Somewhere on my bookshelf, hidden behind all of my other books is the Fifty Shades Trilogy still packaged neatly in its box. Academically, I am a bit embarrassed to admit that I own the books and that is why they are hidden but the curiosity was killing me so I snuck off and sheepishly bought them as a Christmas gift for myself late last year. I did not manage to finish reading the books for reasons I’ll explain later but I am fascinated by this phenomena that has swept across the globe.
There does not seem to be any stopping the commercial juggernaut that is 50 Shades of Grey. Three books, a film, sex toys, party games, lingerie, a fragrance, greetings cards, a ‘sensual care’ collection, jewellery, a classical music compilation album and now wine; E L James has certainly done well for herself. Since I have made a career out of my sexuality, I can’t help but feel hard done by that I was outshone by a “theoreticist”. Having spent years as an escort and in the trenches, I can’t help but ask the question….. Why didn’t I come up with this? ( I don’t mean to suggest that E.L. James doesn’t get any action, merely that there were other more likely sources for this sort of literature.)
The first book became the fastest selling paperback ever on a global scale including here in London. Two more books followed right on its heels and just a couple of years later it has its own empire. However when the film is eventually shot and released it could be the disappointing straw that breaks the exhausted camel’s back. Why? Because the success of 50 Shades is largely due to how generic it is. Yep, it’s a bit nonspecific really and actually quite basic.
I don’t mean in any way to downplay the quality or success of the book but on close inspection it doesn’t have a patch on some erotic writing out there. That’s in terms of sex, BDSM depictions and in the style of the writing. But therein lays its success. It allows millions of women to apply their own fantasy so that while not every woman would enjoy a hardcore book, 50 Shades through its tameness makes it far more appealing to far more women.
The psychology behind why women have received this book so well is fascinating. Christian Grey wants nothing more than the pleasure of his woman, so much so that he is willing to take it by “force”. Women, particularly housewives are plagued by guilt complexes about demanding their own pleasure and tend to sacrifice themselves in relationships, giving way to the man’s demands in order to keep his attention. But how do you experience guilt when it is your male partner that is demanding your pleasure? Your pleasure, is his pleasure – even if that may be a pair of shoes. He is so determined to please you that he is willing to tie you down and extract your pleasure from you, thereby indemnifying you from selfishness and allowing you to retain your lady likeness associated with wifedom.
Bearing in mind that some religions and cultures have also oppressed the minds of women in a form of conservatism that insists that fornicating is for baby making. It has a purpose, it may end in an orgasm but it’s not down on your knees, gyrating hips begging for his cock type sex is it? The brilliance of E.L. James was to package these fantasies in light bondage which means the women is physically restrained, she cannot be held responsible for taking these guilty pleasures because she was literally tied up at the time. (Unless of course you were screaming like a whore and begging for it 🙂 ) Finally, a guilt free fuck for chicks, it only took two millennia arrive and hence the great exuberance brought about by its arrival.
The BDSM was gently integrated by the clever introduction of a few props and some code words. Sado masochism has an aura of mysteriousness and intrigue just because most vanilla lovers have not been exposed to it. I liken it to ketchup. When you are in your own house that you share with your partner, you will walk up to the fridge and help yourself to the ketchup. You will not say “Please may I use the ketchup?” You will not say “I am walking up to the fridge and I’m about to take out the ketchup”. You will not say “Please notify me by X password when I have squeezed too much ketchup”. No. This is our house, your ketchup is my ketchup and my ketchup is your ketchup. The fact that you even need to ask is an insult to the relationship. But most people who have not been exposed probably think something like ooh passwords, this is unusual and sort of like what shagging must be like when you’re a spy. It sounds naughty, it sounds dangerous but when you actually try saying it out loud, it sounds a bit cheesy.
One particular CNN article suggests that part of the trilogy’s success is due to its clever packaging which is far less risqué than a lot of other erotic fiction. It was the sort of book that you literally saw five women reading on the same airplane. Vintage Books themselves say this was a marketing plan to draw in women who wouldn’t usually choose ‘bodice rippers’.
So why do I say that the movie will kill the brand?
With casting trouble continuing for the 50 Shades of Grey movie the road may already be looking rocky but it isn’t casting trouble alone that is set to topple this franchise.
Movies tend to strip away the potential to imagine and this is the crux of the problem. The 50 Shades novels, as I said earlier, allowed each woman who read them to imagine their ideal man, the minutiae of the sexual encounters and other details formed by their own experiences until it was either their ultimate fantasy or something they could relate to. In the movie there’ll be no room for the audience to imagine more and certainly no chance of the film makers pleasing everyone with the choices they make. Not only will the film be a disappointment but it could shatter the whole fantasy for many women.
Movies are usually disappointing to fans if adapted from a book but 50 Shades is risking a lot. The cast, the screenplay, how much or how little of the sex scenes is played out is going to affect fans enjoyment of the movie.
If the movie flops and the spell is broken we’ll see an end to the current lust for more and more 50 Shades related products. No one will want to play that game anymore.
I don’t doubt that the majority of fans will go to the cinema and watch the movie, raking in millions for E. L. James and Universal but I’d put money on it being the last money spinner #TeamFifty will be able to swing. Will it matter though? The money is already in the bank. James can either write another set of books or take an early retirement!