Love Does Not Have to Be Romantic or Erotic: Maleficent Movie

Love Does Not Have to Be Romantic or Erotic: Maleficent Movie

Usually, secular culture (including Hollywood) and Christian culture prioritize romantic (or erotic) love.

Jesus Christ taught in the New Testament that his followers are supposed to place him at the center of their lives, with spiritual brothers and sisters taking priority, or at least equal to, their family of origin (read more about that (Link): here).

Christians, however, continue to prioritize biological family or spouse over spiritual family, which alienates the widows, the divorced, and other Christians who are single or who don’t have nuclear families.

Every once in awhile, I come across a movie or television show that “gets it,” which gets that sometimes, friends or friendship means more than “family,” or more than a spouse. Sometimes, you’ll end up alone if you don’t have friends.

Or, sometimes the message presented in entertainment is that family is what you make it – meaning, the friends you choose to associate with, not the family you’re born into.

I’m not opposed to marriage. Part of me would still like to marry eventually, but, I so tire of the culture making the message out to be that the only true, valid form of love is romantic love (i.e., dating or marriage).

I watched the movie “Maleficent” on cable television the other day, and was pleased to see that this story acknowledges that sometimes, “true love” does not come from a Prince Charming, but from one person caring about another one in a platonic way.

In the movie, some viewers may assume from the start that it will take a kiss from Prince Charming to awaken the sleeping princess (who had a sleeping curse placed on her), but as it turns out, the “true love’s kiss” comes from a female friend of the Princess.

Initially, the young man, the Prince, kisses the Princess, but his kiss does not awaken her.

(Maleficent was the individual who cast the spell on the Princess, but she later came to regret placing the curse on the young lady.)

I had wondered, about half way through the movie, why there was assumption that True Love’s Kiss had to come from a romantic interest (such as a “Prince Charming” character), rather than say a family member or a friend – such as Maleficent, or the father of the Princess.

Turns out, I was right – the kiss of a friend awoke the Princess, not a kiss by the potential romantic interest, the Prince.

It’s nice to see a Hollywood film advocating friendship love, rather than “eros” love, for a change.

Here is a clip from that movie, showing that True Love’s Kiss, which broke the spell, came from the friend, not the Prince:

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Related Posts:

(Link): Hollywood Movies: Affirming that Friendship or Platonic Love is Just As Good As Marriage

(Link):  Our Priorities Are Off When Family Is More Important Than Church – Jesus’ focus was on the family of God, not the biological family. by J. Hellerman

(Link): What Christians Can Learn from The Walking Dead Re: Family, Singleness, and Marriage

(Link):   Romantic Comedies: When Stalking Has a Happy Ending (from The Atlantic)

❤ (Link): Instagram is Making Valentine’s Day Even Lonelier by Margaret Renkl

(Link):  Brotherly Love: Christians and Male-Female Friendships

(Link):  Relationships Of Welcome, Not Fear (Re: How Sexist Christian Views Marginalize and Isolate Adult, Single Women and Maintain Other Stereotypes About Adult Singles)

(Link): Topics: Friendship is Possible / Sexualization By Culture Of All Relationships

(Link): How the Sexual Revolution Ruined Friendship – Also: If Christians Truly Believed in Celibacy and Virginity, they would stop adhering to certain sexual and gender stereotypes that work against both

(Link):  Hey Ed Stetzer: Opposite Gender Friendships Are Not Sinful – Ed Stetzer’s Advice: “Avoid Any Hint” – More Like: Re Enforce UnBiblical Stereotypes About Men, Women, Sex, and Singles

(Link): Reclaiming Stolen Friendships – a blog post criticizing the Sexist, Anti – Singles Christian Billy Graham Rule

(Link):  Patriarchy tends to sexualize all male / female relationships (article via Junia Project blog)

(Link):  Brotherly Love: Christians and Male-Female Friendships

(Link):  Evangelicals are Rethinking Friendship and Sexuality 

(Link): Statistics Show Single Adults Now Outnumber Married Adults in the United States (2014)

