Fatal Attraction - Revisited

Fatal Attraction, Garlic Girls, Delilah and HIV


Fatal Attraction

I didn't see the 1987 movie but it got a lot of press, nominated for 6 Oscars, and headers were splashed all over the media. I read a couple of reviews. You know the plot; an unfaithful husband gets more than he bargained for. The "love cocktail" of powerful brain chemicals (phenylethelamine, dopamine and oxytocin) helped create an extremely strong neural pathway in Alex Forrest's brain. She became obsessed with Dan then psychotic. "I guess you thought you'd get away with this. Well, you can't", says Alex. "I'm not going to be ignored, Dan!"

Glenn Close, the actress who played Alex, reported that after the film was released she was approached a number of times by men who said, "You scared the beegeebees out of me. You saved my marraige." However, many men, throwing all caution to the wind, watched the movie then went on to have their own affair. The "love cocktail" had done it's work in their own brain.

The Garlic Girls

Karl Johann's Gata (street) in downtown Oslo, Norway, is for the most part, a traffic free walking street running from the Central Train Station to the Royal Palace. A very interesting and popular place to hang out. Street musicians and one man bands from around the world make their way here in the summertime to entertain and earn a few "kroner". The Garlic Girls used to make regular public appearances. Seated on the edge of a fountain in the public square, four or five beautiful young "women" sat for hours chatting, gesturing to the crowds of passersby, and acting very feminine. But it was all an act. They were all young college students, men in drag, having the time of their lives. One would have to get up in their faces to realize who and what they were, and even then it was difficult.

I watched COPS on TV a few years ago where a "John" was arrested for soliciting. He was shocked when the police informed him that the prostitute he had picked up was a transvestite. I read in the newspaper of a another incident where a prostitute was murdered when the "John" realized "she" was a "he". Yet, many people, knowing that these kinds of deceptions take place, throw caution to the wind, and walk on like a lamb to the slaughter. Lust and the "love cocktail" blinds them to the destructive nature of their behavior.

Delilah

Who would ever name their child Delilah? Samson, on a lustful high, thought that she was his friend and entrusted her with the secret of his superhuman strength. He was blind to her deception and eventually had his wandering eyes gouged out. How many have read the story then gone out and done the same thing? She wasn't his friend at all, she was in fact his worst enemy! But, the "love cocktail" had skewed his perception of the truth, he threw caution to the wind, and paid for it with his life.

HIV

The initials, HIV, used to be on every front page and every newscast. No so much any more but it is still there, it is no longer a "gay" disease, and it is still as destructive as ever with no cure in sight. Knowing the dangers of HIV and a plethora of other STD's, has not changed the moral tone of our nation. Immorality is rampant -much worse that it was 30 years ago when doctors became concerned over what they dubbed "gay cancer". Yet, many throw all caution to the wind and live a permiscuous lifestyle. Lust and the "love cocktail" drive them on.

All this to demonstrate the power of brain chemicals to distort a person's perceptions of what is good and what is bad, of what is right and what is wrong. It's as if "rose colored glasses" cloud the dangers which should be obvious. Again, be careful about who and what you get "stuck" on. Especially if the "hot" factor is present in any way, shape, or form. What you tell yourself is rational may be nothing more than the Hormonal Choice.