I spent my Valentine's Day morning with Christian Grey in a theatre that was surprisingly full. I thought I was the only person lame enough to wake up early on a Saturday and go to a 10:20am movie by myself, but what do I know? It's mediocre and it's erotica, but I love the book. I was very curious to see how they would take an X-rated book and turn it into an R-rated movie. Personally, I think they should have gone with Not Rated or NC-17 and taken the risk, but I think the transition was just fine. If I'm being frank, I thought the movie was better than the book. My expectations were pretty low, though I was expecting to enjoy it, but I didn't think I'd love it and want to see it again. It's not a masterpiece, nor will critics rave about it, but it's fun. It has a lot of the flaws specific to adaptations with a loyal follow, but I really loved it. It was awkward, it was funny, and adorable.
Fifty Shades of Grey was my introduction into Erotic Fiction, which I appreciate because it's not that heavy. I love the series. I'm not ashamed of it, and I'm not going to apologize for it. So much of the outrage over the books are from people who haven't read it, or they're going off of someone's opinion. If I'm going to have an opinion about something, it's going to be mine. I don't understand where the charges of rape or abuse comes from. Objectification, yes. Welcome to erotica, are you new? Got read a Maya Banks book then come back and talk to me about objectification of women. BDSM is a lifestyle. There are women who like being a submissive, who enjoy being dominated, objectified to an extent. There are women who like to be beaten, tied up, feel helpless, wear collars signifying they belong to someone. To each his own. Not everyone has the same definition of love. Not everyone receives or gives love the same.
The Fifty Shades outrage reminds me of The Golden Compass, a children's book written by an outspoken atheist who decided to create an anti-Narnia series. People, Christians in particular, were outraged the book was being made into a movie. When the movie came out all the references to religion or atheism had been stripped and the movie wasn't all that great. That's how this is, people are in an uproar over something that isn't there. He never forces her. He spanks her, which she consents to, and people call that abuse. People are so concerned with what they THINK is abuse, they don't mention the physical or sexual abuse Christian suffered. I don't think it occurs to the angry people that Christian does what he does because his introduction to sex was statutory rape, but that doesn't get fleshed out until the second book.
What angers me the most are people shaming others for seeing it or telling people not to see it. I'm very conservative in pretty much everything, but literature and film are the exceptions. I love to read and write, and I think people say more about themselves when they're not speaking out loud. I have everything on my books shelves: Young Adult, New Adult, Christian, poetry, mystery, sci-fi. I love the written word. I love what can be done with a story, so it doesn't make sense to me to shelter or boycott. Fifty Shades of Grey is not a pamphlet on love or an online dating site. It's insulting to suggest women can't tell the difference between love in the real world and love in a fiction book. That's the point of erotica and romance, it's love that doesn't exist. It's a story about an insecure girl and a broken man learning how to love. Not every book you read will make you feel warm and fuzzy inside, or reaffirm your beliefs. Some books will make you angry and uncomfortable. Some books will give you a hangover, leaving you for days wondering what the hell just happened and how you're supposed to move on with your life. The best books aren't the well-written novels with literary accolades, but the books that shift your definition of reality and force you to question your deepest convictions.
What is it about Christian Grey that women find so attractive? Like most men in romance and erotic novels he's physically perfect, except for that one flaw, and he's well endowed. Unlike most men in the real world, he knows his way around the female body. And he's a challenge. It's always a man who either doesn't love or believes he can't. Ana could be anybody: she's insecure, innocent, and ignorant of her own beauty. It's so easy for women to step into Ana's shoes and live in her world. It's fantasy. It's an escape. Even more than that, Christian is broken. Part of Christian's problem in the first book is he loves Ana, but he doesn't know how to love her. He's a grown man still dealing with the physical and sexual abuse he suffered as a child, who thinks he's so fucked up he can't be anything more than walking bulletproof glass. Yet in his brokenness he can not only function and be successful, but he can love.
Only because Sasha is my favorite BookTuber, I'm sharing her review:
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