Throughout last year the Fifty Shades of Grey trilogy was all
the rage. And it has clearly continued into 2013. There are still shamelessly large displays of hundreds of copies of the novels at the front doors of
bookstores and thousands of people are still buying the book/s everyday. I often get
asked if I've read the book or the trilogy yet and when I answer that I
haven’t, people always want to know why. Most of the time I've just said that
it’s a long story and people have accepted that. But I had quite an interesting
conversation with a friend of mine the other day where we both deconstructed why we don’t like the books and also why
we don’t like getting into it with other people.
WARNING, this is a very long explanation and if you’d prefer
a quick summary, scroll to the end of this post.
I think that a lot of people think that I don’t/haven’t read
the books because I don’t like the sexual content and that’s not it at all. A
lot of really good books have had detailed sex scenes in them. Personally, I
don’t think there is anything wrong with reading about sex. Here’s why I really
have no regard for the Fifty Shades of Grey Trilogy:
I have read the first two pages of the first book, Fifty Shades of Grey simply because my friend
had the e-book open on her laptop and I could not curb my curiosity. And in
those first two pages alone I experienced the worst possible level of writing I
have ever read in a published text. I understand that the book is meant to
reflect the character’s own thought’s and immaturity but to what extent can
this be used as an excuse for James’ horrible writing. It’s teaching readers
and aspiring writers that that level of writing is okay and could even be published.
Secondly, it is not only bored housewives that have become
so obsessed with the trilogy. I have found that in actual fact, a large part of
the readership are teenage girls and young adults who have never experienced
sex or even a relationship for themselves. If you have read the book yourself,
think about what sorts of lessons it’s teaching people who have never had sex
or been in a serious relationship? That it’s normal or okay to be hurt by your
sexual partner. Also, it teaches girls that it’s okay if their right to say no
is ignored. It’s teaching girls that even if they are uncomfortable with what
someone is doing to them, they should keep quiet and enjoy it.
What I disagree with most is that there is no positive
message or moral to the story at the end. A few people who have read the first
book have told me that there is no resolution to the story. I have no idea if
by the end of the trilogy there is a ‘happy ending’ so please excuse my
ignorance. What I mean by a happy ending is that in most books where woman are
in screwed up relationships much like the one in Fifty Shades, they are usually able to escape them and are stronger
people by the end. What I am trying to say in this poorly written paragraph is
that the reader has to sit through these drawn out and highly graphic sex
scenes – which they either enjoy or they find utterly nauseating – and there is
no positive outcome, there is no point. It in no way empowers or inspires women
to get out of their own abusive situations or help their friends out of theirs.
Take series like Harry Potter or Twilight (I am NOT putting
them in the same category, relax!) that everyone
was/is obsessed with and everyone has read numerous times. The Fifty Shades trilogy is a lot like them in
the sense that there is a massive following and a huge fandom, it is being made into a movie and
people who never read have read the books over and over again. The Twilight
Saga although sometimes amateurly written, had a positive message for the
millions of teenage girls who read the Saga and watched the movies.
In Fifty Shades,
there is none.
To summarise
I haven’t/won’t read the
books because:
- They are horribly written
- They are teaching girls all the wrong things
- There is no point in suffering through the low level of writing and graphic sex scenes when there is no positive or uplifting message at the end.
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