The cinematic company we keep

Remember the adage, “Tell me who your friends are, and I’ll tell you who you are?” Well, film buffs have come up with their own version: “Tell me the types of movies you love to watch, and … ” (etc).

Viewing preferences are indicative of personality, mindset, temperament, even values. For instance, viewers who dote on “fantasy” romance on the big and small screens are very different from those who go for tell-it-like-it-is documentaries or action films.

Thriller, chiller

What about horror, thriller or chiller flicks? The “fearful love” of them hails back to some viewers’ childhood, when ghost stories made monsters loom larger than giants in one’s vulnerable and shiveringly suggestible imagination.

So, when we watch chillers and thrillers as adults, we’re stripped of our cynicism and sophistication, and delight in being vulnerably exposed to our elemental feelings again.

All these  with the very welcome “escape hatch” of knowing that “it’s just a movie,” and we can wake up from our cinematic nightmare made none the worse for wear!

So what’s the cinematic company you love to keep? If fantasy romances turn you on, enjoy the roseate romp—but be aware that some psychologists fret that you could be dreaming of “perfect” love, which doesn’t exist—except in the movies!

Just make sure that you can tell the two apart—otherwise, the Princess you dream of being may be prepping herself up for a major heartbreak when she wakes up and realizes that her own “pluperfect” Prince Charming is in fact … a fantasticating frog!

Acutely relevant
That particular TV-film dream and rude waker-upper are made acutely relevant today on television by the long-running success of the rom-com TV series, “Be Careful With My Heart,” because the hit show, which betrays no sign of ending, is the ultimate fantasy love-trip, especially for its target audience of romance-besotted teens, tweens—and house help.

The daytime series’ protagonist, Maya, played by Jodi Sta. Maria, is the perfect embodiment of their fantasy Happy Ending for themselves: She’s young, pretty, poor—but ends up marrying her handsome and wealthy boss! We know this is only a dream scenario, but don’t wake us up just yet (maybe around Christmas will be OK)!

To be sure, the series has more than just slap-happy, silly-putty, escapist fantasy going for it. After all, Jodi’s character doesn’t achieve her eventual apotheosis that easily.

She suffers, weeps, gets rejected, put in her place, has to try much harder to attain her supplementary dream of becoming a flight stewardess, is looked down on by her prospective in-laws—etc.!

Full advantage

But all those woes are forgotten after she gets the man of her dreams to fall in love with her—and even propose marriage to her!

More problems ensue, like some heavy opposition from his parents, but Maya is able to surmount them, too. So, will the fantasy-reality wedding finally push through?

Certainly—after the series is stretched even more to take full advantage of its exceptional ratings-generating prowess—and appeal!