LOLITA - The Brave New World !

Lolita might be called a western classic by Nabokov. It is about the relationship between a flirtatious teenager and a grown man who becomes her step father.  The relationship might be called incestuous but is it really ? The grown man is not her biological father! The old movie directed by Kubrick seemed nicer. The 1997 version directed by Adrian L. is well photographed but has too much nudity, even though some of it seems innocent. [I am an outsider and am not aware if American/European girls are that open and jump around on other men as if they were little babies! ]

However, the movie version is bound to have a negative effect on relationships between dads and daughters or grown up relatives and their young nephews and nieces. Because the movies are overloaded with visual imagery of different ways the step father and the girl touch each other. Many people who watch these movies, specially the impressionable young audience, are likely to interpret the innocent contacts between them and their parents in the light of the various signs that signify sexual interest as defined by this movie. The bees, the haystacks, the corduroy pant, the clothes worn by the girl etc etc!! The effect crosses cultural boundaries sometimes.

In the beginning, the girl makes sexual overtures and the step father seems passive. One feels surprised and irritated by her openness. Then you see that she is a bit impulsive and exposes herself for other men as well! You feel sorry for the girl towards the end because she is so young and child like even though she is manipulative. The step father cuts a sorry figure when he realizes that she is getting interested in other men behind his back! What more can you expect from a girl that age?

The whole thing is a sad reminder of what happens when families are broken due to separation and divorce! The kids offer themselves as a sacrifice to have a grown man and a dad in their lives! The lonely man, in return, is willing to do anything to have someone in his life, including giving the girl a $2.00 allowance.

As Mother Teresa once commented, loneliness is a big disease in the West. And if one cannot connect to anyone anywhere then it becomes a disease wherever you happen to be, east or west.