I have read the original 50 Shades trilogy by E.L. James, and I recently watched the first 50 Shades of Grey movie (I tweeted my
adventure watching the movie, which you can read about here).
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| A sneak peek of my riveting commentary |
Now that the second installment has hit
theatres just in time for Valentine’s Day, it’s a good time to explore whether
there are good things about these movies and books to balance their more
problematic elements.
But first, a quick discussion of those problematic elements.
Problem #1: Christian
isn’t a very good dominant.
Christian tells Ana relatively early in the story that he
enjoys being in control. When he shows
her his “red room of pain,” Ana asks Christian if he is a sadist, to which he
replies, horrified, “No, I’m a dominant.”
In my experience with BDSM practitioners, I’ve found them to be pretty
self-aware, and willing to engage in introspection to figure out what motivates
them and where their boundaries are.
Christian’s rejection of a sadist identity is at odds with his obvious
desire and enjoyment around making Ana hurt, both emotionally and physically.
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| Christian introduces Ana to the Red Room of Pain |
