--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: Cultural messages inform the populace…" description: "\"“Cultural messages inform the populace that if they aren't perpetually electric they are missing out on the pinnacle of relatedness. Every pop-cultural..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/114/thomas-lewis-13941_love_cultural-messages-inform-the-populace-th_1700012.jpg" --- # Cultural messages inform the populace that if they aren't… ![“Cultural messages inform the populace that if they aren't perpetually electric they are missing out on the pinnacle of relatedness. Every pop-cultural medium portrays the height of adult intimacy as the moment when two attractive people who don’t know a thing about each other tumble into bed and…” quote by Thomas Lewis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/114/thomas-lewis-13941_love_cultural-messages-inform-the-populace-th_1700012.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/114/thomas-lewis-13941_love_cultural-messages-inform-the-populace-th_1700012.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/114/thomas-lewis-13941_love_cultural-messages-inform-the-populace-th_1700012.jpg) > ““Cultural messages inform the populace that if they aren't perpetually electric they are missing out on the pinnacle of relatedness. Every pop-cultural medium portrays the height of adult intimacy as the moment when two attractive people who don’t know a thing about each other tumble into bed and have passionate sex. All the waking moments of our love lives should tend, we are told, toward that throbbing, amorous apotheosis. But “in love” merely brings the players together, and the end of that prelude is as inevitable as it is desirable. True relatedness has a chance to blossom only with the waning of its intoxicating predecessor.”” [Thomas Lewis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-lewis/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Cultural narratives equate love with intense sexual climax, but genuine connection develops after that peak fades, allowing deeper relatedness to emerge. **In simple terms:** Media pushes love as sex, yet true closeness grows after the hype ends. Key Takeaway Seek lasting intimacy beyond fleeting passion. Themes love media culture intimacy expectations Mood critical reflective Type analytical philosophical When to use this quote - relationships - media consumption - personal expectations - sexual health - relationship counseling Key Concepts sociology psychology media studies Questions to Reflect On - In what ways does media shape your expectations of love? - How can you foster deeper connection beyond physical intimacy? A Different Perspective The view may oversimplify love, ignoring varied personal experiences. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Intimacy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/intimacy/) [Love](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/love/) [Relatedness](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/relatedness/) [Romance](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/romance/) ## Related quotes > [“The intimacy of the moment, the night, was something Logan didn’t want to ever end, as the two of them lost themselves in the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ella-frank/the-intimacy-of-the-moment-the-night-was-something-logan-didn-t-want/) [Ella Frank](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ella-frank/) > [“Steve's throat swelled with tension as the intimacy of the moment became more tangible. He moved his eyes from the dark, reflective river, to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/zack-love/steve-s-throat-swelled-with-tension-as-the-intimacy-of-the-moment/) [Zack Love](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/zack-love/) > [“All of us, when we engage in relatedness, fall under the gravitational influence of another’s emotional world, at the same time that we are…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-lewis/all-of-us-when-we-engage-in-relatedness-fall-under-the-gravitational/) [Thomas Lewis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-lewis/) > [“Being well regulated in relatedness is the deeply gratifying state that people seek ceaselessly in romance, religions, and cults; in husbands and wives, pets,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-lewis/being-well-regulated-in-relatedness-is-the-deeply-gratifying-state/) [Thomas Lewis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-lewis/) > [“Limbic pursuits sink slowly and steadily lower on America’s list of collective priorities. Top-ranking items remain the pursuit of wealth, physical beauty, youthful appearance,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-lewis/limbic-pursuits-sink-slowly-and-steadily-lower-on-america-s-list-of/) [Thomas Lewis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-lewis/) > [“In all of its varied and protean forms, love is the tether binding our whirling lives. Without that biological anchor, all of us are…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-lewis/in-all-of-its-varied-and-protean-forms-love-is-the-tether-binding-our/) [Thomas Lewis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-lewis/) > [“Because loving is reciprocal physiologic influence, it entails a deeper and more literal connection than most realize. Limbic regulation affords lovers the ability