"Fifty Shades of Grey" Tied Up in Controversy

By Elana Goodwin on January 20, 2015

The movie “Fifty Shades of Grey“ opens in theaters on Valentine’s Day and since news about the film became public, the movie’s been tied up (pun totally intended) with controversy after controversy.

Photo Credit: starcasm.net

“Fifty Shades of Grey” is a movie adaptation of the novel by British author E.L. James, the first in the best-selling (but actually horribly written) erotic trilogy that started out as “Twilight” fan fiction. James’ novels follow the BDSM relationship of kinky billionaire Christian Grey and naive college student Anastasia ‘Ana’ Steele.

Back in September 2013, when casting decisions were announced for Christian and Anastasia, there was major backlash from fans. Originally, Charlie Hunnam (“Sons of Anarchy”) and Dakota Johnson (“Ben and Kate”) were cast as the leads in the movie.

In response to the casting, an online petition on Change.org was made by fans which called for Matt Bomer (“White Collar”) and Alexis Bledel (“Gilmore Girls”) to play the leads in the film adaptation. Within 24 hours, it had received over 40,000 supporters.

However, about a month after news of Hunnam’s casting was publicized, he dropped out of the project due to scheduling conflicts. In his place, Irish actor Jamie Dornan (“The Fall”) was cast to play Christian Grey.

Dornan’s casting announcement was met with much more acceptance and excitement than Hunnam’s though fans still were unhappy and unsatisfied with Johnson’s casting as Ana.

Though the casting controversy died down some, more controversy surrounding “Fifty Shades of Grey” soon sparked. A study published in the Journal of Women’s Health found that the relationship between Christian and Anastasia would actually be classified as “intimate partner violence” and Christian would be characterized as an abuser.

“Our analysis shows that emotional and sexual violence is pervasive in the relationship,” said Amy Bonomi, PhD, MPH, and an Ohio State University Associate Professor of Human Development and Family Science who was the lead author of the study.

Bonomi found that based on the analysis of Christian Grey, he fits the description of a “controlling, stalking, isolating mate who is emotionally, sexually and physically abusive.”

The article was clear to note that abuse and BDSM are not the same thing, nor are they mutually exclusive. However, many fans who read the books were quick to support Christian Grey and defend his honor, saying the relationship and sex in the trilogy is founded on the principles of “safe, sane and consensual.”

Dornan and Johnson share an elevator kiss in the first movie trailer
Photo Credit: nydailynews.com

Yet even after that controversy about “Fifty Shades of Grey” died down, another was spanked — um, I mean sparked.

After the trailer for the film was released, the non-profit organization Morality in Media published a statement in mid-2014 saying that the promo “romanticized and normalized sexual violence” and that the relationship between Ana and Grey shows an “abuse of power, female inequality, coercion and sexual violence that glamorizes and legitimizes violence against women.”

The organization asked the public in their statement if this was “the kind of relationship we want our daughters, relatives and friends willingly entering into?”

But the Morality in Media anti-porn organization wasn’t done with “Fifty Shades” nor was “Fifty Shades of Grey” done being involved in controversy. Just this month, the Motion Picture Association of America announced the much-anticipated film managed to avoid an NC-17 rating in favor of an R-rating.

Morality in Media was not happy about this development, nor with the wording in the description the MPAA gave explaining the R-rating. The MPAA said “Fifty Shades of Grey” received an R-rating due to “strong sexual content including dialogue, some unusual behavior and graphic nudity, and for language.”

“What the term ‘unusual’ does not account for is the coercion, sexual violence, female inequality, and BDSM themes from which the entire Fifty Shades plot is based,” Morality in Media wrote in a statement. “Such a vague evaluation puts viewers at risk, sending the message that humiliation is pleasurable and that torture should be sexually gratifying.”

Despite all the controversy that has dominated (yes, another pun) “Fifty Shades of Grey” in the headlines, according to ticket-selling site Fandango, the movie is already the fastest-selling R-rated movie in their history.

It seems this Valentine’s Day, America wants to get a little bit kinky — and there’s bound (last pun, I promise) to be even more controversy following the movie’s release.

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