“Fifty Shades” Of Controversy!
“Fifty Shades of Grey” was a literary sensation, and now there has been a film made from the book, which opens Valentine’s weekend. The film’s release is now being attacked by domestic violence activists, who say there’s an underlying “violence against women” theme attached to the film.
Here is how Time magazine is reporting the controversy: “A social media campaign with the hashtag ‘#50dollarsnot50shades’ asks people to donate $50 to a domestic violence shelter rather than spending it on movie tickets and popcorn, reports Mashable.”
“People are really upset about this movie and its potential for glamorizing stalking and abusive behavior, so they’re happy to have the chance to do something positive to help offset the damage,” the organizers of the movement told the Washington Times.
Whether this controversy hurts the film or just helps keep it in the public eye, it’s not a new refrain – movies have a long history of courting controversy with their depiction of love, sex and relationships….especially in book form. There have been a number of controversial erotic novels that have been made into equally controversial films.
The Love Machine!
Remember, before “Fifty Shades” there was Jacqueline Susann!
Don’t forget the Queen of erotic fiction. Jacqueline Susann stunned the literary world with her first novel, “Valley of the Dolls”, which sold 30 million copies!
This controversial drama about young Actresses in Hollywood was followed up with two other erotic novels, “The Love Machine” and “Once Is Not Enough!”
As you can see, Susann was serving up erotic fiction to an audience of women who were tired having guys get all the thrills…and no more so than with her epic erotic drama:
“The Love Machine” looks very similar to the powerful lead character in “Fifty Shades”. Both novels feature women who are seduced by a powerful man. And of course, controversy is never far away when you see how these films are marketed. Read all about “The Love Machine” by clicking on my story here:
So as you see, controversy is nothing new when it comes to sex and romance! And don’t forget another one of publishing’s biggest scandals:
“Naked Came The Stranger!”
One of the biggest book scandals of the 60’s followed the publication of the erotic novel “Naked Came The Stranger” – because it was later revealed it had been written as a joke!
That’s right, a group of advertising professionals each wrote a chapter of the book on a dare to see if they could write the worst novel of all time!
Read all about this fascinating story by clicking here:
So, long before “Fifty Shades Of Grey” there were many controversial erotic novels…
Let me know what you think about this!
