High Fidelity

On 17 July, Mr Jaferi introduces us to a gem of a movie titled "High Fidelity". The movie stars John Cusack, Iben Hjejle, Jack Black and Catherine Zeta Jones among others. After watching the movie several questions were posted to us and below is my response to each of them :

1 . What is the movie about?

The movie is about Rob Gordon (John Cusack) a record store owner and how he deals with the problems of his love life. His girlfriend Laura had just broken up with him and this prompts him to examine his past relationships and his relationships never seem to work out. He wonders why his girlfriends left him and what had happened to them since then. He compiles a list of top 5 most memorable breakups and resolves to find these women.

Much to his surprise, after meeting these women, he began to question why he could’ve fallen in love with them in the first place. He finds that his ex girlfriends have changed after all these years. At first, he did not include Laura in the list. However, after an intense,explicit dream about Laura and a former neighbour, Ian, Laura’s name was added to the list. He then tries to get Laura back but his efforts were futile.

The critical turning point for the movie is when Laura’s father passed away. Laura’s mother never told her father about the breakup because he liked Rob. So Rob ended up getting invited to the funeral. After the service, Rob and Laura had a little fling in her car and decided she needed Rob in her life to help her cope with her grief and that it is not worth the effort for them not to date.

Rob on the other hand starts to mature and began to realize that his past relationships hadn’t worked because his attraction to them was superficial. They were his fantasies and as such he was blinded to their imperfections and negative side. His relationship with Laura is free of bias and prejudice, making their love and relationship real. He decided that his happiness with Laura far outweighs the sadness and conflicts. This realization prompts him to propose to Laura, signifying his maturity.

The movie also includes the story of Rob’s friends and employees, the unbearably obnoxious Barry and the much quieter Dick. Through most of the movie, they were often engaged in conversations about artists and music. The three of them were also shown as being judgemental to people based on their musical preferences.

2. How is it different from common fiction?

This movie is different from common fiction due to a number of reasons. First of all, the two lead characters, Rob and Laura, are not the typical run-of-the-mill type of characters. They are both flawed. They argue constantly and both had cheated on each other during their relationship. Laura was also depicted as rash when she aborted her baby when she and Rob were going through some tough times. This is not how a couple in a relationship would have behaved. Instead of being loving and romantic, their relationship was plagued with conflicts and insecurities. This in fact makes them believable because the audiences are able to relate to their problems and conflicts because it mimics the audiences’ own problems.

Another reason why the movie is different from common fiction is that it breaks the myth that a successful relationship runs smoothly and is free of problems. People in a perfect relationship generally agree with each other and live happily ever after. This film teaches us that everything need not be seen through rose coloured glass when you are in love. Every relationship will have its’ share of ups and downs. What is important is whether the relationship is worth fighting for.

The movie is also unique because it starts with a conflict. The first scene shows Laura breaking up with Rob and leaving the house. Most romantic movies or movies that deal with a love theme would have started with the main characters meeting each other and starting to fall in love. Instead, the couple in the movie broke up before the audience get the chance to know them, creating a sense of mystery as to the reason behind the conflict.

One more reason is that, for a romantic film, the male character is hardly lovable. He does not have Brad Pitt’s intense good looks or Johnny Depp’s quirkiness. Most women watching the movie would have rooted for Laura because it is easier to sympathise with her than Rob. He is too immature, selfish and a commitment phobe, qualities that does not endear him to the audience. His redeeming qualities only come near the end of the movie when he did some growing up, realised his mistake and admits to it.

3. Who is your favourite character? Why?

Rob Gordon is my favourite character. Although he may not be perfect and does not adhere to the stereotypical portrayal of a leading man, his imperfections are what makes him believable and human. He has issues with confidence, which is especially evident during his relationship with Charlie. He is in awe with Charlie’s intelligence and always feels he’s not good enough for her. He also struggles with low self esteem because he keeps questioning his sexual abilities and constantly seeks the approval of those he deemed to be better than him like Charlie. However, imperfect as he is, Rob struck a chord with the audience because he represent the real situations faced by everyday men his age, men not blessed with the charmed life of their Hollywood created counterpart.

Another reason why I like Rob is because he is willing to go on a journey of self discovery to better understand himself. Though he might not admit it, his readiness to examine his past relationships marks the beginning of his growing up process. He then realised that there is a fine line between love and infatuation. What he feels with Charlie is an infatuation because it’s superficial. He based his opinions on people based on their opinion on things and this is why he adores Charlie, she always like the right things. What he feels towards Laura is love because he is able to see both the good and bad sides of their relationship. He confesses to being partly responsible for his failed relationship because of his fear of commitment. His marriage proposal to Laura signifies that he is ready to move on and wants to commit himself to a relationship.

4. Provide an alternative ending to the movie.

A few weeks into their engagements, Laura finds herself pregnant. They were initially happy with the news, but later on Rob’s old insecurities began to resurface. He had just begun to build his record label and he did not feel that it was the right time for him to be saddled with the responsibility of being a father. Laura on the other hand feels that her life is stable enough for her to start a family. They begin to argue again and in the end Rob realised that although he was ready to marry Laura, he was not yet ready to be a father. Laura is hurt because she sees his action as a rejection and because she is tired of his insecurities. Rob continues working at his record store and building his record label. He stays single, has a string of commitment free relationships and realise that this lifestyle is what suits him at the moment.

Problems Faced When Writing

One of the problems I faced in writing is the lack of ideas, or continuity of ideas. Its fancier term is writer’s block. The problem will show itself in two different disguises. I would either have absolutely no idea what to write or I have a great idea but I would be totally clueless when it comes to developing the idea. Some experts (or so they claim), suggest the use of mind mapping to help the flow of ideas during the writing process. It works well enough, but only if you actually now what to write about. But I feel that nothing can help me once I’m afflicted with the headache inducing writer’s block.

Another problem is a lack of interest. Now, don’t get me wrong, I have nothing against writing, as long as it is about something I can actually write about. I like reading and writing fictions. Journals are quite allright, I can still manage that. Writing something academic/factual on the other hand is a misery for me because I don’t have the head for figures, statistics and facts. I don’t like academic type of writing because I feel that they are a constraint. Freeform writing or fiction is more flexible because I can let my imagination run wild and come up with a variety of ideas. This doesn’t mean that I am any good at it, far from it. It does however, make things easier when you can write whatever it is that pops up in your mind (a purple scaled, slime oozing, fire breathing dragon) rather than stressing out on the facts and figures (what kind of gas is responsible for the thinning of the ozone layer).

My biggest problem when it comes to writing may seem absurdly ridiculous, but it is what I struggle with. TENSES... I always get confused as to what tense I should use. I’m serious, this is no joke. I know, I know. I’m a TESL student; dealing with tenses should be like a walk in the park. While it may be nonexistent to some people, it is a real problem for me. The final draft of my writing often looks like the end product of a mixing machine, all the tenses jumbled up together. Thank god for the spellcheck. Whoever thought of that, is an absolute genius.

Despite all the problems I’ve listed above, a miracle does occur sometimes. When the alignment of the stars is just right, I would be blessed with an abundance of ideas. Everything falls into place, the plot/ideas actually makes sense and the writing process flows smoothly. It doesn’t happen as often as I would like it too, but when it does, it’s heavenly.