And the moral of the story (film) is ...
What what you say is the moral/message of the movie?
shareI can think of no better way of putting it than in Nabokov's own preface to the novel, with the main message highlighted in bold:
As a case history, "Lolita" will become, no doubt, a classic in
psychiatric circles. As a work of art, it transcends its expiatory aspects;
and still more important to us than scientific significance and literary
worth, is the ethical impact the book should have on the serious reader; for
in this poignant personal study there lurks a general lesson; the wayward
child, the egotistic mother, the panting maniac--these are not only vivid
characters in a unique story: they warn us of dangerous trends; they point
out potent evils. "Lolita" should make all of us--parents, social workers,
educators--apply ourselves with still greater vigilance and vision to the
task of bringing up a better generation in a safer world.
John Ray, Jr., Ph.D.
Widworth, Mass
* PART ONE *
1
John Ray is Nabokov's pseudonym for the purpose of supplying a preface to the book.
"Lolita" is probably the saddest book I have ever read. share
"Lolita" should make all of us--parents, social workers,
educators--apply ourselves with still greater vigilance and vision to the
task of bringing up a better generation in a safer world.
---
very true and a good idea AT THE TIME
trouble is come 1970 we had the small f feminist takeover of the whole deal, especially the "educators" meaning that by 1997 when Lolita surfaced again americans had become so brainwashed BY the feminists [or Carefully Taught as in South Pacific 1959 on "American Beauty"] that all Humberts [those who missed their wild oats] were labelled as pedophiles leaving the REAL pedophiles total freedom to bugger little kiddies.
hence that 1997 Lolita was not allowed BY J Doe to be shown in theaters so it flopped, even though they made Lolita look 18, which is why Ball/Mendes satirized the whole American Beauty via Angela [Hayes] in the movie of the same name.
or to paraphrase Kubrick - yeah they fixed it alright
and so we have sorry situation of "the demise of guys" as per banana slug "educator" below, with the whole male population high on meds and porn.
come back Lolita, we love you
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FMJgZ4s2E3w
Sad, and beautiful. Also, romantic.
shareromance has nothing to do with it
shareOnce upon a time, many, many years ago when people lived to an average age of 50, it would be romantic. Women needed to have children quickly. That's why I can't get on the hate-Islam-for-raping-young-girls bandwagon. Life is still as rough and harsh in that area as it was for people in the 1800s, marrying their daughters off at 13. Sure, you can have your modern, personal bias but its not realistic for that kind of environment and culture.
shareNabokov shows his playful side wickedly in the intentionally absurd and spurious "prologue" to his novel. "John Ray Jr., Ph.D" is meant to be a caricature of the self-absorbed, smug, academic psychotherapist, just as is Quilty's impersonation of "Dr. Zempf" in the Kubrick film. Note the word play with the name: John Ray Jr. = J.R. Jr. As a critic of Freud and psychoanalysis, Nabokov viewed psychology as a dangerously facile explanation for complex human behavior. In the novel, Humbert Humbert has episodes in sanitariums where he toys with the woefully undereducated doctors. The idea that "Lolita" will spur professionals to create a "a better generation in a safer world" lampoons the science which Nabokov soundly rejected.
sharerubbish, this is how people spoke to the public in early 1960s, specially in such controversial matters.
shareBut the movie didn't really have the same feel as the book.
share