FIFTY SHADES OF OPERANT CONDITIONING

by Alex Fontana

"I know very well that these transgressions are not really transgressive, but are just artificial coloring serving to re-emphasize the grayness of social reality." 

Slavoj Zizek

I admit it, I caved. Curiosity peaked, and the phenomenon of "mommy porn" just would not go away, so I admit it: I watched Fifty Shades of Grey, and now I have to take a long, long shower, mostly for the tackiness and hammy acting, which I'm not sure will ever wash away.

I was not scandalized by the film; it was rather a tamed and unimaginative version of La Belle et la Bête. For the mature, emotionally stable adult, the film was a flop as a stimulant, neither appetizing sexually nor artistically; it was just a dud, hardly worthy of review. The dangerous and noteworthy thing about the film lies in its tipping point as a cultural phenomenon, and its influence on younger people or those with immature minds.

BEYOND PRUDERY AND PERVERSION

by Keith Preston

Of the various manifestations of the egalitarian cultural revolution that has transpired in the Western world over the past half century, none have been quite so enduring or become so deeply rooted in the culture of modern society as the so-called “sexual revolution.” Indeed, it might well be argued that even the supposed commitment of Western cultural elites in the early twenty-first century to the ethos of racial egalitarianism is not quite as profound as their commitment to the preservation and expansion of the victories of the sexual revolution. The sexual revolution itself brings with it many of its own manifestations. These include the now prevailing feminist ethos, the liberalization of both popular opinion and public legislation concerning sexual conduct, abortion and contraception, divorce, the normalization of homosexuality accompanied by the growth of powerful homosexual political interest groups, and the identification of an ever-growing list of “gender identity” or “sexual orientation” groups who are subsequently assigned their position in the Left’s pantheon of the oppressed.