What’s to be Learned from the Popularity of 50 Shades?
U-Tube Reviews
In my periodic scans of reviews and comments about 50 Shades to learn what I can about what reader reactions, I found a few U-Tube reviews by young readers (mostly women it seems), giving a flavor for the type of audience attracted to the book and reasons for liking it. Of course, there are several U-tube bits from those who didn’t like the book due to its poor writing, unsympathetic characters or unsatisfactory plot development. From a sales perspective, all who buy generate revenues, but I focused on those who liked the book to see why:
What is to be learned here for us writers in the erotica market with reader audience of the sort seen on these videos? Some thoughts:
Romance and character rule. If the characters are sympathetic and interesting to a reader and transforming toward love (a la much romance), readers can encompass the dominance and submission portrayed in 50 Shades and put aside political and social overlays. If “true” love emerges, readers will go the distance on S&M, maybe any distance. Perhaps this is an old lesson, but still worth noting, as we have women in love with a “beast’ in Beauty and the Beast, a “phantom” in Phantom of the Opera, not to mention in love with vampires and aliens in other books, films and plays. It seems starting with the unlikely and making it believable is a tried and true path, though of course not easy.
Lacking writing style can be forgiven. Apparently, at least to some, erotica is not expected to be well written, or poor writing is noticed but secondary if character development and story line bring one along. Of course, there’s nothing to say we can’t have good writing too.
S&M still has grab. In spite of the flood of books of varying types tinged with bondage, S&M is still a bit on the edge for some erotica readers. So, it can add spice and a little squirm in reading at the fringe. S&M of the sort in 50 Shades can be accommodated by the likes of the readers here. How? As an aberration of a wounded but sympathetic character; or as a way to let a lover take over and let yourself go; or as a fall from personal principle against how sex and love should be, but deserved in an otherwise hard pressed or straight arrow life; or as a presumed common but unspoken female fantasy and as such, interesting to explore. On the last point, writers may wish to feed on that presumption, skirt it or rage against it. Either way, the field is open to address it, even with intelligence, one might hope.
Know your audience. For those interested in creating deeper, more complex and literary takes on dominance and submission than seen in 50 Shades, this U-tube audience by and large is not your audience. Looking at the videos, one can’t imagine these are readers of Pauline Reage (Anne Desclos) or Anais Nin, for example. Obviously the age, education and reading experience of an audience defines its tastes, and clearly there are more and less sophisticated (way less) reader audiences. The lesson for writers is to know, before embarking, your likely primary audience and how it matches up with your own writing tastes and abilities. Then, there’s the small matter of reaching that specific audience with what you create.
U-Tube Reviews
In my periodic scans of reviews and comments about 50 Shades to learn what I can about what reader reactions, I found a few U-Tube reviews by young readers (mostly women it seems), giving a flavor for the type of audience attracted to the book and reasons for liking it. Of course, there are several U-tube bits from those who didn’t like the book due to its poor writing, unsympathetic characters or unsatisfactory plot development. From a sales perspective, all who buy generate revenues, but I focused on those who liked the book to see why:
- You be the judge. At first, I thought the young woman speaking here was doing a clever put on, but then I concluded she was not. Through her fragile, lip chewing, self-conscious, sex starved manner, she gives her take on dominance as “the most common fantasy in women to be completely submissive to a man … and I guess I kinda get that because they are so powerful, you want to just lay back and be submissive.” Here: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aN3qQ52a4dk
- Then, we have the reader who seems blithely unaware of any sexual dominance, right down to looking up “flogging” for its meaning, if I’m hearing her correctly, and feeling embarrassed about reading the book, wide eyed, nearly apologetic, but clearly liking the fact she opened a door to sexual behavior she knew nothing about. Her perceived little transgression seems to tickle her. Here: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Y0e20Cn_67o&feature=related
- The same woman claims “there is something wired in a woman’s DNA that appreciates a man being a man … telling you what you should and should not do.” She assures us 50 Shades is just a book, so just enjoy. “It’s make believe. It’s not true” and thus “not degrading to women.” And, “it’s not chauvinistic, I promise you.” She half jokes she has taken to biting her lip like Anastasia hoping “Christian will show up ... and maybe it will work for you.” And by “work,” she means getting a handsome, rich man. Here: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SLphVm_o76I&feature=relmfu
- A measured, well-spoken reader dismisses criticisms of abuse and finds the characters compelling. She is sympathetic to Anastasia because she is young and inexperienced and searching; she is sympathetic to Christian because he has a troubled past involving the early death of his crack addicted mother, and was tortured by a pimp by burning him with cigarettes. She is sympathetic to the story line because while he acted in abusive ways, Anastasia rescues him from himself showing him “another side of himself and other people … people he never knew he could love.” In short, she finds uplifting transformation with the brutal dominance secondary and forgiven given his past and his awakening. It is “not just degrading, a step back for women.” It also is not “overly S&M” in her view. Here: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=h9bJoxEoTUk&feature=related
