Almodovar’s Immoralism (Chapter 2) By Laura, Ryan and Sameer

Immoralism A system of thought or behavior that does not accept conventional moral principles.

O ‘Talk to her’- reviewers continually refer to Benigno and Alicia as a ‘couple’ and to their relationship as a ‘love affair’. It is inappropriate to refer to a rapist and his victim as a ‘couple’. It is a surprise that the reviewers fail to mention rape because it is the central event of the film’s drama. O She after all is in a state of unconsciousness; she is unable to give consent. There is good reason to believe that she would not so consent were she conscious. O When we consider the facts of the narrative, it seems obvious that Benigno is first a stalker, then a rapist, and that Alicia is his innocent victim. O “We get along better than most married couples”- Misperception on his part, for Benigno just doesn’t know what a couple is. Alicia is nothing more than a blank screen for the projection of Benigno’s fantasies and he appears to neither desire nor expect that the relationship should be in the least reciprocal, a feature that becomes disastrous when he takes things to a sexual level. Difficulty for the viewers is that at many points the film aligns itself with Benigno’s woefully distorted point of view.

O Rather than showing Benigno’s entry into Alicia’s body, the film offers the lava lamp as a visual metaphor for the merging of bodily fluids in the sexual act itself. It would be brutal to see a man take advantage of a unconscious hospitalised woman. O In place of intercourse we are offered a soothing visual metaphor accompanied by romantic music that encourages us to think of the sexual act as flowing, tranquil and some what beautiful. O The sexual act is enhanced by the parallelism with the silent film (“Shrinking Lover”), which tells the story of a genuine couple in love. The silent film also proclaims the acceptability of sexual intercourse with an unconscious women. O Benigno- Its not that he presents a benevolent, altruistic and caring persona through most of the film; he is also the pathetic victim of an abusive childhood, being forced to devote most of his life to inappropriately intimate care for his mother.

Criticism’s of the essay O We believe the essay didn’t bring anything new to the table in terms of analysis of the film, as the ideas in the essay were ones that had been already discussed. O His essay was not academically up to par, he rambled on about his own opinions about rape and he marginalizes his moral position on rape.

Aesthetics and Ethics O Aesthetics deals with the nature of beauty, art and taste, with the creation and appreciation of beauty. O Ethics deals with systematizing, defending and recommending concepts of right and wrong conduct. Normative Ethics deals with the moral course of one’s actions.