Have you ever thought about the first-ever proposal?
**Spoiler alert if you haven’t seen the film yet**
The astounding director of “Past Lives,” Celine Song, has a new summer movie must-see, “Materialists.” The character Lucy is based on Celine herself and her earlier days as a matchmaker in New York. This movie has quite the controversy for how it ends and overall takeaways that theatergoers have been vocal about. So let's assess why…
The plot of the movie is a love triangle between the matchmaker Lucy, her struggling actor ex John, and a wealthy financier Harry. Over the past nine years since breaking up with John, Lucy has built a comfortable life and is extremely successful in her career. Basing her matches mathematically, but she soon finds that math shouldn’t be anywhere near love.
–Getting into the so-called ‘controversy’ from the public–
Have you ever heard of ‘poor man propaganda’? Neither had I until this movie. A viral talking point on social media people have taken from the film is that it promotes choosing a lesser life for the sake of love and modest security. This notion is big on ‘settling’ and making yourself seem smaller to conform to the lifestyle you have chosen with said 'poor' partner. To reduce your standards and accept the struggle of being with someone who isn’t well-off financially or has their life together. If this is a key takeaway you left with, then you are giving in to the materialistic viewpoint our dating culture has morphed into. It isn't necessarily a ‘bad thing’ to want more out of your life and for a partner to challenge you. To want to provide for you, and it’s understandable in this economy to want someone who is working toward being financially stable, and then some, but truly at what cost? A theme throughout the movie is that marriage is accounted for as a transactional arrangement. An investment for the future, and what they can get out of the other party and vice versa, but if love isn’t on the table, then what is the point?
The movie isn’t promoting anything. It is holding a mirror up to what materialism is within the dating scene. Portraying what a majority of single people are going through in the form of checkboxes that society wants to be ticked off to find ‘the one.’ This film is actually about anti-materialism. It shows how we’ve come to have so many material expectations of our significant other that we lose sight of what it is that we truly crave. Companionship, vulnerability, and someone willing to grow alongside us and be our “grave buddy.” Now, you might want your marriage to be a transactional arrangement, and there is nothing wrong with that. You want expensive dinners and spur-of-the-moment trips to be your form of romance. I’d argue that we give in to this narrative because it is an unrealistic one, and if we were presented with a character like Harry, we would immediately take the opportunity because of how rare it is.
Harry is a ‘unicorn’ in the matchmaking service because of how unique his qualities are for anyone in the market of dating these days. We keep holding out for these mysterious, rich, empowered men/women, but how much conspires below the surface level beyond material things? How realistic are unicorns when you’re dealing with being laid off or having a tough conversation with your mother? Financially, they support you, but emotionally, who do you turn to?
Love shouldn’t be mathematical. Yes, factors of how you grew up and the relationships you’ve fostered play a part in how you perceive love. You look for common denominators that make for equality amongst a potential partner. Things that make you seem to 'add up.' However, there is so much more than trying to make things multiply into what love should be. At the end of the day, humans are just people, and they come with their many character flaws, and it’s those imperfect qualities that make love, love. If you start trying to 'add up,' then you are already at the point where you're trying too hard for something that isn't meant to be.
So 'poor man propaganda' this and that. Whichever way you leave feeling after the movie or reading this is an example of how you view your form of love and wants in your life. There's no right or wrong way. This movie is beautifully shot and produced and deserves its flowers if you're able to see it in theaters or on a streaming service.
–Getting into the so-called ‘controversy’ from the public–
Have you ever heard of ‘poor man propaganda’? Neither had I until this movie. A viral talking point on social media people have taken from the film is that it promotes choosing a lesser life for the sake of love and modest security. This notion is big on ‘settling’ and making yourself seem smaller to conform to the lifestyle you have chosen with said 'poor' partner. To reduce your standards and accept the struggle of being with someone who isn’t well-off financially or has their life together. If this is a key takeaway you left with, then you are giving in to the materialistic viewpoint our dating culture has morphed into. It isn't necessarily a ‘bad thing’ to want more out of your life and for a partner to challenge you. To want to provide for you, and it’s understandable in this economy to want someone who is working toward being financially stable, and then some, but truly at what cost? A theme throughout the movie is that marriage is accounted for as a transactional arrangement. An investment for the future, and what they can get out of the other party and vice versa, but if love isn’t on the table, then what is the point?
The movie isn’t promoting anything. It is holding a mirror up to what materialism is within the dating scene. Portraying what a majority of single people are going through in the form of checkboxes that society wants to be ticked off to find ‘the one.’ This film is actually about anti-materialism. It shows how we’ve come to have so many material expectations of our significant other that we lose sight of what it is that we truly crave. Companionship, vulnerability, and someone willing to grow alongside us and be our “grave buddy.” Now, you might want your marriage to be a transactional arrangement, and there is nothing wrong with that. You want expensive dinners and spur-of-the-moment trips to be your form of romance. I’d argue that we give in to this narrative because it is an unrealistic one, and if we were presented with a character like Harry, we would immediately take the opportunity because of how rare it is.
Harry is a ‘unicorn’ in the matchmaking service because of how unique his qualities are for anyone in the market of dating these days. We keep holding out for these mysterious, rich, empowered men/women, but how much conspires below the surface level beyond material things? How realistic are unicorns when you’re dealing with being laid off or having a tough conversation with your mother? Financially, they support you, but emotionally, who do you turn to?
Love shouldn’t be mathematical. Yes, factors of how you grew up and the relationships you’ve fostered play a part in how you perceive love. You look for common denominators that make for equality amongst a potential partner. Things that make you seem to 'add up.' However, there is so much more than trying to make things multiply into what love should be. At the end of the day, humans are just people, and they come with their many character flaws, and it’s those imperfect qualities that make love, love. If you start trying to 'add up,' then you are already at the point where you're trying too hard for something that isn't meant to be.
So 'poor man propaganda' this and that. Whichever way you leave feeling after the movie or reading this is an example of how you view your form of love and wants in your life. There's no right or wrong way. This movie is beautifully shot and produced and deserves its flowers if you're able to see it in theaters or on a streaming service.