Love as Transactional Pursuit Fueled by Digital Markets

Key Quotes

"People are starting to ask for movies where facts and premises are being repeated 10 times and what's happening is actually being dictated and i think that is the most dangerous thing we start to let ourselves become lazier and lazier about the kinds of stories that we're willing to watch."

Celine Song argues that a dangerous trend in filmmaking is the repetition of plot points and dictated narratives, which leads audiences to become less engaged and more passive in their consumption of stories. Song believes this shift encourages laziness in what audiences are willing to watch and process.

"I worked as a matchmaker for about six months because I couldn't pay rent as a playwright and I needed a day job and this was just a day job that I could get because, you know, New York City has a, you know, it's a city of dreams so the day job market is very competitive."

Celine Song explains the practical circumstances that led her to work as a matchmaker, highlighting the financial realities faced by artists in competitive urban environments. Song's experience as a matchmaker provided her with insights into the transactional nature of modern dating, which later informed her filmmaking.

"I was honestly very concerned about the language with which that we were talking about our potential life partners and the language was starting to become quite financial, right? And I was thinking like, well, how can you talk in a way where you're like, well, they don't meet my requirements or what do they bring to the table as if it's a business deal when in fact love is something that has been an ancient mystery and a thing that actually cannot be turned into business."

Song expresses concern over the financial and transactional language used in discussions about romantic partners, contrasting it with the inherent mystery and non-commercial nature of love. She suggests that treating potential partners as commodities or business deals detracts from the genuine pursuit of love.

"So much of it is that love and romance is just a universal theme, so I think it's going to work in every culture and every part of the world because I think we're all contending with the same thing of like, what is a marriage for and also who do we marry and who should we marry and what's going on with our hearts."

Celine Song attributes the global success of her film "Materialists" to the universal theme of love and romance, suggesting that these are shared human experiences across all cultures. Song believes that the fundamental questions surrounding marriage and relationships resonate with audiences worldwide.

"The other i mean and then of course the other very important line is you know i'm not merchandise i'm a person so there is a way that this movie is so much about the way that we commodify each other and how it's always going to lead to dehumanization and how in none of those things will you find love."

Song identifies a core message in "Materialists" as the critique of commodifying individuals, arguing that this practice leads to dehumanization and prevents the discovery of true love. She emphasizes the distinction between being treated as merchandise and being recognized as a person.

"But I do think it is one of those things where it's like you are always dealing with at that time it was like, well, it's one of the ways to secure a future, right? In some cases, you know, save your family from poverty and in some cases save your family from poverty and I think that it's always so amazing how even in those stories, it's like always going to be met with like the question of true love and the question of actual happiness."

Song reflects on 19th-century novels, noting that marriage was often depicted as a means to secure a future and alleviate poverty for women. She observes that even within these transactional narratives, the themes of true love and personal happiness remain central questions.