I am getting in early before the tsunami of criticism that will undoubtedly be unleashed by the upcoming release of the movie adaptation of Fifty Shades Of Grey. Because it’s not deserved.
The release of the trailer for Fifty Shades of Grey triggered many sneering comments on social media; a good proportion of them from people who had not read the book ( that highest form of literary criticism).
Yet the book and its sequels are popular. In fact they have sold over 100 million copies worldwide and been translated into more than 50 languages.
Does this mean that the purchasers of those 100 million copies – mainly women – are apparently idiots?
Or: is the standard applied to wish-fulfilling entertainment for women different from the standard applied to entertainment for men?
My question is a serious one.
On a per-screen basis, most of the cinema in the western world is now occupied by superhero and action franchises that deliver to young men the wish fulfilling fantasy of physical and moral omnipotence (with the stress on the potent).
These films for men (and the comics and graphic novels on which they are based) do not seem to trigger the derision and ire that a wish fulfilling fantasy for women such as Fifty Shades Of Grey and, before it, Twilight, have unleashed.
What is it about E.L. James’ slap-and-tickle series that is making everyone so touchy?