Personal Reflection on ‘Lolita’

While watching the 1997 version of the film Lolita, a lot of things were going on in my head. In the beginning of the film, I was confused about the relationship between Lolita and Humbert. Although it was crystal clear the way Humbert felt about Lolita, I was a little on the fence about whether the feelings were reciprocated. I found myself questioning where Lolita stood about the relationship because the way her character was portrayed, to me, seemed as though she was in a grey area between a kiddish child and a sultry, seductive young woman. As the film progressed it became clearer to me that the relationship was not as one-sided as it seemed to me before. In the beginning of the film, as we all saw Humbert’s obsession with Lolita, though it wasn’t society’s norm, it was easier for me to accept than when a real relationship formed between the two. In the scene where she was sitting on his lap in his office, it was weird to watch but because I was unsure of Lolita’s perspective on the situation I was able to wonder and think “maybe she doesn’t understand the depth of Humberts feelings for her”. From the point in which Lolita and Humbert ensued in a sexual relationship is where it got the most uncomfortable for me to watch. In the other scene where Lolita was sitting on Humbert’s lap in the rocking chair, I noticed that I felt way more disgusted than I did in the earlier scene because the dynamic of their relationship changed so much. Understanding that Lolita too was as into Humbert as he was into her definitely made the film harder to watch.

Reflecting on the way I felt after watching the film, I thought about the discussion we had in class about whether the film would be better receipted  in a later era than when it was released, and now. I personally feel as though no matter what time period it took place in, the film would still get the same type of reception, that relationships like the one between Lolita and Humbert are some sort of taboo. Oddly enough, I feel as though a film like this would have been received better in an older time period because it was more socially accepted for younger girls to be with older men than it is now. The only part that I feel would never be okay is the fact that Humbert was basically Lolita’s father, and was actually posing to be he father, although he married her mother just to be closer to her. All in all, though it was oddly interesting to watch, I don’t think this type of film would be able to be received in a positive light no matter what the time period would be.