THE SILENCE OF LOVE

RAHM JETHANI - Writer, 2nd Year, English & Japanese

A deep breath.

SPOILERS FOR MACROSS: DO YOU REMEMBER LOVE? & SUPER DIMENSION FORTRESS MACROSS!

In the modern era, when we look back upon the epic and expansive stories of old, we tend to remember their spectacle. We remember the drama, the character moments, the pivotal stakes for which the heroes fight. But what we do not always remember is the aspect of silence; the quiet exhales between each narratively tense inhale. The pauses that break up the action often illuminate the true artistic merits of the stories which we remember. Furthermore, these silent moments play an important role in terms of pacing and impression, having a heightened ability to imprint the story’s aesthetic, philosophies, and themes onto the audience. The importance and elegance of these quiet moments are well known, but few action-filled stories choose to emphasize this aspect beyond necessary. The story whose presentation recently reminded me of the beauty of silence was the movie The Super Dimension Fortress Macross: Do You Remember Love?

Do You Remember Love? is essentially a supercut of the thirty-six episode Super Dimension Macross anime series, condensing around 13 hours of story into a 2 hour movie. As a result, there were points where some story changes and omissions felt awkward and underdeveloped. However, despite the limited amount of screentime Do You Remember Love? had, a large portion of its scenes were devoted to silently soaking up environmental setpieces. Minutes of unbroken silence were given to establishing and emphasizing Macross’s worldbuilding, and the striking effects of this creative decision drastically improved my experience watching this movie.

Both before and after the sequence on Earth, there is a large focus on action driving the story forward. Seen especially with the characters of Hikaru and Lynn, character growth in this narrative is presented through the idea of fighting for what you believe in, which more easily allows for this movie to naturally shift through tried and true emotional tones. There’s lighthearted comedy, romantic connection and tension between several characters, and of course, exciting interspace mecha fight scenes. Pair this with the strong - albeit slightly cheesy - message of human culture being precious, and you get a solid, entertaining movie with great presentation. However, in my eyes, the sequence on Earth pushes Do You Remember Love? beyond just a good movie into something I could truly consider to be a beautiful work of art.

After a bombastic escape from the Zentradi spaceship, with heightened tensions as Roy dies and Lynn remains captured, Hikaru and his superior Misa crash land onto an abandoned and desolate planet. As they would almost immediately realize, this lifeless husk used to be the Earth. Compounding this revelation with their earlier failures, both Hikaru and Misa feel an immeasurable despair. This feeling manifests through intensely detailed shots of the landscape, with slow camera pans, zooming in and out of places perverted by rot and rust. The quiet solitude in these moments is emphasized by the fact that the two living people on this planet are ironically unable to find a way to connect with each other. Attempts at communication are tried, but would give way to anger and grief. And so, both the characters and the direction focus on exploring the dead Earth. After all, an empty and peaceful silence was surely better than a painful and bitter one.

Eventually, Hikaru and Misa work through their troubles with one another, becoming more sure of themselves, as well as becoming romantically involved. They find solace in mutual understanding, and in a short time, are able to escape from Earth. And despite the film jumping back into its charming sensibilities of ideals, adventure, and spectacle, my thoughts after watching Do You Remember Love? would always return to the segment on Earth. Perhaps it would be incorrect to say this part showed restraint, but the uncompromising artistic direction towards silence in this film has earned greater respect from me even more than some anime I find more enjoyable.