The greatest thing you’ll ever learn, is just to love and be loved in return
I doubt many of you would have read those words and not immediately have thought of Moulin Rouge, the epic Hollywood romance from which this heartbreaking speech comes, delivered by one heartbreakingly gorgeous Ewan McGregor. And arguably it’s true; one of the most universal human desires is to love and have someone love you back. But the viral spreading of Tatia Pilieva’s First Kiss video has sparked some debate over the nature of love in the modern age. The video features twenty strangers, paired into ten different couples. It’s the very first time they’ve met and they’re asked to share their first kiss … on camera. The video has been received with mixed reactions although the overwhelming majority have viewed it positively, as an awkward yet charming display of human affection. This is the video in question, if you haven’t yet found it clogging your Twitter feed and Facebook home page:
However, since the video made its initial debut, it has emerged that it is in fact a promotional video for the clothing line Wren Studio – all of the participants are actors. This has led to some heavy criticism against the video. Portraying itself to be an authentic reaction video of strangers’ first kisses, it is in fact anything but. Actors are trained to work alongside people they don’t know, even to kiss one another, so how can we trust that their behaviour is genuine even if they are complete strangers? It doesn’t help that they’re likely being paid to be there! Many people have pointed out that twenty strangers, real members of the public would behave differently, and certainly wouldn’t all have those model good looks. There have been various spoofs of the video now, but this is my personal favourite, a real attempt at a first kiss between strangers:
Warning: Be prepared to watch this following video through your fingers, what goes down really is cringeworthy!
The contrast between these two videos really says it all. Hollywood and the media would like us to think that the greatest kind of love, the love worth putting on the big screen, exists between the best looking people among us. Not only that, but real love should play out just like any movie, with grand declarations, tears in the rain and a swelling orchestra to build up to that long awaited for embrace. In my opinion, while finding love and your happy ever after might not play out exactly like it does in the movies, once you find that special someone your love story will be just as special as the plot of any blockbuster hit, despite any awkward bumps along the way (cheesy I know). But until that time comes, there’s no harm in indulging in a little romance in good old-fashioned Hollywood style:
Photo Credits: www.chinadaily.com.cn