I have found the recent drama about Fifty Shades of Grey to be very interesting. I love watching human behavior, and this has been the perfect opportunity to see an abundance of it.
The first book, which the movie is based on, sets the stage for the other two books and shows just how damaged the characters are. Christian Grey was raised by his ‘crack whore’ Mother and badly abused by her pimp, causing him to fear being touched by anyone. When she died from an overdose, the toddler spent several days trying to wake her up. As a young teen, he was introduced to BDSM by one of his adoptive Mother’s friends. This appealed to him because it allowed him to avoid emotional involvement or being touched. Anastasia Steele was a young college student who had never had a boyfriend. She had low self-esteem and did not feel she deserved to be loved. When Christian finds himself attracted to Ana, he thinks he wants it to be only as a submissive, which is what all his relationships have been. Ana falls in love with him and has no concept of what he is suggesting. The first book ends with him going too far during a sexual encounter and her leaving him.
Our perceptions color everything in our lives, and everyone is seeing this story through their own perceptions. Those who have experienced abuse in a relationship see it as abusive. They perceive it as sending an unhealthy message to young girls and glorifying spousal abuse. Those who are fearful of sexual experimentation are responding through their perceptions of fear. Others focus on the healing that occurs between and for the characters by the final book. Those who are in the BDSM community have the perception of how unreal the sex acts really are.
It is the same story, but seen through different perceptions.
As I said, the movie has generated a lot of drama, a lot of emotions. Many people are responding from their righteous indignation, and creating very strong emotions about it. They are determined that others see it their way and are creating an abundance of drama and energy around it. They make post after post on social network sites so everyone will know just how much the story pushes their buttons. Our society has real hang-ups about sex. Fifty Shades of Grey is bringing those hang-ups to the light, pushing people’s buttons and causing them to respond through their perceptions of sex.
How much better would it be if we allowed everyone to have their own perceptions? Why is it necessary to cause all the drama about a fictional movie? I don’t see this type of drama over other movies where women are beaten, raped, abused, tortured and killed. In our society, those movies are acceptable because they don’t include sex.
Kudo’s to Fifty Shades of Grey for creating the opportunity for us to see and heal our perceptions.
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