The third most successful opening weekend for an R-rated movie of all time. A movie about two consenting adults getting off on some vanilla BDSM play garnered the 3rd highest earnings for a release weekend, ever. That is…astounding. For the sake of all I ask: how? I can only curse the sky and shake my fists for so long, after all. Perhaps it has something to do with my naiveté of the subject matter; my perspective on this entertainment phenom is one of an outsider. I won’t be reading 50 Shades of Grey. I won’t be taking it in on the Big Screen. I will only be commenting on the story and characters using what I have gleamed from ubiquitous advertising and word-of-mouth. This is what I call the Passive (or perhaps unwilling) Observer perspective, and it is admittedly fairly biased. But, it is from this position that the ideas the work, and society as a whole, wants to produce within us are exposed. Also, this movie looks hella boring and it likely sucks ass, so I will not be wasting my time watching it. It is the cinematic equivalent of someone taking the pet attachment on his Eureka vacuum and inserting it into a rectum.
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What is in a name? Well if your name is Christian Grey and your profession is being distant as fuck and whipping on lady-butts, there is quite a bit. Let me start by saying thank you, E.L. James, for making your character titular. When your title is a shitty double entendre drawn off a tired cliché, it really helps me make the judgement call on whether or not to purchase your book. Who says you can’t judge a book by its cover? The title also tells me a little about the character Christian Grey. From his the name and the title, I already know Christian Grey will be:
-Enigmatic.
-A limit-pusher in some way. Considering the topic, likely in the sphere of the bedroom/womanly relations.
-He’s cold like a cucumber, or an icicle, and not unlike a cucumber or an icicle, he will find it difficult to form meaningful relationships.
– Mysterious. Dark. Grimdark. Did I say enigmatic?
Grey is, after all, the color of ambiguity and uncertainty, particularly in the moral sphere. It is the color of neutrality, of dispassionate action, and dullness. The first name of ‘Christian’ is also a fruitful point of analysis. Christian Grey is a Grey Christian. That is, his character is derived from, and stereotypical of, the status quo (Christian morality being the status quo), but he is so in a way that is noncommittal. He pushes the boundaries of conservatism to add a little flair, a little exotic spice to the narrative, but he is fundamentally conservative and stereotypical. He can be found wobbling well within the entrenched dialectic of conservative behavior and social norms. This is, of course, going to result in Christian being super bland and reserved. Christianity is also, above all else, about self-sacrifice. Christian demands self-sacrifice (though in perhaps a “grey” approach –can you smell what the Rock is cooking here?) from Mary-Sue1 in a very physical way. He asks her to indulge his impulse for control by relinquishing some of her freedom. She must obey his commandments, at the expense of her immediate desires and needs, in order to reach the foregone conclusion – a relationship (A “heaven,” if you will. Oh, how delightfully ticklish.).
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Again, I won’t be reading the book, or seeing the movie. I am only using what I have observed in advertisements, or what someone has told me. To that end, I can further develop my concept of Christian Grey beyond the contents of his name. He is (additionally):
-A rich white dude
-Looks kinda like a mad man-type of guy. Probably the cut-throat business-type.
– Is meticulously groomed and classically handsome, so definitely into vanity.2
– is pretty much a yuppie.
Christian Grey seems to be THE American male. I can only infer from his purported treatment of women (likes to dominate them, has control issues when that domination is interrupted, cannot form attachments easily), that he is not just the stereotypical American male, he is the stereotypical patriarchal male – packaged and sold to women. Consider (what I assume) the basic story arc is. This totally tubular dude, being the ideal male (that is rich, white, and conservative) earns the attentions of a doting woman who finds herself attracted to him. They begin seeing each other and even though he does some stuff that she is quite uncomfortable with and apprehensive about, she eventually submits and finds that in submission to a man there is great pleasure. Eventually, through her submission, she wins her victory – the entrapment of Christian in monogamy (I am told that they have a baby or something? I guess this qualifies as monogamy. I don’t know, sue me… yeah, litigate me, baby). This plays out as the foundational message of our patriarchal status quo – Submit to men and you will be rewarded with consideration and attention. Or, put more simply, if you buy into the need to have a man in yo life, then gurl, you best start getting your phreak on when he asks OOOO GURLLLLL.
