Scene from Swingers
I was informed once that I couldn’t properly understand the movie Swingers because I’m not a man.
For those who haven’t seen Swingers, it’s set in Los Angeles, and follows the lives of young, out-of-work male actors as they try to score with hot chicks.
One of these men, Mike, is going through a difficult breakup, and he carries that baggage with him everywhere—even though his best friend (played by Vince Vaughn) tries to pump him up to be more money.
At the end of the movie, Mike accidentally hangs up on his ex-girlfriend, just as she’s trying to lure him back by saying she misses him, and “I love you.”
Only Mike doesn’t care. He’s forgotten her, and he’s doing well after all.
Always the best revenge is doing well.
That’s because it seems against the natural law of a meaningful relationship that someone should experience a good and fortunate life after (or too soon after) its ending. Otherwise, the relationship either wasn’t very meaningful, or it was a burden (or abusive), holding someone back.
We want to feel like we mattered, sometimes long after we actually did. No one likes to be discarded (easily).
That goes for all kinds of relationships, not just romantic ones.
About Jane Friedman
Jane Friedman is a full-time assistant professor of e-media at the University of Cincinnati, and the former publisher of Writer's Digest. She has spoken on writing, publishing, and the future of media at more than 200 events since 2001, including South by Southwest, BookExpo America, and the Association of Writers and Writing Programs.
