Fantasy v. Reality
Jul. 19th, 2012 09:31 am![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
brainofckZats linked to this HILARIOUS review of 50 Shades of Grey.
1. The book sounds ghastly.
2. I think she gets too panty-twisted about the way this book is going to mentally and emotionally scar the delicate minds that read it. Think about all the AMTDI and other dub-con and non-con people read. People eat that stuff up with a spoon. And yet, I am quite sure all those readers know that "no means no" and none of them are going to be more susceptible to becoming victims of abusive relationships just because they find those stories to be masturbatory fun. Plenty of readers can, in fact, separate fantasy from reality. I note that people are calling this "mommy-porn." Well, as a mommy who reads and writes porn, I would like to say that I am pretty clear that what I read for the purposes of porn are pretty unrelated to my usual sex life, which is real and good and about which I have no complaints, but which is pretty unlike the porn I read. Because I'm complex like that. And also intelligent and not the least bit sexually naieve. Just because virgin kink is hot? *shrugs* So? Of course a lot of virgin stories are totally unrealistic. I remember being a virgin. Probably so do all the mommies reading this thing. I laughed at the review, and I'm not trying to defend some crappy Twilight fanfic that I haven't even read, but seriously? Based on the fact that the story started out as porny fanfic, I think she's waaaay overboard on her condemnation of it as some kind of twisted misogynistic manifesto. Dude.
UPDATE: 3. On the topic of this book being too successful for what it is - and on the topic of Twilight, for that matter (with the disclaimer that I have not read Twlilight, either, only watched a couple of the movies with the RiffTrax) - Lots of women read trashy romance novels, but lots of women *won't* read them - because they are trashy romance novels. I am/was one of those women. Now I read fanfic - mainly for the romance/porn. I mean, I prefer a really good romance, with well written plot and hot porn, but I am not really looking for gen recs. So. A backdoor, if you will, to the world of trashy romance. A "real" book comes along - something somehow justifiable - that is basically a trashy romance novel. And people get to pick it up from a source they somehow consider legitimate and go WOW this is AWESOME. "This" being "trashy romance/erotic fiction." I am really not surprised. Even if it is poorly written and kind of crappy, it's probably a genre that people are looking for but too embarassed to pursue, or maybe they don't even realize they might be missing it, so they take what they are handed by sources they find acceptable or legitimate. They read the stuff they should backbutton out of, because they don't understand they can go out and find the really good stuff. Well. That's my thought, anyway.
1. The book sounds ghastly.
2. I think she gets too panty-twisted about the way this book is going to mentally and emotionally scar the delicate minds that read it. Think about all the AMTDI and other dub-con and non-con people read. People eat that stuff up with a spoon. And yet, I am quite sure all those readers know that "no means no" and none of them are going to be more susceptible to becoming victims of abusive relationships just because they find those stories to be masturbatory fun. Plenty of readers can, in fact, separate fantasy from reality. I note that people are calling this "mommy-porn." Well, as a mommy who reads and writes porn, I would like to say that I am pretty clear that what I read for the purposes of porn are pretty unrelated to my usual sex life, which is real and good and about which I have no complaints, but which is pretty unlike the porn I read. Because I'm complex like that. And also intelligent and not the least bit sexually naieve. Just because virgin kink is hot? *shrugs* So? Of course a lot of virgin stories are totally unrealistic. I remember being a virgin. Probably so do all the mommies reading this thing. I laughed at the review, and I'm not trying to defend some crappy Twilight fanfic that I haven't even read, but seriously? Based on the fact that the story started out as porny fanfic, I think she's waaaay overboard on her condemnation of it as some kind of twisted misogynistic manifesto. Dude.
UPDATE: 3. On the topic of this book being too successful for what it is - and on the topic of Twilight, for that matter (with the disclaimer that I have not read Twlilight, either, only watched a couple of the movies with the RiffTrax) - Lots of women read trashy romance novels, but lots of women *won't* read them - because they are trashy romance novels. I am/was one of those women. Now I read fanfic - mainly for the romance/porn. I mean, I prefer a really good romance, with well written plot and hot porn, but I am not really looking for gen recs. So. A backdoor, if you will, to the world of trashy romance. A "real" book comes along - something somehow justifiable - that is basically a trashy romance novel. And people get to pick it up from a source they somehow consider legitimate and go WOW this is AWESOME. "This" being "trashy romance/erotic fiction." I am really not surprised. Even if it is poorly written and kind of crappy, it's probably a genre that people are looking for but too embarassed to pursue, or maybe they don't even realize they might be missing it, so they take what they are handed by sources they find acceptable or legitimate. They read the stuff they should backbutton out of, because they don't understand they can go out and find the really good stuff. Well. That's my thought, anyway.
no subject
Date: 2012-07-19 10:08 pm (UTC)I am extremely puzzled by both the instant and extreme popularity of the book with a non-fandom audience, and amazed at how the buzz or word of mouth or whatever propelled it to such a huge success financially -- it's outsold Harry Potter. *boggles* How did they DO that?????
I am also extremely puzzled by how people seem to not notice how financially huge the het romance genre is and think this book is some kind of different thing.
Please explain all this to me. Because I am very puzzled.
Basically I want to know, how this happened?
Also, all the moral panic over what the BDSM will do to the unwashed is so silly. Again with the ignorance of the romance genre as a whole. ESCAPE, people. THIS IS AN ESCAPE.
no subject
Date: 2012-07-19 10:27 pm (UTC)On the "real" book question - I haven't paid attention enough to how they did it. But it's pretty clear that they did. They put it out in a quality hard cover, and marketed it as edgy, and sold it for whatever you sell a hard cover for these days, instead of putting it out in an instant paperback with cheesy artwork, for $6? I'm sure there's a lot of marketing and packaging going on there.
Eh. What do I know? But in a way, I'm glad to see a book do well, even a crappy one. Just keeps people's minds open to the next good one that comes along.
no subject
Date: 2012-07-21 09:49 am (UTC)I don't know why it's such a huge success, but someone said to me that for example all the Twilight fans who've read the Twilight story now buy the book like crazy and apparently there are a heck of a lot sparkly vampire fans out there :D And it's been pushed in the media a lot. Hey, on our German yahoo site they even said that baby boom is expected nine months after the book made it under the bestseller... because women now explore their kinky side of sexuality? Snort, snort, snort.
Anyway, really liked your post because I think you're right with what you said - even without having read the book yet :)