Over the course of a few weeks, I have watched a number of movies and would like to discuss them in relation to the central ideas of love and sex. But in order to do this, I have to explain a bit about logic, more precisely, conditional statements.
Conditional statements have a sufficient condition and a necessary condition. An example of a conditional statement is :
If x, then y.Also:
x----->y(the arrow shows that x leads to y)Also:
Sufficient ConditionNecessary Condition----->
X represents the sufficient condition, and Y represents the necessary condition. This means, if x occurs, then y occurs. The sufficient condition always guarantees 100% that the necessary condition will occur; x is sufficient in bringing about y. This is why the arrow points from the sufficient condition to the necessary condition.
Let’s look at an example:
If it is raining, then the ground is wet.Also:
Raining -----> Wet
Based on logic alone, this sentence makes sense; in the event that it rains and we assume nothing is blocking the rain from hitting the ground, the ground will get wet.
Another way to look at conditional statements is that y, the necessary condition, is required for x, the sufficient condition.
For example:
I am in the Meeting Room only if I am at work.Also:
Meeting Room(sufficient condition) -----> Work(necessary condition)
The necessary condition is required for the sufficient condition; this means you must be at work in order to be in the meeting room. Notice how the arrow still points from the sufficient condition to the necessary condition; this is because the necessary condition doesn’t 100% guarantee the sufficient condition. In this example, being at work doesn’t guarantee I am in the Meeting Room, I could be at my cubicle, or the pantry.
With the arrow pointing from Meeting Room to Work, it also means that every time I am in the Meeting Room, I am at work. This makes sense too as being in a meeting guarantees the fact that I am at work. The sufficient condition 100% guarantees the necessary condition.
To summarize:
Sufficient Condition(x) -----> Necessary Condition(y)
The Sufficient Condition(x) guarantees the Necessary Condition(y).
The Necessary Condition(y) is only required for the Sufficient Condition(x).
Okay, now back to this post’s main topic: Love and Sex. To me, these ideas can be represented as a conditional statement too.
If we have sex, then we are in love.Also:
Sex -----> Love
Which means:
1.
Sex guarantees Love.2.
Love is just a requirement for Sex.
This statement and its implications don’t really make sense do they? Based on pure logic, it is suppose to, but let us see how this statement is portrayed in the movies.
(Spoiler Alert! The rest of the post may contain spoilers for the following movies: Below Her Mouth, Blue is the Warmest Colour, Montreal, My Beautiful, Portrait of a Lady on Fire, The Handmaiden, The World To Come and Saving Face).
In Below Her Mouth and Blue is the Warmest Colour, the statement is more focused on its first meaning, showing up as a convenient plot device with the focus on sex leading to love. In each of these movies, the characters are sexually attracted to one another and supposedly after sex, they are now in love with each other. That’s how the plot gets moving too.
On the other hand, in movies like Saving Face and Portrait of a Lady on Fire the focus is more on the second meaning of this statement; the characters have feelings for each other and consequently, a sexual relationship ensues. Interestingly, in both of these movies the characters refer to sex and love interchangeably.
To me, the second meaning, love being a necessary condition for sex, has always made more sense: sex is a form of intimacy, an act of love between two people who have some emotional connection with each other and anything beyond that is too much and unacceptable. However, looking at the conditional statement made me reflect: if I accept the second meaning, does it mean I have to accept the first meaning as well? I became aware of my prejudices, the fact that I have always rejected the idea that sex can lead to love. Even the title of the blog post, nodding to another movie Lust, Caution, I never understood how Tang Wei’s character fell in love with the supposed ‘enemy’ because of her awakened sexuality. But as with the first example about sufficient condition, assuming that nothing is blocking the ground, isn’t it only logical that the ground will get wet from the rain?
It seems too simplistic and inaccurate to look at sex and love as a conditional statement. Instead, the relationship between sex and love seems more interconnected, perhaps more like this:
Sex <-----> Love
Sex and Love guarantees each other.
Sex and Love are required for each other.
The World to Come presents a blur between love and sex. Although the movie still kind of leans towards ‘love is required for sex’, it is different in the sense that the sex scenes are shown to the audience through flashbacks. Throughout most of the movie, the audience does not know about the sexual nature of Abigail and Tallie’s relationship, and it is only revealed to us when Abigail is grieving the loss of Tallie. This timing is important as Abigail is overcome with emotions and she chooses to think of Tallie through these intimate moments, showing us that, to our leads, love and sex are intertwined.
This interconnection between love and sex also seems to be the case in The Handmaiden; maybe because our main characters are lady and maid, they are physically close before developing any emotion connection. Then after they fall in love, they become even more physically intimate, which in turn leads to an even stronger emotional bond.
In Montreal, My Beautiful, the relationship is also a unique entanglement of the two ideas as Feng Xia initially looks for love and Camille is looking for sex, but both starts to develop desire for the other. Feng Xia starts to open up to Camille’s sexual advances, and Camille starts to develop emotional attachment to Feng Xia.
In conclusion, sex and love are interconnected ideas rather than simple conditions for one another. I really enjoyed watching these movies as they were quite the eye-opener, allowing me to recognize my prejudices regarding love and sex and come to a better understanding of the relationship between these two concepts.
Awaken your dreams 