(Link): False Christian Teaching: “Only A Few Are Called to Singleness and Celibacy” or (also false): God’s gifting of singleness is rare – More Accurate: God calls only a few to marriage and God gifts only the rare with the gift of Marriage

(Link):   Redefining Family (How Christians Exclude, Marginalize Adult Singles) – post from Sojourner’s

(Link):  Please Stop Shaming Me for Being Single by J. Vadnal

(Link): The Deification of Family and Marriage (re: Kyle Idleman book)

(Link):  Creepy: ‘Barna: [Christian] Women Value Family Over Faith’

(Link):  Francis Chan Challenges Christians: Stop Idolizing Family, Put Christ’s Mission First

(Link): Family as “The” Backbone of Society? – It’s Not In The Bible

(Link):  If the Family Is Central, Christ Isn’t, by John B. Carpenter, CP Guest Contributor

(Link):  The Bible Does Not Teach Christians to “Focus On The Family” – The Idolization of Family by American Christians (article)

(Link): Lies The Church Tells Single Women (by Sue Bohlin)

(Link): The Bible Does Not Teach Christians to “Focus On The Family” – The Idolization of Family by American Christians (article)

(Link):  Jesus Christ Removed the Stigma, Shame From Being Single and Childless – by David Instone Brewer

(Link):   “Who is my mother and who are my brothers?” – one of the most excellent Christian rebuttals I have seen against the Christian idolatry of marriage and natalism, and in support of adult singleness and celibacy – from CBE’s site

(Link):  Ever Notice That Christians Don’t Care About or Value Singleness, Unless Jesus Christ’s Singleness and Celibacy is Doubted or Called Into Question by Scholars?

(Link):  Do You Rate Your Family Too High? (Christians Who Idolize the Family) (article)

(Link):  Why Christians Need To Stress Spiritual Family Over the Nuclear Family – People with no flesh and blood relations including Muslims who Convert to Christianity – Also: First World, White, Rich People Problems

(Link):  Are Marriage and Family A Woman’s Highest Calling? by Marcia Wolf – and other links that address the Christian fallacy that a woman’s most godly or only proper role is as wife and mother

(Link) Have we made an idol of families? by A. Stirrup (copy)

(Link):  Family as “The” Backbone of Society?

(Link):  Christianity Should Be Able To Work Regardless of Culture, Childed or Marital Status / Article: Unlike in the 1950s, there is no ‘typical’ U.S. family today by B. Shulte

(Link): Pew for One: How Is the Church Responding to Growing Number of Singles?

(Link):  “Family-ing” Single Adults by D. Franck – How Churches Can Minister to Single Adults

(Link): Christian ‘Married People’ Privilege – Most Marrieds Remain Amazingly Blinded to Christian Discrimination Against Singles Or Write Unmarrieds’ Concerns Off, As Though They Are Nothing Compared to Marriage/ Parenting.

(Link): Salvation By Marriage Alone – The Over Emphasis Upon Marriage (and “family”) by Conservative Christians Evangelicals Southern Baptists

(Link): Misuse of Terms Such As “Traditional Families” by Christians – Re: Kirk Cameron, Homosexual Marriage, and the 2014 Grammys

(Link): Church Allows Pedophile To Lead Bible Studies, Hails Pedo as a “Hero” – Meanwhile, Many Churches  Refuse to Allow Celibate, Single Adults to Hold Any Sort of Leadership Positions

(Link): How Christians Have Failed on Teaching Maturity and Morality Vis A Vis Marriage / Parenthood – Used as Markers of Maturity Or Assumed to be Sanctifiers – Also: More Hypocrisy – Christians Teach You Need A Spouse to Be Purified, But Also Teach God Won’t Send You a Spouse Until You Become Purified

(Link): The Netherworld of Singleness for Some Singles – You Want Marriage But Don’t Want to Be Disrespected or Ignored for Being Single While You’re Single

(Link): Never Married Christians Over Age 35 who are childless Are More Ignored Than Divorced or Infertile People or Single Parents