Fifty shades of gray critique

[Feo Takahari]

I think the closest precedent is probably Naked Came the Stranger.

 

[shangrila]

Try this site, Conjugal Felicity. They (or he?) does sporks of various terrible novels and is partway through 50 Shades of Grey.

 

[Lady D Garnet]

Haven't read it. Not sure if I'm going to.

 

[Aravelle]

I loathe it. Loathe loathe loathe it. It does not portray BDSM accurately -as someone who has done her research and participates in such activities. I don't even think Ana has a safe word, which is arguably the most important part of BDSM. Her lover is creepy, threatening, arrogant, and abusive. Ana is a ****ty character with lots of inconsistencies. This book is a train wreck and should have stayed fan fiction.

If anyone here really wants BDSM erotica, try The Awakening of Sleeping Beauty by Anne Rice. It has lots of spanking but is otherwise appeasing.

 

[Sheriff Woody]

Bingo! Easy to read seems to be the crux of it...it's the one thing that Twilight, Hunger Games, Eragon, etc. all have in common. Entertainment trumps all, at least for the mass commercial market, in our modern times.

Absolutely.

The same can be said for the film industry. Most people want everything simple, straightforward, without any subtlety to speak of. The less effort from the viewer, the more they enjoy it.

It's sad, but that's the way it is. The arts are no longer about art. They are about making money. The entertainment business has simply become a business.

Granted, there is still a great deal of independent filmmakers and storytellers out there delivering a quality product, but you will seldom find that in the mainstream these days.

 

[ThinkerX]

My lovely young daughter commented recently that

'50 shades of Grey' should be renamed '50 ways to spot a psycho'.

She didn't finish the book.