Amour and Euthanasia: The New Chic

Somebody else is calling Amour what it is: propaganda for euthanasia.

Back in the ‘70s the tear-jerker movies were about people dying of cancer. In the ‘80s and ‘90s, it was people dying of AIDS. For the 21st century, the new chic is euthanasia/assisted suicide/”mercy killing” movies. Million Dollar Baby, The Diving Bell and the Butterfly, The English Patient, The Sea Inside, Un Dimanche à Kigali, Le Temps qui Reste, The Barbarian Invasion (Les Invasions Barbares), Magnus – all have taken on euthanasia/assisted suicide/”mercy killing” from the point of view of non-disabled white people and come to the same conclusion; great idea!

I am still amazed at the lack of any kind of outrage at the ending of Amour. This is, after all, a movie in which the husband smothers his wife in the end. That is, after all, murder. And yet, no one in the whole Oscar landscape even noted the fact. I choked when the Oscar speech introducing Amour told us all, “This is a movie that showed us all what real love looks like.” REALLY!?!?! “Real love” smothers the beloved with a pillow?! No, never. EVER.