older woman (as displayed above).
The '60s was a pivotal time in this era; a veritable crossroads in which movements, for good and bad, ushered in new views on sexuality and freedom. In this time period, feminism and other movements literally crossed lines and leaped hurdles toward what some viewed as generally right, fair and free (freedom).
Yet, the deeper message from these movements and other cultural change is symbolic and symptomatic of a decline or digression; it is a sure sign that, as Aldous Huxley put it:
As political and economic freedom diminishes, sexual freedom tends [ ] to increase.Can a population be fooled to believe that because they can go to bed beyond marriage that it somehow translates to freedom; that the liberties of sex are individual liberty?
There are those (institutions) that believe a population is easily fooled into this...; that all are addle and thus can be snookered into seeing or sensing so-called "free sex" as freedom--and I am not sure if they are wrong--while any real liberties are lost one by one.
Once more, Huxley:
To be able to destroy with good conscience, to be able to behave badly and call your bad behavior 'righteous indignation'--this is the height of psychological luxury, the most delicious of moral treats.It may be so; that no matter our behavior, the freedom to choose is our greatest desire and our worst trait.
No comments:
Post a Comment