If you weren’t aware by now (although, how couldn’t you be, with it plastered on every bus stop in Nottingham?) the film adaptation of Fifty Shades of Grey was released last weekend. Those crafty devil film producers strategically timed the release to coincide with Valentines Day. But if the thought of going to see a film where a fifth of the running time is made up of sex scenes makes you nauseous, here’s a real excuse to justify why you won’t be going to see Fifty Shades of Grey.
Although I’ve not seen the film, I’ve gathered the gist of what happens from a variety of sources. Girl meets boy, sex, appalling written dialogue, more sex, and some kink. Nothing too offensive, even if the BDSM is deemed risqué. Fifty Shades has frequently been described as ‘mummy porn’, and has definitely caused less of a stir than D.H. Lawrence’s Lady Chatterley’s Lover, which was banned and tried for obscenity. I think we can safely say the problem with this story is not the smutty content.
The problem for me, and a large number of protest groups (many of whom attended the premiere wilding banners with slogans such as ‘Christian Grey is a rapist’) is that the relationship depicted by Dakota Johnson and Jamie Dornan does not seems like a consensual, loving partnership. Forgive me if I’m wrong, but doesn’t supposedly desirable bachelor Grey put a tracker of Ana’s phone? Doesn’t he buy the company she works for, sell her car and turn up at her workplace despite barely knowing her? If a guy actually did this, we’d be sorting out a restraining order, not bragging to our mates about our latest catch. We all joke about this kind of thing, whether it’s a creepy Tinder date or your friend’s ex who incessantly texted her to check if she was cheating. But, jokes aside, the unfortunate truth of the matter is that there are many women in abusive relationships or situations like this, who can’t escape them.
That’s why the tagline, ‘lose control’, is also problematic. I’m no BDSM expert, but I know that the basic premise is that the person being submissive has consented to being dominated, thus they ‘lose control’ for a small amount of time. If there are safe words in place, and aftercare etc. etc. it is an enjoyable experience for both people. Clearly, this is not true of Fifty Shades, as control is taken from Ana in both a sexual and real life context. It is most disturbing that in some sex scenes, Ana explicitly displays no consent: ‘“No”, I protest, trying to kick him off’, does not sound like a sentence uttered by someone who has given consent.
It is the blurred lines of Fifty Shades of Grey that sets a precedent for domestic violence. Over one million women have been victim to domestic abuse and stalking in the past year alone, a truly shocking figure. Films and books like Fifty Shades, which normalize this kind of relationship and behavior, promote domestic violence. People shouldn’t be damned for going to see the film, curious to glimpse that fabled shot of Jamie Dornan’s piece, or flicking through the book, poolside as a holiday read. But it is essential to educate the filmgoers and readers, from the impressionable teens, to the middle aged women, that the behaviour displayed in Fifty Shades of Grey, is not normal behaviour for a healthy, happy relationship.
Edited by Nicole Jones
Sources
http://www.finalreel.co.uk/fifty-shades-of-grey-trailer-2/
http://news.bbc.co.uk/onthisday/hi/dates/stories/november/10/newsid_2965000/2965194.stm
http://www.theguardian.com/film/2015/feb/10/fifty-shades-of-grey-protests-imax
http://www.theguardian.com/society/2014/feb/13/domestic-abuse-violence-victims-crime-survey-figures