- Another young woman reader who liked it felt the S&M portrayed had rules and guidelines, and these were negotiated, and so things were “safe.” As to the S&M itself, she says it is “light core.” And, “Christian doesn’t take advantage of Anastasia. After all, she is 21 and a virgin … she deserves an orgasm.” Sex in submission, then, is comprehensible and allowable after long starving, as a kind of just counterweight to living so purely or righteously for so long. And, the reader notes, poor writing style can be forgiven because it’s only “erotica” as if some lowly form of literature. Here: [Oops – lost the link]
- Referring to the second 50 Shades book, this reader says, “What kept me reading was development of Christian's character.” She also notices the poor writing style but says it improves in this volume. A favorite scene: when Christian “falls to his knees and offers to become her submissive to show how much he cares about her.” However, she claims the end of book 2 should have been the end as characters “had their version of happy ever after.” She feels the last book adds “unnecessary drama and tension.” Anastasia finding herself pregnant “was not needed.” On the sub-dom action, she feels the books do not harm women because “Anastasia winds up hurting Christian way more than he hurts her.” She leaves him, apparently, “because she can’t accept his lifestyle.” Here: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=r4pSCEtCUWM&feature=related
- Reader claims sometimes you want to get away from all the “fussing” of hectic living and have someone tell you, “Lie down. I’m going to do this.” That, she says, “would be awesome.” And, “men go out and watch strippers and get aroused and come home and imagine you as the stripper. We’ll this book, ladies, is YOUR stripper.” So, there is a sense here of taking men on, matching them in their freewheeling pursuit of arousal. Here: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ngbdIi9S5_8&feature=related
- Reader claims about book 1, “At first their relationship is “an arrangement” but later turns into “something beautiful.” Christian is sympathetic here because of a crack head mom who dies early leaving him for adoption, making him understandable with latitude to be as he is. The match up to Anastasia as insecure, forming young woman creates a “whirlwind” affair, a good fit. She is very “human” and “relatable.” But the reader feels she is not weak down deep, which also is attractive: “she knows what she is and isn’t.” “What’s crazy is he wants more than simply the sub-dom world he’s had (in his bondage playroom with many women) and she does too.” He is “really, really dominant” and “I don’t know if I could deal with that daily, daily ... it’s not butterflies and kisses … but she’s bringing it out of him.” The reader also notes he brings her to meet his parents which he’s never done with another woman, a compelling act on the road to full and lasting love, it seems. She says, “He has stalker tendencies which is creepy but is endearing in the craziest way I don’t understand.” Perhaps Christian’s obsession for Anastasia is as attractive as repellant. Overall, the reader says: “This book makes you want Christian, a guy like him.” [Sorry, no link]
What is to be learned here for us writers in the erotica market with reader audience of the sort seen on these videos? Some thoughts:
Romance and character rule. If the characters are sympathetic and interesting to a reader and transforming toward love (a la much romance), readers can encompass the dominance and submission portrayed in 50 Shades and put aside political and social overlays. If “true” love emerges, readers will go the distance on S&M, maybe any distance. Perhaps this is an old lesson, but still worth noting, as we have women in love with a “beast’ in Beauty and the Beast, a “phantom” in Phantom of the Opera, not to mention in love with vampires and aliens in other books, films and plays. It seems starting with the unlikely and making it believable is a tried and true path, though of course not easy.
Lacking writing style can be forgiven. Apparently, at least to some, erotica is not expected to be well written, or poor writing is noticed but secondary if character development and story line bring one along. Of course, there’s nothing to say we can’t have good writing too.
S&M still has grab. In spite of the flood of books of varying types tinged with bondage, S&M is still a bit on the edge for some erotica readers. So, it can add spice and a little squirm in reading at the fringe. S&M of the sort in 50 Shades can be accommodated by the likes of the readers here. How? As an aberration of a wounded but sympathetic character; or as a way to let a lover take over and let yourself go; or as a fall from personal principle against how sex and love should be, but deserved in an otherwise hard pressed or straight arrow life; or as a presumed common but unspoken female fantasy and as such, interesting to explore. On the last point, writers may wish to feed on that presumption, skirt it or rage against it. Either way, the field is open to address it, even with intelligence, one might hope.
Know your audience. For those interested in creating deeper, more complex and literary takes on dominance and submission than seen in 50 Shades, this U-tube audience by and large is not your audience. Looking at the videos, one can’t imagine these are readers of Pauline Reage (Anne Desclos) or Anais Nin, for example. Obviously the age, education and reading experience of an audience defines its tastes, and clearly there are more and less sophisticated (way less) reader audiences. The lesson for writers is to know, before embarking, your likely primary audience and how it matches up with your own writing tastes and abilities. Then, there’s the small matter of reaching that specific audience with what you create.