Controversy surrounding the film
For anyone who spends at least a few minutes a day browsing the web, it is no secret that the recent release of the 50 Shades of Grey movie has stirred quite a controversy.
Before I dive into the criticism behind the film and first novel, I’d like to point out a good thing about 50 Shades of Grey.
The novel and film encourages female sexual pleasure, and this is important. In the novel, Ana has multiple and descriptive orgasms. This is a great thing to encourage – sex that is mutually satisfying. A female orgasm is a lot harder to achieve than a male orgasm – about 15% of women may never experience one, and close to 80% of women never achieve orgasm from intercourse alone. It is great to see something in the media that encourages foreplay and attentiveness; Grey even pays attention to Ana’s signs of arousal – without even touching her he turns her on. He pays attention to what she likes and to her body. One of the greatest aspects of the film was that it showed Grey performing oral sex on Ana – something that is not shown enough in Hollywood sex scenes. This act represents a shift from the male gaze to the female gaze – it is a liberating act, something that is purely focused on the satisfaction of the female. Fellatio is not shown in the film, which makes this scene that much more rare – it wasn’t an “I’ll do you and you do me” moment. However, the story would have been significantly different if Ana weren’t a virgin that needed to be “dealt with” by Grey, because her character could have played a large role in bringing her own sexual wisdom to the table (as a lot of experienced BDSMers are also female).
One problem I have with the film is its lack of reinforcement of birth control. I am talking about the film in particular, because more people were likely exposed to the film than the novel. There are a few scenes where Grey puts on a condom, but for the most part, birth control is a responsibility that is left to Ana. Part of the “conditions” is that Ana takes the pill. I find this disturbing in the sense that safe sex should be a mutual responsibility – Grey could have at least ensured Ana that he is STD free, considering the pill does not protect against STDs. Being a widely viewed erotica film that is also available to young adults online, the least they could have done was throw in some realistic facts about birth control.
What turned me off from the first novel was Grey’s disturbing predatory tendencies toward Ana. It wasn’t the sex that threw me off, but the stuff that came with it. Much like Edward Cullen (this series is viewed as “Twilight porn” for a reason), Grey weasels his way into controlling every aspect of Ana’s life – he tells her what to eat, what to wear, what car to drive, how and when to work out, and where to go after work. All of this is part of their “contract.” He also shows up to her house uninvited and tells her he can’t stay away from her. He’s extremely possessive, to the point that if the relationship were in real life, Ana would either begin to suffer from emotional trauma, or, hopefully, get a restraining order.
Though Grey’s character does encourage Ana to say “no,” he still does not seem to respect the amount of pain Ana is willing to endure. This is most obvious during a very disturbing scene near the end of the film that depicts sexual violence. Grey ruthlessly beats Ana, although it is clear to the audience that the pain is unwanted by Ana, and Ana is shown crying and blatantly suffering. Overall, the film and the novel make it unclear as to what they are encouraging, there are blurred lines surrounding consent and mutual sexual respect. It’s not the kinky sex that’s the problem, if BDSM is your thing, cool – as long as there is willed consent from both parties. The fact that the film made these aspects unclear is problematic, as at least half of the women in this country have experienced some form of sexual violence (and that is only what has been reported) – the last thing the media needs is a franchise that confuses the line between consensual sex and sexual abuse.