Fifty Shades of Weinstein

I've never cared to talk about Fifty Shades of Grey because, well, what's the point? It's an extraordinarily poorly conceived concept that should have died on the internet where it started. And no, I haven't read the book or seen the movies. You may wonder what ground I have to stand on for criticism, but after analyzing things for so long you pick up on things. If you see a man with a corpse in front of him and blood dripping from his mouth, you don't need to have a conversation to have a pretty good idea that he's messed up in the head.

But what has shocked me is not only has it made astonishing amounts of money and is getting a third movie, but how accepted it is by so many. And people wonder how people like Weinstein can get away with the evil that they so brazenly commit. The two are pretty similar. One is somehow considered romantic, the other appalling.

Isn't this weird? I'm thankfully not the only one who thinks that the entire premise of Grey is overflowing with crap, and others far more eloquent than myself have dissected this abomination and pointed out in detail what makes it so bad. In fact, so bad is it that even the community its meant to appeal to hates it. You know you've screwed up when the BDSM community thinks you're product is sick and morally bankrupt.

And yet this is coming out in the wake of the fanatical purging of sexual predators from Hollywood and Washington. Weinstein was just the tip of the iceberg. When that broke I was cynically unsurprised. Although I haven't looked into the history of the film industry that closely, the people who heavily inhabit the area aren't exactly known for being super virtuous. That's not meant to sound judgmental, but when dealing with people who actively shun the concepts of chastity, modesty and other old fashioned concepts, you can't help but expect to have things go south.

Plenty of elites have been rushed to the metaphorical guillotine, and rightfully so. I'm right on board with them, drinking a cup of Sprite as these detestable predators are exposed as the monsters they are and torn down. But yet somehow Fifty Shades is okay. What's with the double standard?

I don't claim to be an expert on romance. Such things have most often felt distant to me. But I do know what romance isn't. Romance involves mutual respect and chemistry, building each other up and solving problems together. Kinky stuff behind closed doors? That can work if they're into it, sure. But not if the above mentioned isn't present. If it's through stalking, coercion, money and force, that isn't romance. That's a sexual predator.

I can't help but feel that somehow we've regressed as a society. Seven Brides for Seven Brothers had a much better and intelligent romance story, one of my favorites actually. And that was made in the fifties and involved kidnapping. But it explored the nuances of power, morality in dealing with the opposite gender, how to behave, and most importantly, having the base respect for your partner. It carefully explores the differences between superficial affection and genuine bonding.

I blame a lot of this heavily on the weird results of the sexual liberation movement. Okay, there have been people who took moderation to the extreme, especially back in the day when the only skin women were allowed to show was their faces and hands. But now the pendulum is swinging to the opposite extreme, with disastrous results.

A lot of these movies shamelessly push self gratification. It's easy and appeals to the most base instincts. That's not to say that older forms of media didn't use attractive men and women to draw audiences. They absolutely did. But these were more often done with class. Not always, but more often. Edgar Rice Burroughs, one of my favorite writers, often had his heroines wearing quite little. A bold idea in his time. For example, Dejah Thoris in A Princess of Mars. Yet this is contrasted with her royal bearing and self respect and John Carter, the story's hero, acting as a complete gentleman towards her, being protective and seeking desperately for her respect. In fact a running theme throughout the books Burroughs wrote the villains were the men who leered covetously at women and tried to deprive them of their virtue, while the heroes were respectful and wouldn't lay a finger on the heroines without their permission.

Congratulations Hollywood, you can't compete with an amateur writer's first book from a hundred years ago.

Having read a considerable volume of older books, I've most often noticed a sense of dignity in which the writers regarded women. Granted, they were often bewitchingly beautiful and not always given the most depth, but there was a sense that they had a value to them as people. The damsel in distress was of course in full swing, but the heroes usually felt as if they were fighting to protect someone of value, to be kept pure even things were bad. There was the impression that sex was something to be earned after the emotional and moral values had been secured. But not today. There's been an unnerving change in which men and women seem stripped of that sense of self respect and are now more akin to dolls to be oggled and serve as fodder for fantasies.

Here, try an experiment. Watch horror B Movies from the fifties like Creature from the Black Lagoon, and then look at Michael Bay movies. Look at how the camera focuses on the female characters. How the men act around them. You'll see what I mean.

This comes down to a basic perception of how people should be treated, not just media, nor even sexual relations. Today self gratification is an exalted virtue. This inevitably leads to gratification at the expense of others. However, I don't think Weinstein and his ilk were necessarily influenced by movies. No, they simply didn't care that what they were doing was wrong. So what if the women were unwilling? They wanted to feel pleasure, and they were willing to get it regardless of how others felt.

Which wheels us back to Fifty Shades. What in those movies shows that there is any sort of respect or caring on the part of either person? What value of their person is shown? None. None whatsoever. The supposed romance is just superficial. It's colorful wrapping paper around a rattlesnake. And this garbage is only further pushing the ideas of self gratification at the expense of others. Regardless of your political persuasion, we must all agree that this essential respect of others is paramount to a healthy society.

I apologize if this post is a bit hectic, but I bashed it out on a whim brought about by news of the latest crappy movie coming out. I hope that it gets the point across though. With any luck the movie will be a titanic flop.