14 DAY TRIAL // The other day saw the release of the first trailer for “Magic Mike XXL,” the sequel to “Magic Mike,” in which Channing Tatum plays a glorified version of his younger self, an exotic dancer. The release whipped female viewers into a frenzy, but it was nothing compared to what “Fifty Shades of Grey” had done - and continues to do as of the time of writing.
For the past several months, and particularly in recent weeks, we’ve been hearing a lot about Universal Pictures’ big screen adaptation of the first novel from E.L. James’ adult trilogy. And one thing is clear: the studio has a hit on its hands, because the ladies are dying to see it when it comes out, after devouring the books.
Make no mistake, even though these novels are nothing but pure trash, speaking from a strictly literary perspective, they were hot with the ladies. Hot hot hot! They’re even bigger hits than “Twilight,” which is ironic seeing how James started working on the characters of Anastasia and Christian as “Twilight” fanfiction.
A peek inside a woman’s brain
So what does this mean? What does it mean to have a group of hunks rip off their clothes onscreen and then dance suggestively (sometimes even on a woman’s face, which I found quite off-putting without being a prude)?
What does it mean to have millions of admittedly intelligent women read and then fantasize and daydream about a handsome millionaire whose tastes in bed are so “singular” they would best be described as sick? After all, Christian Grey, as handsome as he may be, is just a stalker and an emotional abuser at the end of the day, on top of other bad things.
Some thought that, because women loved both these productions (I am referring to the first “Magic Mike” film and the series of novels), that must mean that this is what they want in life. This might be what they want from a man.
After such a long time of trying to figure out what went on in women’s brain, men finally had the answer: they secretly dreamed of being dry humped and tossed in the air by a guy with Tatum’s moves, or told what to do around the clock by a mysterious and occasionally scary dude like Christian Grey.
For as much as they liked to talk about feminism, wanting to be independent and not be objectified, women wanted nothing more from life than to be objectified, to be not in control of their life, to define themselves in relation to their man.
No, fantasy isn’t reality
My take on this, as a woman who’s seen the “Magic” movie and read the “Grey” books, is that we’re overthinking instances of pure popcorn entertainment, in the case of the former, and crappy writing for the latter.
I hated every page of “Grey” and constantly wondered how a woman could write such drivel and try to pass it off for literature (the sleazy kind, but still). Still, I understood the appeal of it. I got it why women couldn’t put it down, though I assume not all were infuriated by the writing, too caught up in the story, as poorly written as it was.
I got it.
Things like those happening in “Magic Mike” and described in “Fifty Shades of Grey” aren’t what women want in life and from a man. Just like guys who love to watch stupid movies with hot babes, or adult entertainment, women too need to escape from reality every once in a while. “Grey” works at offering them this escape by forcing them to shut down all thinking processes, so what’s on the page isn’t properly thought out.
This is fantasy, and apparently, women like to indulge in it too. This shouldn’t be a surprise. These two productions were never to my liking, mostly because I’m an indie rom-com kinda gal, but I know why they did the trick for so many ladies out there.
It wasn’t because they were bored with their life, or that they were unhappy, or that they were too stupid to know better and be offended when they should have been. It wasn’t because this is what they want from the guy they’ll be sharing the rest of their life with.
It’s because it appealed to their deep desire for something different. So before breaking out the whip for your lady, think again: just because she liked to read about it doesn’t mean that she wants it to happen in real life.