to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-lewis/because-loving-is-reciprocal-physiologic-influence-it-entails-a/) [Thomas Lewis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-lewis/) > [“Mutuality has tumbled into undeserved obscurity by the primacy our society places on the art of the deal. The prevailing myth reaching most contemporary…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-lewis/mutuality-has-tumbled-into-undeserved-obscurity-by-the-primacy-our/) [Thomas Lewis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-lewis/) > [“Advances in communication technology foster a false fantasy of togetherness by transmitting the impression of contact- phone calls, faxes, e-mail- without its substance. And…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-lewis/advances-in-communication-technology-foster-a-false-fantasy-of/) [Thomas Lewis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-lewis/) > [“Loving is limbically distinct from in love. Loving is mutuality ; loving is synchronous attunement and modulation. As such, adult love depends critically upon…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-lewis/loving-is-limbically-distinct-from-in-love-loving-is-mutuality-loving/) [Thomas Lewis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-lewis/) > [“In a dazzling vote of confidence for form over substance, our culture fawns over the fleetingness of being “in love” while discounting the importance…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-lewis/in-a-dazzling-vote-of-confidence-for-form-over-substance-our-culture/) [Thomas Lewis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-lewis/) > [“Modern amorists are sometimes taken aback at the prospect of investing in a relationship with no guarantee of reward. It is precisely that absence,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-lewis/modern-amorists-are-sometimes-taken-aback-at-the-prospect-of/) [Thomas Lewis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-lewis/) > [“People differ in their proficiency at tracing the outlines of another self, and thus their ability to love also varies.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-lewis/people-differ-in-their-proficiency-at-tracing-the-outlines-of-another/) [Thomas Lewis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-lewis/) > [“noir. In those dreams, I stand up after passionate sex with”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/julie-buxbaum/noir-in-those-dreams-i-stand-up-after-passionate-sex-with/) [Julie Buxbaum](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/julie-buxbaum/) > [I'm passionate about being an actor, but I'm definitely not passionate about being a sex symbol.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dustin-clare/i-m-passionate-about-being-an-actor-but-i-m-definitely-not-passionate/) [Dustin Clare](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dustin-clare/) ## More by Thomas Lewis > [“One brain’s blueprint may promote joy more readily than most; in another, pessimism reigns. Whether happiness infuses or eludes a person depends, in part,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-lewis/one-brain-s-blueprint-may-promote-joy-more-readily-than-most-in/) [Thomas Lewis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-lewis/) > [“The limbic connectedness of a working psychotherapy requires uncommon courage. A patient asks to surrender the life he knows and to enter and emotional…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-lewis/the-limbic-connectedness-of-a-working-psychotherapy-requires-uncommon/) [Thomas Lewis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-lewis/) > [“Everything a person is and everything he knows resides in the tangled thicket of his intertwined neurons. These fateful, tiny bridges number in the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-lewis/everything-a-person-is-and-everything-he-knows-resides-in-the-tangled/) [Thomas Lewis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-lewis/) > [“People who need regulation often leave therapy sessions feeling calmer, stronger, safer, more able to handle the world. Often they don't know why. Nothing…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-lewis/people-who-need-regulation-often-leave-therapy-sessions-feeling/) [Thomas Lewis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-lewis/) > [“People rely on intelligence to solve problems, and they are naturally baffled when comprehension proves impotent to effect emotional change. To the neocortical brain,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-lewis/people-rely-on-intelligence-to-solve-problems-and-they-are-naturally/) [Thomas Lewis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-lewis/) > [“The benefits of deep attachment are powerful - regulated people feel whole, centered, alive.