Flirtation

I have signed up for a class on Flirtation. Unfortunately, it appears to be a fairly advanced class, and I could really use some remedial assistance. With my work schedule, it looks like I will only be able to attend 50-75% of the classes, and with my courage level, it looks like I will probably do 10% of the homework (the portion that doesn't actually require me to interact with others). Yes, luckily for me, the class involves a certain amount of movie-watching, something I have a natural aptitude for. Our first two movies were Gilda, starring Rita Hayworth, and a snippet from Pandora and the Flying Dutchman, starring Ava Gardner.

From what little I have been able to understand, flirtation is ordinarily about the pursuit of pleasure. So I was a bit surprised by the Flirtation class homework. Rita Hayworth as Gilda is unquestionably sexy and seductive in the movie, but she is not really flirting, per se -- she is seeking revenge. Specifically, she is trying to drive her ex-lover literally mad with jealousy by going after other guys. (She is not actually flirting with the other guys, even when she is dancing seductively with them, because her entire focus is on her ex-lover.)

Further complicating matters, in Flirtation class last week, we watched an excerpt from Pandora and the Flying Dutchman, in which Ava Gardner (as Pandora) lets one love-sick man commit suicide over her, and then later that night -- after toasting some marshmallows -- goes off with another woman's boyfriend and convinces him to destroy his most prized possession to prove his love for her (i.e., for Pandora, not the girlfriend). These things give Pandora no pleasure; she is simply enjoying her ability to exercise power over men. And I'm not sure she even enjoys the power trip that much -- she is just curious how far she can push any given man who crosses her path. She is running an experiment, if you will.

So. If morality is the art of balancing short-term pleasures (of any type, including sex, food, television shows, etc.) against long-term benefits (including self-respect, health, lasting happiness), then this Flirtation class that I am taking, which puts pleasure above all other things, is almost stunningly amoral. It is a truly radical philosophy, as radical as Christianity, in its own way.

But the radicalness of Christianity and its interaction (and hopefully, compatibility) with the pleasure-centered philosophy of my flirtation class will have to await discussion in another post.

The other movies assigned to teach us about flirtation are: (i) Harold and Maude, a real favorite of mine, with a great soundtrack from the artist formerly known as Cat Stevens; (ii) The Fabulous Baker Boys, which I remember as beautiful but somewhat depressing; and (iii) Something Wild, with Melanie Griffith, which I have never seen.