The Lars and the Real Girl analysis is fascinatig because Gosling's performance walked such a fine line between pathetic and sympathetic. Lars projecting a rich inner world onto Bianca is exactly what you describe later as psychological masturbation, but the film tried to frame it as a healing journey rather than an avoidance tactic. Your Narcissus comparison cuts to the core of why these relationships feel hollow even when they're emotionally sincere to the participant, its not that they lack feeling but that they lack the unpredictibility and otherness that defines actual intimacy. The insecure attachment data makes perfect sense too, because sex dolls offer the illusion of connection without the risk of abandonment or rejection. Choosing the knowable over the dangerious is fundamentally about control, not love.
An interesting conclusion! Of course, the power of fantasy may be very strong. I must confess that I have fallen in love (and in lust!) with the heroine of my three-novel series.
The Lars and the Real Girl analysis is fascinatig because Gosling's performance walked such a fine line between pathetic and sympathetic. Lars projecting a rich inner world onto Bianca is exactly what you describe later as psychological masturbation, but the film tried to frame it as a healing journey rather than an avoidance tactic. Your Narcissus comparison cuts to the core of why these relationships feel hollow even when they're emotionally sincere to the participant, its not that they lack feeling but that they lack the unpredictibility and otherness that defines actual intimacy. The insecure attachment data makes perfect sense too, because sex dolls offer the illusion of connection without the risk of abandonment or rejection. Choosing the knowable over the dangerious is fundamentally about control, not love.
Love the conclusion and how it all comes back around!
An interesting conclusion! Of course, the power of fantasy may be very strong. I must confess that I have fallen in love (and in lust!) with the heroine of my three-novel series.