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-lewis/the-benefits-of-deep-attachment-are-powerful-regulated-people-feel/) [Thomas Lewis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-lewis/) > [“Long-standing togetherness writes permanent changes into a brain's open book. In a relationship, one mind revises another; one heart changes its partner. (144)”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-lewis/long-standing-togetherness-writes-permanent-changes-into-a-brain-s/) [Thomas Lewis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-lewis/) > [“When trying to fathom an immense, intricate system, drawing direct arrows of causality between micro and macro-components is perilous. Which stock caused the crash…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-lewis/when-trying-to-fathom-an-immense-intricate-system-drawing-direct/) [Thomas Lewis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-lewis/) > [“Modern amorists are sometimes taken aback at the prospect of investing in a relationship with no guarantee of reward. It is precisely that absence,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-lewis/modern-amorists-are-sometimes-taken-aback-at-the-prospect-of/) [Thomas Lewis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-lewis/) > [“In a dazzling vote of confidence for form over substance, our culture fawns over the fleetingness of being “in love” while discounting the importance…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-lewis/in-a-dazzling-vote-of-confidence-for-form-over-substance-our-culture/) [Thomas Lewis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-lewis/) > [“A person cannot direct his emotional life in the way he bids his motor system to reach for a cup. He cannot will himself…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-lewis/a-person-cannot-direct-his-emotional-life-in-the-way-he-bids-his/) [Thomas Lewis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-lewis/) > [“What Richard Selzer, M.D. once wrote of surgery is true of therapy: only human love keeps this from being the act of two madmen.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-lewis/what-richard-selzer-m-d-once-wrote-of-surgery-is-true-of-therapy-only/) [Thomas Lewis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-lewis/) > [“The brain’s dense thicket of interrelationships, like those of history or art, does not yield to the reductivist’s bright blade.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-lewis/the-brain-s-dense-thicket-of-interrelationships-like-those-of-history/) [Thomas Lewis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-lewis/) > [“Loving is limbically distinct from in love. Loving is mutuality ; loving is synchronous attunement and modulation. As such, adult love depends critically upon…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-lewis/loving-is-limbically-distinct-from-in-love-loving-is-mutuality-loving/) [Thomas Lewis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-lewis/) > [“Advances in communication technology foster a false fantasy of togetherness by transmitting the impression of contact- phone calls, faxes, e-mail- without its substance. And…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-lewis/advances-in-communication-technology-foster-a-false-fantasy-of/) [Thomas Lewis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-lewis/) [Explore all 48 Thomas Lewis quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-lewis/) ## More Intimacy quotes > [“It's morning now, and I miss the soft rasp of her voice already. Ugh. I'm in trouble, aren't I?”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/pat-shand/it-s-morning-now-and-i-miss-the-soft-rasp-of-her-voice-already-ugh-i/) [Pat Shand](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/pat-shand/) > [“One single syllable of intimacy and the world is put to rights.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-boyne/one-single-syllable-of-intimacy-and-the-world-is-put-to-rights/) [John Boyne](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-boyne/) > [Intimacy requires an ability to both merge and be separate, to come together and be apart, like oscillating on a giant swing from oneness…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charlotte-sophia-kasl/intimacy-requires-an-ability-to-both-merge-and-be-separate-to-come/) [Charlotte Sophia Kasl](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charlotte-sophia-kasl/) > [When you write something by hand, there's a sort of intimacy that is just intrinsic to that act. You don't get to delete something…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jenny-han/when-you-write-something-by-hand-there-s-a-sort-of-intimacy-that-is/) [Jenny Han](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jenny-han/) > [“Intercourse is one thing, Intimacy is everything. Be encouraged”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kerry-e-wagner/intercourse-is-one-thing-intimacy-is-everything-be-encouraged/) [Kerry E. Wagner](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kerry-e-wagner/) > [Is it any wonder that for millions of men the only intimacy is physical, silent, and predictable?](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/phil-donahue/is-it-any-wonder-that-for-millions-of-men-the-only-intimacy-is/) [Phil Donahue](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/phil-donahue/) > [The lasting value of our public service for God is measured by the depth of the intimacy of our private times of fellowship and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/oswald-chambers/the-lasting-value-of-our-public-service-for-god-is-measured-by-the/) [Oswald Chambers](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/oswald-chambers/) > [“You thought I was answering "As you wish" but that's only because you were hearing wrong. "I love you" was what it was, but…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-goldman/you-thought-i-was-answering-as-you-wish-but-that-s-only-because-you/) [William Goldman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-goldman/) > [Awe combined with intimacy is the essence of Christian worship.