50 Shades of Grey
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Successive Slidings of Displeasure: The Anti-50 Shades of Grey Campaigns
Any publication on the culture beat has been inundated by emails and pitches tied to anti-50 Shades of Grey campaigns. It’s predictable enough that the easily-alarmed conservatives at, say, Breitbart.com would be on that beat, but once you start delving into the tangled coalition against the Walmart-friendly BDSM adaptation, things get more interesting. There are certainly opponents who merely worry about a surge of libertinism overtaking the land, but they’ve done an uncharacteristically good job of making some unlikely alliances, and they’re just the tip of the fragmented iceberg. Let’s start simple, with organizations whose names aren’t entirely straightforward about the interests they represent. The National […]
by Vadim Rizov on Feb 10, 2015 -
Trailer Watch: 50 Shades of Grey, Now with More Plot and Money
In the second trailer for 50 Shades of Grey, we get a much clearer overview of the plot trajectory: successful corporate boy meets shy journalist girl for interview, later runs into her and asks her “Are you free?” Meaning, presumably, both schedule-wise and also with reference to her soul/libido. Then out come the S&M tools. The big change from the first trailer is that the emphasis is equally split between the softcore elements and what Tom Wolfe once deemed the “plutographic,” i.e. the graphic depiction of the acts and vices of the rich. Look for lots of private jet plane rides and […]
by Vadim Rizov on Nov 14, 2014 -
Watch: The 50 Shades of Grey Trailer
“I don’t do romance. My tastes are very…singular.” The keenly anticipated, much-hyped first full trailer for 50 Shades of Grey is now here, having debuted during the Today show earlier today (corporate synergy at its finest: distributor Universal also owns NBC). Jamie Dornan glowers impassively, Dakota Johnson stares into his eyes, and eventually the whips come out. Director Sam Taylor-Johnson has certainly come a long way since 2006, when she directed an eight-minute short of a man masturbating in Death Valley for the arthouse porn anthology Destricted. “I find the whole porn thing a bit creepy,” she said at the […]
by Vadim Rizov on Jul 24, 2014 -
Trailer Watch: The 50 Shades of Grey Teaser
If you’re looking for where movie marketing is in 2014, this is it. Last night Beyonce posted to her Instagram a short 15 second teaser for Sam Taylor Wood’s anticipated 50 Shades of Grey, whose official trailer is due to drop this week. A balcony, thigh caress and a key in the lock, scored to a stripped down “Crazy in Love” — that’s all it is, but the simulated intimacy of the Instagram platform and Bey’s implied endorsement (as well as her high, but tastefully hidden, follower count) make this a better buy for Universal than any network TV buy.
by Scott Macaulay on Jul 20, 2014
