What to read, watch, and listen to if you lovedAll About Love
bell hooks · Book · 2001
If you loved All About Love, start with On Attachment — a podcast on the same thread. Below: 4 films, 4 series and 2 podcasts, each matched to All About Love across media.
If you valued the way All About Love prioritizes emotional integrity, these selections explore the complex, often messy, labor of connection.
Films on the same thread
Amélie
Jean-Pierre Jeunet · Film · 2001
Explores: kindness, secret admirer, finding joy in the mundane.
Like the philosophy in All About Love, Amélie demonstrates how love is an active, intentional verb through her persistent, quiet commitment to fostering joy in the lives of others.
Love Actually
Richard Curtis · Film · 2003
Explores: Love, Relationships, Christmas.
While All About Love challenges our narrow definitions of romance, this ensemble film expands that scope by illustrating the varied, interconnected ways love manifests across a wider social community.
The Theory of Everything
James Marsh · Film · 2014
Explores: Love and adversity, Triumph over adversity, Scientific genius.
This portrait of enduring commitment mirrors the central thesis of All About Love, showing how true partnership requires navigating profound adversity through deep, sustained emotional and intellectual connection.
Kill Bill: Vol. 1
Quentin Tarantino · Film · 2003
Explores: Revenge, Female Empowerment, Betrayal.
This film reflects the radical, uncompromising energy of All About Love, focusing on the reclamation of agency and the necessity of personal power when confronting deep-seated systemic betrayal.
Series on the same thread
All Watched Over by Machines of Loving Grace
Adam Curtis · Series · 2011
Explores: Technology and Society, Artificial Intelligence, Social Control.
This series serves as a critical mirror to the societal critique in All About Love, examining how the structures we build can ironically alienate us from our own humanity.
Modern Love
John Carney · Series · 2019
Explores: love in the city, modern relationships, interconnected stories.
These stories echo the honest, multifaceted exploration of relationships found in All About Love, validating the idea that love is a continuous process of growth and necessary transformation.
Big Love
Will Scheffer · Series · 2006
Explores: Religious Fundamentalism, Modern Polygamy, Family Secrets.
This complex family drama forces an examination of the moral structures and power dynamics that define intimacy, much like the challenging cultural critiques presented in All About Love.
I Love Lucy
Bob Carroll Jr. · Series · 1951
Explores: Marriage, Ambition vs. Domesticity, Friendship.
This classic sitcom highlights the friction between personal ambition and domestic expectations, touching on the very power imbalances that All About Love seeks to deconstruct within our relationships.
Podcasts on the same thread
On Attachment
Podcast
Explores: attachment theory, relationships, intimacy.
Much like the practical guidance in All About Love, this podcast encourages listeners to move beyond passive feelings and actively cultivate healthier patterns through understanding their own attachment styles.
Love and Abuse
Paul Colaianni: Relationship and Emotional Abuse Expert · Podcast · 2026
This resource directly addresses the toxic behaviors that All About Love warns against, providing the necessary tools to maintain emotional integrity and recognize healthy boundaries in any connection.
Keep exploring
Common questions
Is All About Love a romance novel?
No, All About Love is not a romance novel. In this work, bell hooks challenges the common view of love as strictly romance. Instead, she critiques societal perceptions and proposes a proactive new ethic for how individuals and society can define and practice love as a verb.
What is the primary argument presented in All About Love?
The primary argument in All About Love is that while the word love is typically defined as a noun, it should be used as a verb. bell hooks suggests this shift in perspective allows for a more proactive and meaningful engagement with love in our daily lives and society.
How does bell hooks approach the subject matter in All About Love?
In All About Love, bell hooks approaches the subject as a scholar and cultural critic. She writes in an intensely personal and provocative manner, using her platform to challenge established cultural norms regarding love and to advocate for a transformative new ethic for society at large.
When was All About Love published?
All About Love was published in 2001. Written by renowned scholar and feminist bell hooks, the book examines the cultural definitions of love and encourages readers to adopt an active, verb-based approach to loving in order to improve their personal lives and the broader society.