I have no plans to see Fifty Shades of Grey. I read the book and that was enough for me. For what it’s worth, I’ve heard that film is better than the book, that they strengthened the Anastasia character and made her likeable and charming. Which is nice, because Ana was awful in the book. She was flavorless, a dishrag, a whining, perpetually tear-stained mess. There were many treatises and “think pieces” written about Anastasia and Christian Grey’s relationship, whether it was truly consensual and loving, or whether it was an abusive relationship dressed up like BDSM. Since I can only speak to the book characters, I’ll just say that their relationship made me uncomfortable and yes, I think Christian crossed the line several times into fitting the description of an abuser.

I wasn’t alone – many people do believe the book and the film represent a glorification of abuse, and there were some protests against the film. When Dakota Johnson sat down for an interview with TV2, she was asked about the protests and the assessment that Ana was Christian’s victim rather than his romantic partner. Dakota disagrees.

Speaking in a video interview with Kjersti Flaa for TV2 about criticism that Christian’s treatment of her character is abusive, Dakota Johnson, who plays Anastasia Steele, said: ‘I think that is an uneducated opinion. Maybe because I know more about the BDSM world, so it makes sense to me, but everything that these characters do, they make the decision to do it.’

Domestic violence campaigners in America and the UK called for a boycott of the film when it was released last month because they believed it ‘glorified’ and ‘romanticised’ abuse against women. The National Center on Sexual Exploitation launched a campaign titled Fifty Shades Is Abuse, which urged people to donate to local women’s shelters instead of buying movie tickets. In London, feminist campaigners, Fifty Shades Is Domestic Abuse, said the novel dangerously romanticises the idea that women can fix broken men.

Defending the film, Dakota added: ‘Christian doesn’t abuse Ana. She’s not a victim. She’s not a sad, weak-minded, passive person. She’s strong and confident and is exploring her body and her sexuality in a private environment with somebody that she loves. And, you know, it’s a movie.’

[From The Daily Mail]

Ana is “not a sad, weak-minded, passive person”??? YES SHE IS. At least she was in the book. She was always crying! She started guzzling endless amounts of alcohol to numb herself to Christian’s sexual and emotional demands. He literally orders her around, tells her what to eat, what to wear and he even tells her what birth control she should use. There were like a million examples of the Fifty Shades of Sketchiness in the book.

Now, all that being said… Dakota didn’t write it. The way I see it, she’s just defending her portrayal of a screwed up character in a screwed up situation. I don’t think Dakota should be slammed for this. Go yell at E.L. James.

Photos courtesy of WENN.