Fifty Shades Of Grey

Fifty Shades of Grey
Movie Blurb by Shale
February 13, 2015



I read of the subject of this movie and was intrigued since I have had such a varied sex life over the years. While never into dominant/submissive roles with lovers, I guess in the heat of passion such little nips, bites and scratches happen to most everyone. But, never willfully got into BDSM.

What I didn't know until watching the news last night is that this movie, based on novels by E. L. James, which were bestsellers among mostly female readers also had a disproportionate number of female viewers at the midnight opening. Today I saw it at an 11:45 a.m. matinee and noticed that out of the 30 ppl seated, 25 were women. Two guys were seated with women and two other guys besides me were by ourselves.

The story, if you are not a woman who read the books is about a college student, Anastasia "Ana" Steele (Dakota Johnson) who helps her sick journalism major roommate by going to an interview with a very rich, handsome, charming and mysterious corporate leader, Christian Grey (Jamie Dornan).

Anastasia Steele


He seems stricken by her awkwardness and honesty and begins stalking her. Oh, nothing pathological (what guy hasn't raced out of his way to position himself in the path of a love interest?). Christian ends up in the hardware store where Ana is a clerk and spends some time with her while she helps him locate a few items he needs like tape, cable ties and rope. She is interested in him as well and they start seeing each other casually - even tho they live in different realities.

Ana & Christian Embrace


Her reality is one of traditional romantic love and his is one of a dominance paraphilia. As he bluntly told her “I don’t make love, I fuck.” He introduces her slowly to his world, after making her sign a non-disclosure agreement and offers her a contract to indulge him his needed perversion. She is intrigued by the offer and they casually explore it together.

Well, that's all I will reveal of the movie - if you've read the books you know what will likely happen. While watching this movie (of which I was not the targeted audience) it reminded me of another series of movies designed for another demografic that I also enjoyed - the Twilight series. In fact, I am not alone in this observation as several other reviewers mentioned it and the author when thinking of casting actually threw out the idea of casting Robert Pattinson and Kristen Stewart. Even the setting is in Seattle Washington. While watching the close ups of Johnson and Dornan and the dialogue of them being from such different backgrounds and even him trying to push her away while craving her so much, I thot of scenes in Twilight between Edward and Bella. I guess we can think of it as Twilight for adult women.

I liked the movie, but only 27% of the aggregate critics on Rotten Tomatoes liked it and only 55% of audiences did. IDK if all those women who went to see it compared it to the books or what, but you'd think that number woulda been higher. BTW, from the comments I have read, the books are not that well written. The ending too was like many in the Twilight series, set up for a sequel.



The sex scenes were R-rated meaning female frontal nudity, butt shots of both and even a little edge of penis skin showing thru Dornan's bushy pubes as he opened his pants. They were beautifully shot with great lighting on the close-ups and very sensual. (and for my own little common paraphilia - Dakota Johnson has some really beautiful feet). The dom beating parts were not too severe, it was mostly about control and bondage.


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"Fifty Shades of Fucked Up"
Movie Commentary by Shale
February 14, 2015

As mentioned in my movie blurb, I have had quite a varied sex life over the years, especially during the Free Luv era but I never got into dominant/submissive roles with lovers or ever willfully got into BDSM.

However, I did discover when put in 5-point leather restraints at a psych hospital in the '70s that I have trust issues and do not like bondage.

Here is a pic of the bondage equipment that I endured.

Psych Hospital Leather Restraints


And a pic of how restrained I was (tho this is using cloth restraints instead of leather)

Patient in 5-point bed restraint


Oh, for those who don't know, I wasn't a psych patient but a Psych Tech who volunteered to demonstrate to new employees how the bed restraints were put on. That was when I discovered how uncomfortable I was, even tho I was friends with the Head Nurse who was doing the demonstration and it was in a professional capacity so there would be no pranks or mild torture involved. I guess it has to do with being out of control - knowing you cannot just get up and walk out of the situation (or even fight your way out) that I was helpless and at the mercy of others.

So, I doubt that I would ever willfully trust anyone to make me that vulnerable again.

So, this begs the question, why were the Fifty Shades of Grey books so popular with women as is this movie? Do women fancy being restrained and spanked as subs? Are a lot of them anti-feminists, who want a strong dominant (rich and gorgeous probably helps) man in their lives.

IDK, perhaps a lot of psycho-babble might come to some answer, but from my experience with sex, some women appreciate being held closely during sex to the point that they cannot get loose. I have had lovers with their knees pressed to their collar bones, exposing the sensitive parts to forceful thrusting. (similar to the position in the pic below). I enjoyed it and so did she. Being a top, I have met some men who also enjoy being restrained by hands and arms while being fucked.

That is just my theory as to why this movie might appeal to women - any others?

From Here it can go to Patellas on Clavicles

 

I think what a lot of them that read the books will never admit to out loud is that the Christian Grey in the movie isnt old enough and the Ana isnt virginal enough. I think even the author is a little clueless as to why the book series was such a hit

 

That is, if Christian Grey had of looked 50 in the movie and they got an Ana that looked like Kristen Stewart in the first Twilight movie

Box office sales would have gone into meltdown

Its not about what the author says, its what all those ladies reading it were imagining, nothing really about lame BDSM

 

Actually, might be a point there. Whereas Twilight was made for teen girls and young women, I noticed all the women coming out of this theater were past 30, most in their 40s or 50s.

