50 Shades of What's the Big Deal?
The other day I huffily went to my library account online to see how long it would be until Mockingjay was available, and discovered to my dismay that I hadn't even put in a reservation for it! I remembered belatedly that I'd initially reserved the first two books thinking I'd add the third if the first was any good. But then I'd devoured the second right after the first without a thought. So I'd have to wait until I made it through the 26 person deep reservation list before I can download a copy of Mockingjay.
In the meantime, I looked for something that might be a really short read. I've been curious for a while now about 50 Shades of Grey, so I put in a reservation for it. As I'd expected, it was available immediately. Ha.
On audiobook, it's a 16 hour read, of which I've listened to about an hour and a half. One thing I can tell you for sure - it's NOT badly written. It's not Shakespeare or my current fave as far as good writing goes, George Martin, but it's good writing. Better than Suzanne Collins of Hunger Games. Better than any of those atheists I listened to (though they get something of a bye as they're philosopher whatsits and not authors who make a living off what they write). E L James, the author of 50 Shades, is possibly better than Rowling for writing technique. Anyone who tries to tell you it's badly written crap has clearly not read it.
I can't tell you how she is for crafting a story because I don't intend to listen to the end of it. However, she's following the genre perfectly. That genre, is, I think, the reason why there was such an outcry against the book. The genre is women's erotica and has nothing at all to do with male pleasure. I expect there to be a bunch of unbearable sexual tension with some occasional release interwoven in it. There's already clear setup for domination and submission play with some light bondage thrown in and maybe a few other bits of light kink. So ... again, what's the big deal?
Is it that it's derived from fanfiction? While I can see hints that it used to be about a Twilight-style vampire (in the setting of Seattle, the mention of the clouds, the compulsion to follow his orders, his supernatural sexual allure, etc.), so what? I write and read fanfiction all the time. It's a derivative work. Big whoop. A good story is a good story. 50 Shades looks and sounds to be all kinds of arousing, the sort of thing that can easily get the most jaded and repressed woman hot and bothered. Great!
Let's talk about that genre some more, because I think that's the key to it. I've heard some people harp about the book being misogynistic, but it's no more misogynistic than one of my Peter/Sylar stories with nary a woman in sight. 50 Shades at least HAS a woman in it. Several, in fact. They are adults, college educated, making their own way in the world, being bossy or doormats depending on their personalities and roles. These are not despised, helpless characters. They're interesting. They have lives and ambitions that don't involve male pleasure in the least. Then they (or actually, just the protagonist) falls in love with the dude and like I said earlier, it follows the genre - dude is overpoweringly sexy, woman is unspeakably aroused, dude is charming and witty and assertive, woman is ... well, actually I don't know the script all that well because I don't read these books. But there's a pattern and a common trope to them. DD3 even got me to read one about vampires and fairies. It was cool, but the thing I liked most were the vampires and fairies. The love triangle - well, it did little for me, which is why I won't bother to finish 50 Shades.
However, I'm glad the book made it to the best seller list. Also, I'm not confused about why it did. It's great, good quality, caters to its audience, the characters are relatable and the story arc is clear. Maybe the book isn't as predictable as it looks, or maybe it is, but either way, it's a paen to the glory of female desire. Don't talk down about this book because housewives everywhere might use it to get off. So fucking what? I should be so honored if anything I wrote moved someone that much!
The real misogyny here is the disapproval of women's eroticism.
In the meantime, I looked for something that might be a really short read. I've been curious for a while now about 50 Shades of Grey, so I put in a reservation for it. As I'd expected, it was available immediately. Ha.
On audiobook, it's a 16 hour read, of which I've listened to about an hour and a half. One thing I can tell you for sure - it's NOT badly written. It's not Shakespeare or my current fave as far as good writing goes, George Martin, but it's good writing. Better than Suzanne Collins of Hunger Games. Better than any of those atheists I listened to (though they get something of a bye as they're philosopher whatsits and not authors who make a living off what they write). E L James, the author of 50 Shades, is possibly better than Rowling for writing technique. Anyone who tries to tell you it's badly written crap has clearly not read it.
I can't tell you how she is for crafting a story because I don't intend to listen to the end of it. However, she's following the genre perfectly. That genre, is, I think, the reason why there was such an outcry against the book. The genre is women's erotica and has nothing at all to do with male pleasure. I expect there to be a bunch of unbearable sexual tension with some occasional release interwoven in it. There's already clear setup for domination and submission play with some light bondage thrown in and maybe a few other bits of light kink. So ... again, what's the big deal?
Is it that it's derived from fanfiction? While I can see hints that it used to be about a Twilight-style vampire (in the setting of Seattle, the mention of the clouds, the compulsion to follow his orders, his supernatural sexual allure, etc.), so what? I write and read fanfiction all the time. It's a derivative work. Big whoop. A good story is a good story. 50 Shades looks and sounds to be all kinds of arousing, the sort of thing that can easily get the most jaded and repressed woman hot and bothered. Great!
Let's talk about that genre some more, because I think that's the key to it. I've heard some people harp about the book being misogynistic, but it's no more misogynistic than one of my Peter/Sylar stories with nary a woman in sight. 50 Shades at least HAS a woman in it. Several, in fact. They are adults, college educated, making their own way in the world, being bossy or doormats depending on their personalities and roles. These are not despised, helpless characters. They're interesting. They have lives and ambitions that don't involve male pleasure in the least. Then they (or actually, just the protagonist) falls in love with the dude and like I said earlier, it follows the genre - dude is overpoweringly sexy, woman is unspeakably aroused, dude is charming and witty and assertive, woman is ... well, actually I don't know the script all that well because I don't read these books. But there's a pattern and a common trope to them. DD3 even got me to read one about vampires and fairies. It was cool, but the thing I liked most were the vampires and fairies. The love triangle - well, it did little for me, which is why I won't bother to finish 50 Shades.
However, I'm glad the book made it to the best seller list. Also, I'm not confused about why it did. It's great, good quality, caters to its audience, the characters are relatable and the story arc is clear. Maybe the book isn't as predictable as it looks, or maybe it is, but either way, it's a paen to the glory of female desire. Don't talk down about this book because housewives everywhere might use it to get off. So fucking what? I should be so honored if anything I wrote moved someone that much!
The real misogyny here is the disapproval of women's eroticism.