Nope. Haven’t seen it, won’t see it, meself. But I won’t judge you if you did, whether it was a hate-watch or a guilty pleasure. I’m just here to throw a few resources your way, provide a suggestion for salving your guilty conscience, show you where to find out what real BDSM is, and open up the thread to those who want to kvetch about it.
You probably know this already, but I’ve gotta say it again: the books and the movie aren’t portraying an awesome Dom/sub relationship. They’re dramatizing abuse. That’s completely no bueno. Of course, it’s fantasy. You can take ideas from it to spice up your own love life. You’re completely okay if you actually enjoyed the wretched thing, for whatever reason. Just don’t get suckered in to thinking that’s what real love is like. If your partner starts acting like Christian Grey, get away ASAP, okay?
Do you want reviews so you don’t have to go see it? Fantastic! We’ve got a wife and husband team reviewing the movie for you right here!
Did you see the film and now feel guilty for supporting such awful dreck? Here’s some suggestions for salving that conscience! There are many worthy causes to donate to, and even if you didn’t and won’t ever see the movies, you can keep them in mind if you have some worthy-causes monies lying around.
Do you need something to wash the awful taste out of your mouth? I have reviewed just the series for you! Also, the first book is free on Amazon, so go download it right now and start reading. You owe yourself after your ordeal, even if all you suffered was listening to your friends gush over how hawt and sexxy this terrible movie was.
Are you now all curious about BSDM? Fantastic! Here is a very inexpensive book that will tell you where Fifty Shades got it wrong, and how to get it right. You can also read Jenny Trout’s review of the Fifty Shades trilogy, where you will be mightily entertained whilst learning many things.
There ye go. The floor is now yours! It’s open bar, so grab a drink and stay. Grab an extra is you need to drown your pain.
(First time comments go into moderation, and I may not be around the computer very often, alas. Please be patient, and I will get you out of purgatory, I promise! Unless you are a troll or a terrible human being, in which case you will go live in spamland, sorrynotsorry.)
The Pervocracy is doing a very thorough fisking of FSOG.
There’s also a free webcomic on deviant art called sunstone. Which is about 2 3 dimensional women into S&M that is romantic and funny and not abusive.
I have not read the book or seen the movie, and I have no intention of doing so. Everything I have read suggests that it romanticizes a controlling and abusive relationship. I have seen the consequences of this kind of thing too often to have any interest in seeing it presented as something sexy or desirable.
As Dana said, if you find yourself in this kind of a relationship, get out. Get help if you need to. Your well-being, and possibly your life, depends on it.
@#2 Michaeld
– I second that. Sunstone is really fun/good stuff. He’s very very clear that everyone playing in the games is very willing and eager to be, and I like how he illustrates that the power exchange is never 100% and not full-time.
FSOG romanticizes an abusive and controlling relationship. If you want that, FFS, read “Histoire D’O”!!!! It’s vastly better written, for starters.
I do not recommend to anyone that they pursue the kind of relationship O pursues, or, for that matter, the kind of situation De Sade conjures. Both of those have inspired ample criticism and commentary through the ages, whereas FSOG will be forgotten fairly quickly, I predict.
Ah, but the movie is breaking all kinds of box office records! MONEEEEEYYYY!!!
That being said I hope that, in response to this movie, as many resources as possible go out to 1) people in abusive relationships and 2) people who want to do BDSM right.
So did American Sniper.
Ugh, I know. :P
The horrors people are willing to call ‘entertainment’ these days.
Nope. Not interested in seeing it. Your earlier post and Jenny Trout’s reviews pretty much ruined any chance (never much) of me wanting to see the film. Somebody wrote that the sex scenes were “about as erotic as Hogan’s Heroes” and with all the unhealthy/dangerous misrepresentations of BSDM and the abusiveness of the relationship, it sounds totally not worth watching.
So basically Shades is sort-of Hostel-Lite? No thanks.