And, not wanting to spoil it, but Grey popped Ana's cherry. He could not believe she was graduating college and had never fucked yet.

 

I think the author is very much clueless about a lot of things.

And yes, those things include sex, writing in general and writing about sex in particular.

 

i have not read the book but i wont to see the film. i am gonna see it this week. good review.

 

Funny you mention the twilight similarities because 50 shades of grey was actually written as an erotic Twilight fan fiction. So that explains that.

 

..

 

Quote
"(...Dakota Johnson has some really beautiful feet)."

I just did a search and found out she has tats on her right foot (text "Look at the Moon" and stars).

They covered that in the movie and she is barefoot a lot, in love scenes and walking barefoot in the apartment, even dancing.

Dakota Johnson's Feet



Dakota Johnson's Feet with Tats

 

I read that it goes too far beyond Dom & Sub; that it is abusive in the movie. I read in the same place, that you should boycott the movie and instead send money to battered women's shelters.

I haven't read the book nor have I seen the movie.

Dom & Sub doesn't offend me.

 

I have not read the book or seen the movie but my wife has done both. I'll give you the short version of her opinion. She says the reason it has so much appeal to so many women is that, despite people who have never seen it who are calling it abusive, etc., to many women it is more about empowerment. The character is bound and seems to be dominated but it is actually the woman who is in control of the situation. She experiences the pain as pleasure (whatever floats your boat) and she can make it stop or intensify any time she wants. There is one instance where the dude crosses the line and apologizes. She forgives him and he doesn't do it again.

I kind of get it because my wife has talked to me about experimenting with this a little. I told her that I don't know if I could bring myself to do something that I thought would hurt her. She said I wouldn't be hurting her. I'd be doing as she wants and I'd have to trust her. And just like that....she is in complete control of where this goes (if anywhere).


And...my wifes feet look remarkably like that actresses feet and I think they are super hot! I love them.

 

"Control is an illusion, you infantile egomaniac. Nobody knows what's gonna happen next: not on a freeway, not in an airplane, not inside our own bodies and certainly not on a racetrack with 40 other infantile egomaniacs."

:d

 

Just repeating what I was told.

 

Just repeating a Days of Thunder quote. :d

 

I was going to ask you what you were quoting, Irmi.

 

Nicole Kidman was a fox in that one.

I've not read the books or seen this movie so no real input out of me. there's a lot of trust input when you live BDSM lives. It's not as rough and tumble as a lot portray but then again unfortunately there would be in a lot of relationships where I fear the submissive partner could and would be taken advantage of which is upsetting. It's quite true what was posted above, that in ways the submissive has more control, but that only works on the ground of absolute trust in my opinion. If there's no trust and just ignorance then safety is at risk. Submissive nature myself, even when in a totally vulnerable position, the adoration I feel from my partner or lover at the time really just strengthens or bonds the intimacy of the act we are doing. I know it'd look strange to a lot of people, maybe... but it is very fitting for my personality and characteristics.

 

Good point. My wife also talked about trust and bonding. I forgot that part and meant to include it.

 

BIG HONKING SPOILERS

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P

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This appears to be the first of a series of movies and I think they mentioned 2016 for the sequel (if this one does well - which looks like it)

One of the things some ppl (we 4 men?) didn't care for was its Twilight style ending as Ana is leaving tearfully, having never actually contracted to be Christian's sub and he is going after her and the last thing she says as the door closes is NO!

During the attempt at being a sub she at first had some mild slapping that made her butt pink. She was having second thots about the whole thing but wanted to see if she could do it so she asked him to give her the real thing.

He took a leather strap and told her he was going to hit her 6 times and she would count them out. It was a bit unnerving as you could hear the force of the hits and see her pained reaction. That convinced her to leave.

However, those six slaps with a strap were not brutal or abusive (this from child of the '50s who experienced it). IDK what the books had in later issues, nor where these movies might go but so far it was just what I expect normal BDSM would be and she is not ready for it.

Ppl are always extrapolating something from nothing in movies and telling ppl to boycott. I only boycott movies for my personal reasons and it means nothing because they turn out to be quite popular like American Sniper.

While I am in my very fancy SPOILER SPACE:

"I have not read the book or seen the movie but my wife has done both. I'll give you the short version of her opinion. She says the reason it has so much appeal to so many women is that, despite people who have never seen it who are calling it abusive, etc., to many women it is more about empowerment. The character is bound and seems to be dominated but it is actually the woman who is in control of the situation. She experiences the pain as pleasure (whatever floats your boat) and she can make it stop or intensify any time she wants. There is one instance where the dude crosses the line and apologizes. She forgives him and he doesn't do it again."

This was one of the more humorous elements of the movie. While inexperienced, naive Ana is being pursued by a dom, you see little nuances that she is a natural dominant. That may be (or could be) a turning point in the plot, if she changes him from his comfort zone to make her zone more comfortable. But, she gets into the game, not in the actual play room but leading up to it, such as discussing finer points of The Contract, where they are both in business attire at a table nitpicking over butt plugs and nipple pinching or whatever (I just put in nipples because I don't like having mine pinched and so many guys do it).

Fact is, Ana is a romantic and the whole BDSM is out of her realm and she is not naturally inclined to be a sub.