Thursday 5 July 2012

Fifty shades of grave, damaging abuse

As my translation and teaching duties hit their annual lull for the summer, I've recently had some time on my hands. So like a moth to a flame, I thought I'd read the book the world is talking about – Fifty Shades of Grey by British author E L James (Erika Leonard probably doesn't sound quite as exotic). The book was picked up by a small American publisher, which surely explains the infuriating and frequent cartoon-style exclamations of "Holy crap!" "Crapola!" and "Oh my!", among others. We also note that our protagonist, Christian Grey, has all-American "gray eyes". Can you see the difference in US/UK spelling? That's like, so clever, isn't it? But what about the story?

Well, there isn't one, really. Aside from all the predilections and sexual practices depicted, the author maintains that her book is essentially a love story between a beautiful, super-rich, male CEO and a naive university graduate (inequality from the outset). For me, the love story tag is a gross misrepresentation. There is no real love whatsoever in the book's 514 pages. It's simply a document of the total dominance of a young woman by a controlling, powerful man. She thinks she can make him love her like she believes she loves him. He's having none of it. But he showers her with gifts as a means of manufacturing her consent. In the real world, this practice is called grooming. But hey, she gets a new car, laptop, new clothes, helicopter rides, upgrades to first class on flights to visit her mother, the chance to fly a glider ... What more could a girl ask for? Er, love, understanding, self-determination, respect. That would be a start!

For me, the book's sexual content is not nearly as disturbing as the fact that it has now sold more than 20 million copies around the world. Are the book's readers so desperate to read about fictional bedroom antics that this brand of dominance, abuse and misogyny is a price worth paying? The author is right to be surprised by the book's overwhelming success – it's the biggest load of plot-deprived, overhyped garbage I've read since The Da Vinci Code.

6 comments:

  1. Well said! I haven't read it. It doesn't interest me at all. But then I find the popularity of a lot of novels quite baffling. Are readers' lives so boring that they need escapist nonsense? Reading fabulously well-written fiction for enjoyment I do understand, but most of the time I'd still rather read something *useful*. This is probably why I have lots of cookbooks and very little fiction!

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  2. You, Phil the Mosher, would have been the last person on my list of people to read 50 Shades of Drivel. Shame on you!!! :)
    Now go and read Wuthering Heights.

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  3. @Sarah – Most commentators are calling this book (and the trilogy it is part of) 'mummy porn'. If you have more cookbooks than fiction, can we say you are a fan of 'yummy porn'? Do pictures of perfect meals or exquisite sponge cakes float your boat? ;)

    @Marisa – I've been interested in issues relating to gender and language for a number of years (feminism as well as various representations of masculinity). Given the numbers of women reading and raving about this book, I wanted to see what all the fuss was about. I thought that 20 million readers couldn't be wrong. They are. The most accessible, most candid take on modern women's experiences I've read is Caitlin Moran's 'How To Be A Woman'. Now *that* is a wonderful book! For the record, I've never read 'Wuthering Heights'.

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  4. In the interests of fairness, The Independent today (10 July 2012) featured a different point of view on Fifty Shades of Grey. The author believes that for all its faults, the book brings female sexuality out of the shadows – which is a good thing. I wouldn't argue with that per se, though there must surely be better books available which show much more equality, and which portray women as the savvy, sexually and emotionally literate people they are. You can read the alternative viewpoint here: http://blogs.independent.co.uk/2012/07/10/fifty-shades-of-porn/

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  5. The debate and hype rumble on. Yesterday I found a link where a representative from a women's charity calls for copies of the book to be burnt on 5 November (Bonfire Night in the UK). It's a great idea, though it seemingly overlooks the fact that the novel's success is due in no small part to increased sales of e-book readers rather than physical copies. An e-book reader would surely melt rather than burn. http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-tyne-19354560

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  6. Hey Phil,

    A great blog post on the "book name that shall not be uttered" :) and some interesting comments....yes, I eventually got round to reading your blog and I'm really impressed. There's alot of poor quality content out there, but your review of "that book" and some of the other articles I read are great!

    Keep up the good work Phil...I ve added your blog feed to my list!

    Pete

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