Beloved Husband - Beloved Wife

Beloved: Dearly loved; a much loved person. Darling, dear, precious, cherished, treasured, prized, highly regarded, esteemed, worshiped, revered.

Husband: A married man; a male partner in a marriage. The man a woman is married to. A male spouse. Also means to conserve, use resources economically.

Wife: A married woman; the female partner in a marriage. The woman a man is married to. A female spouse.

The (2000) DVD cover the movie,
"Logan's Run" (1976).

"Wake Up." These are the first words spoken in the movie, Logan's Run. The character Logan 6 is trying to attract the attention of his newborn son replacement.

A post about "Logan's Run" seems appropriate for Valentine's Day because of its portrayal of marriage and life as counter culture to a dystopian society which emphasizes youth, pleasure, and materialism.

I don't remember when I first saw "Logan's Run." If I didn't see it in the theater when it was released, I must have seen it soon after on Cable or video cassette.  It had a strong impact on me at the time because of its critical view of institutional religion. However, when viewing it again the other night after a long hiatus, I realized it also is very pro-life, marriage, and love.

In the movie, everyone has to die at 30 in order to maintain ecological balance. Civilization is locked inside a covered dome, cut-off from the natural world. The two main character's, Logan and Jessica, end up outside the dome to search for a nirvana called "sanctuary", a place where one can live beyond 30. Typically, at first there is tension between the woman and man. But as a result of their journey together and sharing hardships, they fall in love.

  

Ankh

An important image in the film is the ankh, an ancient Egyptian symbol of life. When I first saw the movie, I thought it was a Christian cross or crucifix. Coptic Christians apparently did adopt this symbol as their cross. In the movie, the female character, Jessica, appropriately wears an ankh (obviously symbolizing her potential fertility). It is the key (literally) to the future of the couple.

A key aspect to the couple's relationship is when the woman accepts the man as well as the idea of marriage and raising children and living together for the rest of their lives. Marriage and children are coupled together.

As the couple stumbles through the outside world, they come across a cemetery. An old man (God?) explains that the terms they see on the tombstones, Beloved Wife”and Beloved Husband actually meant that a woman and a man loved each other, married each other, committed to live with each other for the rest of their lives, and had children together and raised them.

Later, Logan and Jessica marry, repeating words they saw on the tombstones. "So people stayed together for this feeling of love. They would live and raise children and be remembered," says Jessica, repeating what she has learned from the old man. "I think I'd like that, Logan, don't you?"
"Beloved husband," she tells him.
"Beloved wife," he responds.

There is so much more to this movie that is relevant to today. I highly recommend it. Sure, the special effects are antiquated and cheesy (surprisingly they won an academy award) but the themes are deep and worth pondering. Love, Marriage, Children, Future. Its a brave new world.

Happy Valentine's Day! Treasure your beloved. "To infinity and beyond!"

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Links:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Logan%27s_Run_(film)
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Valentine%27s_Day
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ankh
http://altreligion.about.com/od/symbols/p/Ankh.htm
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POSTSCRIPT:

There is a series of insightful essays available at:

http://www.transparencynow.com/logan/logtable1.htm

The series is divided into five parts:

1. The Story.
2. Logan's Run as a Critique of Society: Sex, Power, Illusion.
3. Logan's Run as a Disguised Account of Personal Development: Family, Mind, Birth.
4. Logan's Run as Myth: Adam, Christ, Rome.
5. The Meaning of Logan's Run: Society's Power Brokers as Infantilizing Pseudo Parents.

You can read them consecutively (as I did) or individually in any order. Access via the link above. I highly recommend these essays. They were very provocative and have stimulated pondering about my maturation process and life ahead (as well as the past).
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Written Saturday 13 February 2016.
Postscript added Saturday 20 February 2016