Danger of ‘50 Shades’ is love and lust are just not the same

By Zeke Willcox

In 2011 that E.L. James’ erotic novel swept the world by storm, followed by its two sequels.

A majority of book reviews state that “50 Shades of Grey” is essentially an unambitious, poorly written, plotless story depicting endless graphic sex.

Escape into Life, an art and literature website, stated that the author “created a world to which the boundaries of sexual delinquency, love, and relationships are blurred beyond distinction.”

Movie critics likewise agree that the motion picture experience is a spineless and boring film decorated with heinous performances and dreadful cinematography. Cinemablend called the film “limp and lifeless” and stated the storyline was “banal and thinly plotted as a porno.”

In the tale, a naïve college student named Anastasia begins an unhealthy, unexplained BDSM relationship with an unpredictable, unstable control freak called Christian Grey.

But not only has “50 Shades” been criticized as a book trilogy and film, it has also been scrutinized for other issues regarding physical and emotional abuse.

Although I do not know, and do not care to know the specifics, the idea of BSDM is centered on the idea that one individual basically controls another, demanding the other to supply whatever sexual pleasure he or she desires.

It is no secret that “50 Shades” and E.L. James glorify the idea of violent, one-sided dominance in sex, disguised as a romance.

The director of the film, Sam Taylor Wood described the film in an interview as a “powerful, romantic love story.”

Is sex always the equivalent of love? Sure isn’t.

For Christian and Anastasia, it’s lust. Lust is a powerful and crippling thing, which alters people. It can poison our thoughts and manipulates our action. It is like a curse.

A trap, from which escape is nearly impossible.

Lust eats away at society. History would tell different tales if lust was not real. However, this is not the case.

In our present day culture, should we flaunt and advertise lust and sex so freely? Obviously, we have the right as Americans, yet I believe that it should be something that we temper and guard.

Today, our American culture is sex-saturated, peppering advertising, movies, books, clothing and even food.

Because of the lustfulness of our society, it causes a chain reaction of negative situations. Rampant and untethered, pornography almost always ruins relationships and marriages due to its overstimulation and unrealism.

Because of its unrealistic portrayal of sex, it dehumanizes both the participants and the watchers. Much in the manner in which Christian views Anastasia in the book and movie, pornography paints people as objects, sex objects, not real people. This is not acceptable.

Surely there is a difference between lust and love? Simply put, I believe that our society is too free and too glib in its unprincipled portrayal and overuse of sex. The price to pay for such freedom seems too high.

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