precision of language

Jessie Gambardella
Religion in Film 2008
2/27/2008



I am reading The Giver which is the sci-fi book that the movie Equilibrium was based off of. If you are not familiar with either the basis of the story is people do not really feel anything and take medicine to prevent them from feeling so that everything has a “sameness.” This exert from the book is between Jonas, a boy who has been specially selected to have feelings and does not take the meds, and his parents who are.

“Do you love me?”
There was an awkward silence for a moment. Then Father gave a little chuckle. “Jonas. You, of all people. Precision of language, please!”
“what do you mean?” Jonas asked.
… “Your father means that you used a very generalized word, so meaningless that it’s become almost obsolete,” his mother explained carefully.
… “You could ask, ‘Do you enjoy me?’… ‘Do you take pride in my accomplishments?’”
… “Do you understand why it’s inappropriate to use a word like ‘love’?”

I found this kind of funny after we have been discussing love in class after viewing Babette’s Feast. I almost feel as if love has already become obsolete in our society. We say it all the time whether it’s in the bottom of our away messages, through facebook bumper stickers, or just in random conversation saying “I heart you.” I think we, and definitely myself included, misuse the word love and take its real meaning for granted. I almost wish we had different genres of love like the Greeks so that we would understand it better, take it more seriously, and not throw it around. To our friends we would say “I Eros you!” and to the people we truly feel a strong “love” for such as a spouse, family member, or a really close friend, we would say “I Agape you.” knowing it truly meant we would give our all and our lives for that person. It would only be used in the most intimate moments with that person and not used lightly in away messages.