This is old news, but EVERYONE is talking about the To All the Boys I’ve Loved Before that came out on Netflix in August. This teen romance movie has tugged on all our heartstrings but most importantly, made it our mission to find our own Peter Kavinsky. With this new discovery, the question arises, why do we crave for something unreachable? Now before I get my head bitten off, I mean in the sense of sought out love for a fictional character?
Is it the way he looks at Laura Jean?
Or how he’s been in love with Laura Jean before she even had the chance to express her feelings towards him?
For starters, he’s good-looking, no one could deny that. Looks definitely help in finding significant other, but what made Peter Kavinsky different? We could all deem him attractive but to some, he’s not the guy they’re looking for.
Another point to make is the fact that this love story can be seen as realistic, it’s a high school setting and that Peter was considered untouchable – popular and dating a girl that took him for granted. Yes, describes a typical high school plot, but Peter Kavinsky broke the barrier when he sought after Laura Jean to find out more about her beloved letters. Something intrigued him to prod further.
Wait – did I hear myself correctly? A guy wanting to know more about a girl, on an intellectual level? Her thought process and everything? Woah there, this is interesting. Now THIS is what we CRAVE. Not just the typical ‘talking” or “hook ups”, we want someone on a deeper level. Maybe that’s why having a significant other like Peter Kavinsky is something we dream of.
I could pick apart this whole movie and have a list of explanations that could answer this rhetorical question. We might all have answers, but their will never be answer that will match up to the the things we sense and feel. You always here the statement “You know that feeling when..?” and there’s an agreement in response, this creates a connection. As humans, we crave connections, whether it’s with people, animals or the things we do. We all want a sense of purpose and security. For most, it’s the connection of love. So yeah, the way Peter looks at Laura Jean and the way he prods further into getting to know her and even agreeing to her rules helps my reasoning out a lot. We would all like to be sought out by someone we feel attracted to to a certain extent as well. But there’s something more than just having a pretty face, it’s the way he can open up to her, intellectually and physically. Even when he was still aiming to get back with his ex Gen, he wasn’t able to deny the budding feelings he had for Laura Jean, you could see it in his expressions. Personally, the reason why Peter Kavinsky got us feeling some type of way is because of the connection he creates with Laura Jean.