The 'Romeo and Juliet'

As promised, here is my post on 'Romeo and Juliet' and what it made me think about.

It was the Leonardo Dicaprio and Claire Danes 'Romeo and Juliet' that I watched over the holidays- although I never seem to get to watch it all the way through. It was on and I decided that I would watch about half an hour of it until something else came on, however, I couldn't switch channels.

A lot of people hate this film cause of Dicaprio, but it is really well done and interesting, as it is taking Shakespeare's original text and dialogue but setting it in the present time of the films production.

I really do like this film, but what interested me is the fact that it made me think about love in modern times.

I realised that people idealise love and crave the 'Romeo and Juliet' kind of love. The same goes for fairy tales, the whole 'And they lived Happily Ever After'.
These versions of love is what people look for, and I am sure most people do really hope for it, however the chances of achieving it are slim.

So what exactly is love?

I enjoy the fairytale forms but realise that that view is kind of unrealistic, yet somewhere I still believe it possible.

I am sure if you asked people if they have a fairytale love with someone they will say yes, but if you asked if they had a 'Romeo and Juliet' type of love, they would hesitate.

I think this is because these two characters have been idealised throughout time and it would feel blasphemous to say you have a love such as theirs, as well as the fact that it sounds cheesy and unrealistic.

I thought a lot about it and realise that it really is something that you can't determine- but is that what love is? Or is it possible to have 'true love' such as that in 'The Princess Bride'?

Humans strive for true love but doubt whether it exists because we are told that it doesn't.

It really is a strange subject that you can only scratch the surface of.

Is the fact that you can't define it what makes people crave it?
Do you have it in different forms with different people?
Or can you really have the 'Romeo and Juliet'?

xxx