This morning, my daughter was watching the same romantic
comedy film for the fiftieth time. I asked her why bother wasting her time with
the same film instead of doing something more useful. By the way it’s not that
I don’t do it too. I have my favourite films that I watch many times and then
always feel guilty for watching them. They are mostly romantic comedies. My
favourite one is Roman holiday. I love the beautiful scenery of Rome. I also
love the chemistry between Gregory Peck and Audrey Hepburn. Audrey Hepburn is
one great woman who lived a horrible life with dignity during the Second World
War and managed to survive all the other odds in her life.
When I analyse my favourite actors I realise that all of
them have a kind of depth in their lives which gives them the opportunity of
being a role model. They inspire the people around them.
I have read a lot of criticism about romantic comedies. Most
of them were about how these films gave wrong expectations to women, raising
their standards to a platonic or utopic level. Others condemned the
predictability of their endings. Most romantic comedies end happily and we all
know too well that life is rarely like that. There are many ups and downs as
well as sad endings and disappointments. I admit that some of the plotlines can
be often quite repetitive and tedious.
Still, we continue watching them. My daughter’s answer gave
me the main reason why people including myself may watch them. She said: “I’m
watching it because it warms my heart.” I am very lucky to have such an intelligent daughter who teaches me something new everyday and never fails to impress me with her wise words.
Yes, finally I get it. There is so much negativity in our
lives that we need things to warm our hearts. Innocence and love warm our
hearts. This is why we like reading romantic novels too. Only if our hearts are
warm, we can stay sane to help other people, because we listen to our hearts
more than our brains. A warm heart is tolerant, accepting and respectful. Of
course there are other things which help such as art, drama, music, poetry,
literature, friendship and family. I have never doubted that they are the main
factors to having a stable and compassionate personality.
In conclusion if one has a warm heart there is nothing
unachievable in life…
