I have nothing new to say. I just want to hold Sam.

The fact of the matter is that no one abides by the classic rules of “Cinema Etiquette”. Those who are told time and again to keep their cell phones silent and out of sight, “cover” them in their jackets and text all throughout the climax. Let’s not forget how cumbersome it is to have just heard a well-placed declaration of love (in the fucking rain) from the main character to the love interest and to have it upstaged by a slurp of some Cherry Coke.

When I first had the idea to write this blog entry, it was after the 100th time I had to breathe, “motherfucker” quietly due to the overly comfortable patrons surrounding me in every dark viewing hall. However, after a cool-down walk and a few hours of thinking, it has become something else entirely.

I went to see “Her” last night and found it to be inspiring and insightful. Full of social and technological commentary on the modern world and the human living in it. It showed the isolation we feel (and are made to feel) when we live our lives apart. It showed the immense joy we can get from “safe” interactions; a conversation with a perfectly polite OS with a sense of humor and wit about her with no one else in the room. It also explored the idea of whether or not this was a “bad” thing.

People laughed at certain parts during the film as per usual, but this time, it was much more interesting. While watching a sex scene between the main character and the OS, people laughed. During moments of transition when we could only stare at the main character as he walked, they laughed. In the middle of an honest confession of the main characters’ love for the OS, they laughed. Annoyed and baffled at this intrusion, I was forced to wonder why they felt the need to giggle at times when it was obviously meant to be serious. As the movie effortlessly displayed the constant struggle that some of the more misanthropic people of the world go through when they find themselves alone and loving it, the people in the audience could not move from their position of “he’s weird”. These outbursts were a direct result of their unwillingness to approach the world of this movie with an observing eye, but rather a refined comparison to the world as they know it. Alone - sad and pitiful. Together - healthy and vibrant. This movie switches these meanings and we are forced to confront them or avoid them altogether.

Another issue involved is the fact that I was the only person in the theater who had come to see the movie by myself. I know I act differently around people when I go out, versus when I go out alone, so I can only assume this means that people may be using their laughs as performances around their peers.

On top of this, it could also be the product of an expectation of the movie as it has been framed in the public eye until the moment they can watch it. The impression this movie gave to me was, “fantasy and technology”. Thus, I went into the theater feeling justified in my expectation that these two elements would be recurring themes. Perhaps someone might watch the trailer and find it to encode in them a sense of “romance” or even more specific (while at the same time, more vague) a sense of “Wes Anderson Movie”.

Whatever the case may be, I like objectiveness in my mind prior to the start of a movie. It helps me to think of the movie in and of itself. It prepares me to expect very little and digest all. This concept fits very well with the film as well.

“I am alone. This is how I deal with that.” is the first and last sentence of the film. It’s scenes range from, “I am alone and I hate it” to, “I am alone and I enjoy it” to, “I am alone with my computer, and it is solving any problems I had with being alone before”. These topics are huge and include several isms we all may feel towards being alone. The idea that being alone is bad, or unhealthy if prolonged. The idea that being alone is “fixable” rather than acceptable. The idea that being alone may not be exactly how a person likes to be.

After my most recent breakup following a long separated state between my partner and I, I have come to this very conclusion: I am alone and I may never be with someone again. I have discovered that mine is a life of exploration. I am busy with my plans to travel, to educate myself, and to learn about the world around me, and find it very distracting to feel like I should be making a baby and a home with someone instead. Newly single, there are several unwanted messages in my facebook inbox, email and even work chat that suggest I should stop being single and take on the new, exciting challenge of being someone elses’ girlfriend. This is ludicrous and demeaning to believe that this is what I want before talking to me about it.

I am alone. I love it. I always have. Perhaps it would bode well for you to figure out why you are uncomfortable with that.

Although I have always found it hard to sit in a car for longer than two hours, I must admit, this whole site is enticing.