Posts by David Flores2

I feel like every time I check the news, some new indie project just got snatched up for global distribution. It’s always a struggle to see these smaller, artistic visions actually make it to a wider audience once they hit the big festivals. Do you guys think the festival circuit is still the best way for niche films to get noticed?

In terms of dynamics, they’re always stuck in some kind of superior-subordinate loop—some sort of equilibrium between those two poles, I suppose.

If a woman feels she holds the upper hand over her husband, she tends to act like a mother toward a child. A particularly difficult child, usually.

Conversely, if she feels subordinate to him, she starts acting more like a daughter to her father. A good father, mind you.

These patterns are essentially learned during childhood, and we just carry them into adulthood. We go through puberty, where hormones make it impossible to maintain those old parental bonds, creating this drive to find a partner—someone capable of reproduction, essentially. Once that partner is found, those same childhood blueprints tend to resurface.

hiddeneagle98 said:If you ask me, in any given moment between two people, true equality doesn't really exist.

A healthy relationship involves both people swapping roles back and forth; a partnership thrives when you correctly identify when one person needs to lead and when the other needs to follow. In any dynamic, there is always a teacher and a student. In a functional bond, those roles shift constantly. Furthermore, in a good relationship, the teacher genuinely cares for their student, and the student respects the teacher, even if it's crystal clear who holds the authority. There is a massive, unmistakable difference between a healthy hierarchy and an abusive master/slave dynamic.

Real problems start creeping in when someone ALWAYS grabs the dominant role, or when someone constantly forces themselves into a subordinate position.

When it comes to the concept of "equality" between men and women, I am a firm believer in equal rights. However, after spending a year diving deep into a mountain of neurological and psychological research, it's obvious that men and women aren't biologically identical. As I mentioned, the female role is naturally geared toward group support, while the male role focuses on group protection. A well-adjusted individual carries a balance of both masculine and feminine traits, but testosterone and estrogen drive the production of Vasopressin—which essentially translates to Oxytocin in this context. Oxytocin drives emotional responsiveness, group cohesion for protection, and defensive aggression. You can't just ignore biology; men and women are fundamentally different.

In my view, the most successful marriages are the ones where both partners understand this reality and lean into it to their advantage. Like I said earlier, a student can deeply love their teacher despite the hierarchy. Similarly, a woman can love a man who provides for the household, provided that man isn't some jerk using his status to exploit her. That kind of connection can be far more harmonious than a relationship where both people try to play both roles despite their biological differences.

I suppose the old-school types might give me a round of applause for saying this, but if you actually dig into the science, all of this truth eventually floats to the surface.

Could you elaborate on that?

What exactly is our dynamic when we're just grabbing coffee, watching a movie, or chatting about random things?
When things are actually working, it feels more like we're siblings—just brother and sister, I guess—once we've moved past that initial family stage.
And honestly, that seems to be the only way it actually functions.

I used to be able to spot those specific moments where he would step into a paternal role or I would act like the parent, but it was pure chaos. After a long period of fighting for dominance, I think we both realized that neither of us can tolerate being controlled. So, things just end up going toward whoever has the better argument—or perhaps just the truth.
Would you explain that by saying we shift between dominant and submissive roles second by second, or is there something else at play?

And where am I missing the mark in my logic when I see a sibling-like friendship instead of this constant shifting of power roles?

Can you apply this to other types of relationships besides marriage—say, friendships? I'm not sure if your "relationship between two people" refers specifically to men and women, or if it applies to all human connections?
(If it's just for men and women, why wouldn't it hold true for everything else?)

After looking back at the footage—not a single one. 😁

If you want to nitpick like that, there’s a whole forum for it; besides, using these emoticons usually solves those little issues. Personally, I’m happy, and I feel pretty great. 😁😁😁 See? Just look how happy and content I am. 😁😁😁 Well? Can you see that now? 😁😁