Posted on 02/14/2015 4:17:59 AM PST by Kaslin
Last week I was at a dinner with about 20 people and I happened to be surrounded by 7 women. One of them mentioned 50 Shades of Grey and as it turned out, every last one of them had read the book (Incidentally, two said it is "disgusting" and the other five like it). It might surprise you that so many women have read the book – well, until you find out that 100 million copies have been sold. When you consider that you can supposedly hit the New York Times Best Seller List with a few hundred copies moved per week, you start to realize how much of a cultural phenomenon this book has become.
Unlike a lot of other men, I do occasionally like to consume books, movies and TV shows that seem unappealing just because they really strike a chord with women. Sometimes they’re surprisingly tolerable. For example, despite the fact that all the characters were shallow and not very likable, Sex and the City was a fun show…well, for the first three seasons when the characters were engaged in funny dating hijinks. As a single man, watching the show almost made me feel like I was getting tapes from behind enemy lines that let me know how women think. Then, all of the women got into relationships and the show started focusing on their friendships and it turned so excruciatingly bad that I never finished watching the series. Also, don’t tell anybody, but I “kind of” like The Notebook -- not enough to watch it again or anything, but it was tolerable for a romantic movie. On the other hand, Twilight was “keep your head away from the noose lest you’re tempted to end your suffering” bad.
So 50 Shades of Grey was my latest foray into the female psyche and the book was just what I expected it to be: porn for women. Some men look at porn. Some woman read at romance novels. Both are designed to arouse, neither is very realistic and neither is probably very healthy. I’m not advocating it, but people have powerful instinctual drives and are going to do what they’re going to do.
As a man, reading the book was probably as dull as looking at the pictures in a Playboy magazine would be for most women – and that’s not just because the writing is bad. The 21 year old heroine, Anastasia Steele, is not a particularly interesting person and her constant talk about how her “inner goddess” feels is annoying. Ironically, that’s probably a big part of why the book is so appealing to so many women. Anastasia is generally attractive and a little puckish, but she’s not so exceptional that women couldn’t imagine themselves being in her shoes.
On the other hand, as you read about Christian Grey, despite the fact that the book describes him as an almost surreally attractive billionaire, you can’t help but think, “That guy has severe issues.” Granted they’re explained by his background, but as you’re reading about his “Red Room of Pain” and the long, weird dominance/submissive contract he gives to Anastasia, you just want to tell her to run.
Of course she doesn’t run because the issues are part of the point. Christian Grey has to be screwed up or there’s no drama for the heroine and no opportunity for her to “heal” him by, well, liking him and having sex with him a lot. In fact, and this may surprise a lot of fans of both series, but Twilight and 50 Shades of Grey are a lot more alike than people may realize.
In both cases you have an extraordinarily attractive, powerful, yet dangerous and damaged man becoming almost obsessive over a young girl he hardly knows because she stimulates so much desire in him. From the outside, neither relationship looks healthy, but the woman is determined to save her man with the power of her intense devotion and love. In other words, they have the same underlying theme, even though one features sparkly vampires and the other has light bondage.
As a man, I can tell you that the book was torturous to read and, no, I won’t be going to the movie. I endured the first Sex and the City film so I could write about it and I feel as if that’s enough suffering for my art to endure in one lifetime.
“For Valentine’s Day, millions of American women will line up to see a film celebrating domestic abuse. Men who are looking for wives they can respect will have to find them elsewhere.”
What are the Feministas saying about this book and it celebrating domestic abuse? Weren’t they the ones trying to get women away from that for the past 40 or so years?
EL James is a woman. This book is a woman’s fantasy about men’s fantasies.
“50 Shades of Clay” — about a sexually repressed hairy potter
“50 Shades of Cray” — the Terminator meets a sexy supercomputer
“50 Shades of Hay” — the sequel to Ole and Lena’s story
“50 Shades of Gay” — Barack Obama’s unofficial biography
“50 Shades of Who Gives a Fiddler’s Toss” — my personal review of this claptrap
That was my impression. The reality is that giving in usually makes the abuse worse.
The whole torture/dominance fad was done 20 years ago in Brasil. “Tiazinha” was one of the more prominent representatives of the fad. It’s like slow kids picking up on a past fad that’s so out of date it’s kind of boring. To me it feels about as dated as a “pet rock” but I suppose the level of disfunctionality is appropriate for a society that elected obama twice.
Whatever toots their horn. This should all fall into the realm of “keep it in the bedroom, I don’t want to know...” ; )
I have heard from multiple sources that the theaters are ‘full of [not young] women for this porn flick.
I wrote a book about healthy, capable women and their submissive, dominated males.
No wonder it hasn't been selling.
Ole and Lena got married in Fargo. They were going to honeymoon in Brainerd. As they were driving, Ole got a little amorous and put his hand on Lena’s knee. Lena said: Oh Ole, you can go farder than that”. So he drove her to Duluth.
***100 million people read one man’s carnal fantasy, and all are now enlightened.***
Well, didn’t you read CANDY back in the 1960s, then rush to see the movie? ;-D
http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0062776/
LOLOLOL!!! I expect you are one hundred percent corrrrrecatamundo!!! I felt the same about "Bridges of Madison County" -- I was only able to watch about one third of it. And I'm a woman who's had a crush on Clint Eastwood since I was about 10 years old!
Very good!!
< {^)
I heard that the author wrote it badly as a parody of bad romance fic, and that she was as surprised as anyone when it took off.
I didn’t give it all that much credit. It is yet another symbol of results of a culture that has turned away from God. I personally believe that such culture is now perilously perched on the cliff of its own annihilation.....and still aiming straight ahead.
I hear ya!
MrsELSIE watches this house porn all evening!
No.
Was your book about a dominatrix, or healthy women with wimpy men? "Capable" women - as in able to play dominate over a man? That's so unnatural, and well, kinky, IMO.
Personally, I'm more concerned with the traitor who occupies the White House and the other Muslims who lust for chopping off our heads. There, is a symbol of a culture turning to Allah in place of our Lord, and hence, our imminent annihilation.
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