The Human Condition

Recently, I was watching an independent film that was written by, performed by, and produced/directed by Inuits. The movie was in the Inuit language with English subtitles. (The English title is The Fast Runner, if you are interested.)

Now, I am not a movie person, and I'm especially not an independent film person, but this movie fascinated me. The storyline was based on an Inuit legend from the turn of the last millennium. What hooked me though was the love story at the core of it.

There were many other layers to the movie that touched me or made me think, but I realized, whether it is native peoples from the Arctic Circle, pioneers from the Western Expansion, business men from New York City, or space rangers from Planet X in the year 3000, the search for love is an intrinsic aspect of the human condition. As a species, we all want to love and be loved.

There are times when I feel slightly uncomfortable telling people about my writing. I've had people say, "You seem so smart, why are your wasting yourself writing romance?" or "Are you going to continue writing romance or move onto something more challenging?" as if writing romance was something I did in my sleep without any effort whatsoever. I think SOME people look down on romance novels as "less than" literature.

To them I say, you can kiss my left cheek.

Romance and the search for love is what ALL literature is about, in some aspect or another. Let's face it, unless you are writing about robots, people (and animals) have feelings and emotions and literature is an expression of emotion. (And hey, even the robots in "WallE" fell in love!) There is no plot without conflict, and I'd say a good majority of conflicts involve people with emotions.

So the next time someone asks me what I'm reading (or writing) I'm going to say I'm exploring the human condition.

And the sex isn't bad either.