Ultimately, 50 Shades of Grey is a “grey” version of the archetypal Romance: Man meets woman, woman wants to change man, woman submits to his needs and learns to love him, woman gets man (which I guess always qualifies as the “change” – that he is willing to pair off with her). The greyness comes in with the BDSM filler to pad out the page count.
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But maybe I am not giving James enough credit. Surely the bondage play has a larger role in what this sordid tale leverages upon its readers. I have discussed the patriarchal aspects of this work, but I have not discussed any larger role it may have in the furtherance of an oppression of novel thought and intellectual creativity. More than an attempt to oppress women, or minorities, or whatevs, the status quo seeks to perpetuate itself. Whatever the condition of things in a system is, they tend persist in that way until change is forced on the system. So, when 50 Shades of Grey is viewed as one of countless attempts by the system to bolster its own values and reinforce its grip, suddenly the role of BDSM play becomes more apparent. The main conceit of any work that seeks to reinforce an existing condition is to either a) denigrate the alternate course or b) make the current course seem more enticing. Human beings are naturally curious and attuned to risk behavior. This is bad for a society which seeks to suppress and eliminate the need for independent thought (which surely any society which so drastically encourages passive participation and consumerism does). However, it is pretty difficult to directly dictate terms of valuation and behavior to people. They get all ornery. You have to make it sweet, make it interesting, make it feel like they are being creative and thinking outside the box. Besides being risk takers and creative, we humans also love lording shit over each other and thinking we are better than everyone else. 50 Shades of Grey gives its viewers the opportunity to share in a little bad behavior, to rebel, to feel superior, when in reality they are safely insulated in a pre-approved work that supports existing values. People love mocking the “housewives” who get “naughty” reading this stuff, when in reality they are just playing into another level of control. It is a real bummer, dude. This is state (for lack of a better term3)-approved oppression of the intellect in the guise of subversion. It provides a sense of risk, of rebellion, while acting absolutely contrary to any effort that seeks to usurp the current value system.
So what is the end game for all this? In the popularity of 50 Shades of Grey, and the increasing popularity of similar works in various forms of media, I see a greater effort to control and numb our sense of eroticism. For many years, we have been desensitized to the graphic effects of violence, such that it now seems normal. Books or movies that don’t contain “action” are boring and slow in the mainstream. As a result, when violence occurs around us in reality, it is less likely to jar us from our induced catatonia. Now, the social force opposed to a re-evaluation of all values seeks to repress another human sensitivity. By conquering eroticism, by making it small and unimportant, yet another distraction is diminished. Another variable is eliminated from the cold calculus of the destruction of our freedom. This destruction is driven not by monumental change, but by tiny, little concessions. Will erotica become the next battleground in the drive for mass-desensitization, as society pushes for greater involvement in entertainment/fictional environments in lieu of real participation? Maybe. I find I often paint a pretty bleak future. Truthfully, I am not blaming E.L. James, or the people who liked the movie, or those who liked the book. I am pleading with you, my readers, to recognize this for what it is. Entertainment, true, but more than that. I am not asking you to shun all media and become a crazy hobo who wears tinfoil hats. I am asking you to generate your own values, truly and independently. Don’t allow yourself to be manipulated. Freedom is our most precious gift, and valuation our most impressive creation. And stay away from anyone who claims to have Red Room…seriously that is fucking retarded.
Notes
- I never picked up on her name. Perhaps it is because she is tangential to the story. Maybe this is a self-insertion kind of deal. Who knows; in celebration of the creative spirit found within 50 Shades of Grey, I will just call her Mary-Sue.
- I wonder if James chose Grey to also allude to Dorian Grey, who suffered from similar vanity issues stemming from a need to control…no of course not, that would be intelligent literature.
- I do not believe that Obama or some shadow government is controlling us. I am not a nutcase. I swear.