news

Alterna-Love

Published on February 14, 2008

Love isn't just what Hallmark or the next big corporation looking to milk out a few extra bucks tells you it is. It isn't always baby cherubs, roses, and romance. In fact, romance is only a small fraction of the way we love. Who says love has to have anything to do with how much money you spend or how many candy hearts you receive?

Arts Engine and the Media That Matters Film Festival crew wanted to get into the festive spirit by highlighting some of our Media That Matters films that honor the wide variety in which people express love; or what I'll call alterna-love. Sure, Valentine's Day has been historically linked with couple-type love. Yet a careful look into the true meaning and context tells us otherwise.

One of the many images of St. Valentine

Let's learn a bit about the story of St. Valentine and view below some of my Media That Matters Film alterna-love film picks.

The most common story involves a Roman saint who was martyred for disputable reasons. While the truth behind these legends is definitely murky and many versions are told, the tale often goes as such: a Christian man who, perhaps when commanded to convert to Roman paganism at the command of a Roman Emperor, refused to do so and was sentenced to be beheaded for his actions. Perhaps while waiting to die, villagers left folded up notes tucked into the cracks of his cell, offering prayers and wishes. Perhaps while in jail, he fell in love with his jailer's daughter, to whom he penned a letter signed "From your Valentine."

Yet many other versions of this story are told. The following are three main historical points that shed a critical light on the whole idea:

The name Valentine is actually derived from the Latin word valens, or worthy. This means that the phrase "Be my Valentine" is essentially "Be my worthy one."

St. Valentine is actually the name of a few ancient martyred Roman Catholic saints – and it is uncertain, in a Biblical context, if the celebration on February 14th had any direct links to the above mentioned story or if it referred to multiple saints of different merit. The Catholic Church in 1969 even dropped the holiday from its official calendar due to this spotty historical record.

The link with romantic love didn't even surface until the Middle Ages when Geoffrey Chaucer penned the Parlement of Foules, an ode to the then unpopular marriage of the English King Richard II to Anne of Bohemia.

Alterna-hearts and chocolate.

Image by Bob.Fornal

Still, I've personally decided that while Valentine's Day may in fact be an over-marketed, corporate-engineered holiday it serves a good purpose deep down.

Below is my list of alterna-love films. Follow the links to watch them and find ways to take action on the social issues brought to light in each film:

Permission: Whose permission would you need to get married to the person you love?
A Girl Named Kai: Through a stirring poetic mix of video and sound, Kai appeals to her traditional Taiwanese parents for acceptance in spite of her untraditional take on life and love.
Dedicated to My Family: Living in a teen shelter, Nicole has learned that home is where the heart is.
Novela, Novela: A group of Nicaraguan activists produce a homegrown soap opera about issues like safe sex, homophobia, and domestic abuse. Rather than seeking to change individual behavior, the group attempts to influence public opinion and social norms through progressive media projects made by and for young people.
Recycle : a portrait of a day in the life of Miguel Diaz, a homeless man who broke up with his wife, leaving his daughter behind, the queen of his heart. He currently makes a living by recycling materials brought to him by the shopping cartful. He is also a gardener who made a community garden for his fellow homeless friends.
I'm Not A Boy: Julie Joyce is not a boy. She is more than just an intense, fast-talking New York City sixteen-year-old. She's a trans-gendered youth who wants what all young people want – to be heard and to have a positive space to live, love, and grow.