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/awe-combined-with-intimacy-is-the-essence-of-christian-worship/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [I want to engage people in an honest, enlightened, and provocative conversation about the nature of erotic desire and the intricacies of intimacy and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/esther-perel/i-want-to-engage-people-in-an-honest-enlightened-and-provocative/) [Esther Perel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/esther-perel/) > [Communication is a continual balancing act, juggling the conflicting needs for intimacy and independence](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/deborah-tannen/communication-is-a-continual-balancing-act-juggling-the-conflicting/) [Deborah Tannen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/deborah-tannen/) > [Physical love is total intimacy. It is the sign that the lovers have nothing to refuse each other, that they belong wholly to each…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jacques-leclercq/physical-love-is-total-intimacy-it-is-the-sign-that-the-lovers-have/) Jacques Leclercq > [True intimacy is the experience of real acceptance and authentic vulnerability without feeling the need to apologize or fear rejection. The freedom to just…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jordan-blake-michiels/true-intimacy-is-the-experience-of-real-acceptance-and-authentic/) [Jordan Blake Michiels](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jordan-blake-michiels/) > [“Eschew evil and it's machinations.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jaachynma-n-e-agu/eschew-evil-and-it-s-machinations/) [Jaachynma N.E. Agu](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jaachynma-n-e-agu/) > [“Lack of intimacy among friends is a mistake that cannot be censured without becoming irreparable.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nietzsche-friedrich-wilhelm/lack-of-intimacy-among-friends-is-a-mistake-that-cannot-be-censured/) [NIETZSCHE FRIEDRICH WILHELM](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nietzsche-friedrich-wilhelm/) [Browse all 1,461 Intimacy quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/intimacy/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "“Cultural messages inform the populace that if they aren't perpetually electric they are missing out on the pinnacle of relatedness. Every pop-cultural medium portrays the height of adult intimacy as the moment when two attractive people who don’t know a thing about each other tumble into bed and have passionate sex. All the waking moments of our love lives should tend, we are told, toward that throbbing, amorous apotheosis. But “in love” merely brings the players together, and the end of that prelude is as inevitable as it is desirable. True relatedness has a chance to blossom only with the waning of its intoxicating predecessor.”", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Thomas Lewis" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-lewis/cultural-messages-inform-the-populace-that-if-they-aren-t-perpetually/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Intimacy" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-lewis/cultural-messages-inform-the-populace-that-if-they-aren-t-perpetually/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/114/thomas-lewis-13941_love_cultural-messages-inform-the-populace-th_1700012.jpg", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/114/thomas-lewis-13941_love_cultural-messages-inform-the-populace-th_1700012.jpg", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/114/thomas-lewis-13941_love_cultural-messages-inform-the-populace-th_1700012.jpg", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“Cultural messages inform the populace that if they aren't perpetually electric they are missing out on the…” — Thomas Lewis", "creditText": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "creator": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } } }, { "@type": "BreadcrumbList", "itemListElement": [ { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 1, "name": "Home", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 2, "name": "Quotes", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 3, "name": "Thomas Lewis", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-lewis/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "“Cultural messages inform the populace that...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-lewis/cultural-messages-inform-the-populace-that-if-they-aren-t-perpetually/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-lewis/cultural-messages-inform-the-populace-that-if-they-aren-t-perpetually/#breadcrumb" }, { "@type": "WebSite", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website", "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/", "publisher": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } }, { "@type": "Organization", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization", "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/", "logo": { "@type": "ImageObject", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wp-content/themes/sq/assets/icons/icon-512.png", "width": 512, "height": 512 } } ] } ```