My class was watching the Leonardo Dicaprio version of Romeo and Juliet today to end off our unit. I must say I like it plenty. It's Hollywood meets Shakespeare, and I think this time it is a success (I have never been much of a traditionalist).

One thing I noticed. I was taken by how the love theme in Romeo and Juliet, though impetuously begun, was all about "forever". My wife and I have taken to calling the two very different kinds of love we see portrayed in the media as "forever love" (the I-will-love-only-you-all-my-life kind) and "tonight love" (the hey-hottie-let's-get-it-on variety). My weak and impressionable mind being what it is, I find that the one I dwell on is the one I tend to want. The sad part is that in the popular media, "forever love" themes are in short supply. I think that has much to do with the cultural cynicism thing I blogged about days ago (forever love is hard to do, so it's hard to believe in it).

Anyway, sometime I am going to make a list of movies or songs with "forever love" themes, the kind I can dwell on. Give me some ideas to help me out. Here's a start:

Movies:
Hi Fidelity (John Cusack)
Titanic (well... I thought so, friends vehemently disagee)

Songs
Still the One - Shania Twain (cheesy maybe, but the theme is there)
She Walks in Beauty - Kevin Prosch

Any more you can think of??