50 SHADES OF GREY directed by Sam Taylor-Johnson, written by Kelly Marcel from the novel by E.L. James, with Dakota Johnson and Jamie Dornan. 124 minutes. A Universal release. Opens Friday (February 13). For venues and times, see Movies. Rating: NN
Producers of 50 Shades Of Grey should be relieved that there’s a campaign brewing to boycott the movie based on the wildly popular book.
At least someone’s getting excited about the pic because anyone actually seeing it will be bored to tears. Dakota Johnson (watchable) stars as the virginal English lit major Anastasia who falls in love with the fabulously wealthy Christian Grey (Jamie Dornan).
Problem is, he’s a proud practitioner of BDSM – the dominant one, of course – and he has a big red dungeon to show for it. Anastasia’s so taken with the guy that she’s game to try out a few whips and chains.
The National Center on Sexual Exploitation says the movie eroticizes violence and female vulnerability. They’ve found the wrong target.
For one thing, this film adaptation doesn’t eroticize anything. Very little actually happens on any level. The pair don’t kiss until 45 minutes in. Most of the not-even-soft-porn sex is of the vanilla variety and when the handcuffs come out, the violence is seriously soft-pedalled.
Crucially – contrary to Jian Ghomeshi’s claim (which his accusers deny) in his famous per-emptive-strike Facebook post that his tastes are just like Grey’s – the dominant partner here is a long-time practitioner of BDSM who takes prior agreements very seriously. An essential plot point of this first instalment is all about whether Anastasia will sign the contract so they can finally get it on. An interminable scene features the two negotiating things like whether fisting can be on the play list.
I’m an anti-pornography social critic who believes porn is a deeply problematic sex educator. I’m a long-time critic of the mainstreaming of sexual violence and the media images that promote it and am passionate about ending woman abuse. I’m ready to campaign against anything that gets in the way of that goal.
But 50 Shades Of Grey, the movie, is not that. In fact, there are many things about it that could trigger an important conversation about sexual violence. For example, I don’t think the desire for pain in sex comes out of the blue and is just a random happenstance. And I don’t think abusers come out of nowhere. I think we should talk about that, analyze it.
The 50 Shades narrative takes that into consideration. Grey is plainly a messed up guy whose sexuality has been compromised from an early age. He admits he’s “50 shades of fucked up.” What’s appealing and seductive about that? In fact, Anastasia is bent on changing him. That doesn’t happen in this movie. But from a feminist perspective, this film has a happy ending.
As for submissive partners, in the second and third books – and presumably the follow-up films – Anastasia enters Grey’s sexual universe and gets into it. Some might say this is deeply problematic, that it promotes the idea that every woman’s turned on by violence – you just have to give her time and she’ll love getting the shit kicked out of her.
But the 50 Shades narrative is a little more complex. Anastasia is a virgin sexually groomed by the guy she loves into doing what he wants. That happens even when it’s full-on, actionable sexual assault. Young sexual abuse survivors, even incest survivors, often report having orgasms during repeated abuse, and have talked about how their sexuality has been moulded by the experience.
This movie is a mess. It’s glacially slow, boasts a laughably clichéd soundtrack – Beast Of Burden, anyone? – and is plainly a cash-grabbing set-up to promote a full trilogy. If you’re going to boycott do it because it sucks.
But, even if it wasn’t the author’s original intention, the narrative could actually be a decent starting point for an important conversation.
Let’s have it.
