Friday, August 29, 2014

Secretary



The movie Secretary came out when I was in high school (sorry to make anyone feel old by that statement). At that time, already an avid spanko, I was a devoted lurker of the online spanking community. (Another apology guys, those "18 and over" warnings are there to make you feel good, not to actually deter anyone under 18). So it was that the first reviews I ever saw on the movie came from fellow spankos. It seemed everyone generally liked the movie, albeit with some complaints (specifically that the female protagonist is fresh out of a mental institution at the beginning of the movie--she's institutionally crazy so she must be submissive!)

I decided in high school that I had to see for myself what this movie was all about, so I watched it...alone. I don't remember much of it. I was too young to really get it, because, although I was into spanking I was turned off by BDSM, so I did not grasp the subtle nuances of power exchange and D/s between the characters. I walked away from the movie wishing there had been more spanking scenes, hahaha.

A few days ago, my husband and I watched it for the first time together. He'd never seen it before and I hadn't seen it since high school. Holy cow, what a different experience. Let's just say I've grown up now, and I understood all the subtle nuances of the intense battle between sexual and emotional desire and societal norms/obligations.

Let's back up, though. I jumped on the 50 Shades of Grey bandwagon two years ago and read the book series all the way through in about a week. I admittedly panted through most of the spanking and sex scenes, but generally thought that the books were terribly written with a plot ripped off from Twilight (also terribly written), and characters that were about as "relatable" as a pile of cow manure.

Well, re-watching Secretary not only confirmed those suspicions that 50 Shades is absolute shit, but I also realized about, oh, 5 minutes in, that the author also jacked over half of the beautiful, subtle, and powerful niceties of this movie, starting with the name of James Spader's character, E. Edward Grey (come on, that can't be a coincidence!) It was as if E.L. James saw Secretary, read Twilight, and thought "Hey, there's an idea...except I'll make the characters even better by making one an abusive, emo, billionaire control freak who gives up pretty much all of his sexual fantasies and life goals for an unbelievably naive, virgin, vanilla college girl who thinks her man's abusive and obsessive behavior is totally "going to change for her" because they're in love, of course."

Sarcasm aside, I understand the draw of 50 Shades of Grey, I really do. There's a reason it's so god damn popular. But after watching Secretary, I thought, now here is the closest our world has ever come to being realistically depicted in Hollywood, and here we are bitching that the protagonist isn't quite as feminist/strong/normal as we would have liked. Come on, people! I think it's time we make a vow that, on February 14th, when 50 Shades of Grey hits movie theaters, we spankos/DDers/Dsers/TTWDers cozy up at home with our significant others and rent Secretary.

Whether you re-enact the scenes afterward is totally up to you.

For more information on why Secretary "should be viewed immediately" and 50 Shades of Grey never, see this article on Buzzfeed (yes, Buzzfeed!)

13 comments:

  1. Hi Autumn, it is long ago that we watched Secretary, so I don't remember all of it, but I know that I couldn't wait for her to write something wrong in the letters', so that she would be spanked, and I also remember that I did not see the reason why she should need mental problems to start working for lawyer Edward Grey.

    I know why so many hate 50 shades, and I agree with much of the criticism. But ... I still enjoyed the story, and definitely the hot scenes in it. I only thought that in the last two books, E.L.James was far too repetitive about the sex. I think my major reason why I still enjoyed most of this read was that I just took it as sex- fiction which I didn't want to think too much about. :)
    I only wished she had had a disclaimer on the first page, that what she described was far away from bdsm and safe, sane and consensual. But some of the described sex scenes make me sweat and pant to this moment.

    Nevertheless, watching Secretary in February sounds like a neat plan! I would love to watch it again.

    hugs

    Nina

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    1. Oh, don't get me wrong, the sex scenes were pretty hot in 50 Shades, but I don't usually read romance, so I don't get the "sex for sex's sake" type of reading. A disclaimer might have been a good idea, since I think many people walked away from the book expecting their new-found enthusiasm for DD or D/s to be exactly like Christian and Anastasia!

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  2. I loved Secretary and the spanking drew me in, but the nuances kept me watching it again and again. Being told to only eat 4 peas became increasingly sexy.
    As for FSoG - I read (skimmed) through the books in a week too. I treated them as fun frivolity and couldn't see what the fuss was about, I didn't even bother to see them as BDSM. The most annoying part was why these books became such big sellers. I'd been reading in the genre for much longer and there are better books out there. I don't know Twilight, so the comparisons are lost on me. E.L.James did create a bandwagon and I confess, I've happily jumped on it. From that perspective I should be pleased the market has grown, but the Secretary is a classic.

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    1. We can only hope that 50 Shades has opened the floodgates to more people requesting DD and D/s novels, right?!

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  3. I never heard of this movie, I'll have to check it out!

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    1. Whaaaaat?!! I thought everyone in this community had heard of Secretary, but I guess it was a while ago that it came out. Such a good movie--and it's not a typical "chick flick" either. My husband thought it was funny and hot!

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  4. I agree with you, Secretary is a well done movie.

    I was surprised by the BuzzFeed article; that was actually a great comparison of the two.

    A few ladies I know who are into FSOG really aren't into it for the DD, D/S, BDSM, but simply for the sex scenes. They happen to be in the doldrums of marital and family life and are just looking for a way to spice up their sex lives and aren't paying any attention the relationship portrayed. It is just romance novels up a notch or three. Like a lot of other fans of FSOG they could care less about the relationship portrayed and its relevance to alternative lifestyles. The media doesn't focus on this but on the BDSM aspect.

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    1. That's true. It is for this reason that I'm usually not a fan of romance. I want developed characters, complex plots, and clever words--and none of those things seem to happen for me in the romance genre.

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  5. I've been meaning to watch this movie actually. I read somewhere, I don't remember where, that this movie is the closest to a depiction of DD/Ds that is to be found in the media. I do have a special place in my heart for FSOG, NOT because I think it's the best writing around, but because I was so closed off prior to reading that book and it truly is what brought me into the light so to speak and incited interest in me as far as looking into BDSM/DD/etc...But overall I am with you. I have read the romance genre and will turn to it, especially when things are not super hot around here...lol! But when it comes to a good novel I prefer something much more complex and meatier so to speak!

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    1. I really must delve into the romance genre. I know when I was reading FSOG, although I hated the premise, the sex scenes were REALLY hot, and I was a bit...um...frustrated. Seriously, my husband could not keep up with my libido, lol. Those things are dangerous!

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  6. I think that is an incredibly good idea Autumn. I'll run it by Mistress K. and see what she things. We had seen it before, but for a long time and certainly not since we started our FLM. I felt I understood most of the nuances of the power exchange dynamics and as such found the movie incredibly sexy. Mistress K. (vanilla at the time) perhaps didn't, or at the very least has an opportunity to view from a completely different, more experienced point of view.

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    1. Do it! It will be the largest viewing of Secretary there ever was! Lol, no, my blog isn't popular enough for that.

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  7. Just saw it for the first time a few months ago and loved it.

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