The Secret Cynic

Perhaps there is a secret cynic lurking inside the most ostentatious of optimists. Yeah, that would be me, and possibly Em. Watching 500 Days of Summer, we both agreed: love mostly sucks. But, in a world where we wish to shirk off our responsibilities, who's responsible for our own emotional well-being? Who's responsible for our heart? Only we can fulfill that oft-neglected duty. So then, it's important to respect oneself and not give into the folly pop-culture feeds us: all we need is to be dependent on somebody else for our own happiness. Or, all you need is "someone" to fulfill your existence. Or, you can't truly have happiness without love. Of course, we tell ourselves outwardly we don't give into these lies. However, I think that we accidentally do. Furthermore, we accidentally break our own hearts and cause our own trauma, but we have a tendency to lay the blame elsewhere.

Perhaps the most telling line from the movie was from a deleted scene. Tom (the primeval romantic) is supposed to be out on a "date": it's his hapless attempt at "moving on" after Summer insists they don't see each other anymore. However, Tom ends up completely trashed at a diner while the woman he hasn't the strength to woo listens to his sad sob story (concerning Summer). She tells him (this is a paraphrase, mind you):

Woman: "She told you from the beginning she didn't want a relationship right?"
Tom: (Looks at her with a glazed expression)
Woman: "So who broke your heart? Her, or you?"

Summer says at the beginning of the movie that relationships are messy, and that is true. So, just in time for Valentine's Day, here is a cynical reminder to guard your heart . . . the course of true love never did run smooth.