Natural Freedom

Surprised no one has brought this up yet, so I will.

Fifty Shades of Gray Trilogy

Wikipedia entry : http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fifty_Shades_of_Grey --

UK Sales figures from : http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/entertainment-arts-18547252 --

Discuss

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In building a statue, a sculptor doesn't keep adding clay to his subject.He keeps chiseling away at the inessentials until the truth of its creation is revealed without obstructions. Perfection is not when there is no more to add,but no more to take away.

I heard about this book they said its basically porn, its been the talk at my job for sometime beyond that I don't much about this book.

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~There's weakness in the hearts of all humans are you afraid to acknowledge yours... ~
Mr. Todo

I'll let the forum at large do the heavy lifting on this one, brother.

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EVERYTHING in life is conditional...EVERYTHING.

Pimposophy Revisited is now finally available on Amazon in all territories!

never heard about this book but it sounds like porn. If it really is like porn - porn sells...

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"a sniper is the worst romancer, he never makes the first move"

Porn is a huge industry, so making a socially acceptable version of it would allow people to buy it without feeling shameful/guilty in public, thus the large sale numbers?

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Take it easy, man. But take it.

Its rather pitiful that women now have to resort to reading books to feed their needs.

It isn't just now. It's been this way for some time. Romance novels are the highest selling books in the industry.

The "Image" male, I'm not sure what else to call him, is a type of man that every woman wants. This man has features about his personality and actions that make him a "true" man.

You see, the writer can be vague, the catacombs of fantasy and reality intertwine in the ink of a book. A woman's fantasy is really what gets her to choose a man. It is an appeal to vanity because she cannot have what is in the pages of the book. Most fantasy is this such appeal.

A similar thread goes for the male. He reads the novel, and the novel propels his tendency to view women erotically to knew heights. Fantasy allows him to have 2 hours with a women couldn't have for 2 seconds.

Further, the book would sell because it creates the canonical "trick" relationship. A wealthy business man, we have all dreamed of something similar to that. The parasitic "ho" that has a body banging more than coke bottle completes the farce. The book is playing on the way the matrix is built.

The book's cross appeal to less acceptable sexual practices are another appeal to the matrix. primarily driven by attention starvation, men and women engage in bondage, submission, and BDSM. Lack of attention is generally equated in the human mind to lack of power. A book that glorifies these appeal to power practices would give an ego boost to people in this less accepted sub-culture of the world.

When people can identify with the object of attention they accord that object with value. So, since the book identifies to many different groups a slice of the value pie is given to the book.

I would argue that because the book is so popular now, sales are still running high because people want to be seen as valuable for knowing about or owning the book. Monkey see monkey do.

Edit: one can make the case, that if there is sexual satisfaction to be found in the book then the book is nothing like porn at all. The book would be very much similar to prostitution, the oldest profession in the world. The difference between the book and porn is that the book is mental and porn is visual. Prostitution is mental/physical so it would be closer in similarity to the book. One thing to remember about porn is that it requires no imagination. The fantasy is already presented and you cannot tailor the porn fantasy to what you specifically want. With prostitution and an erotic novel, you can tailor your fantasy.

There's so much more to be said.

Not to steal your credit or anything, but thanks for augmenting my rather vague and lazy sentence. To be a bit clear, i meant that its pitiful that it has become so mainstream. Honestly, everything that rkd wrote is accurate (i can't think of a better word right now) and shouldn't be ignored but just to add something: Put aside the rich man and focusing purely on the relationship between the two main characters: women could, but since they're most focused on their wants rather than their needs, they decide not to. They willingly pick a weak man that will provide everything for her instead of a dominant man. (i'm assuming that in this book, its the man that is dominant.)

THIS!

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EVERYTHING in life is conditional...EVERYTHING.

Pimposophy Revisited is now finally available on Amazon in all territories!

Indeed.

You came close to hitting the nail rkd, you glanced it with your hammer. The post contains some valuable points, not the one the finger was pointing at though. You came so so close, then got distracted.

Now see if you can hit it smack on the head, straight and true.

No one has hit it yet.. There is a really deep message here, it is so out in the open that the posters so far have overlooked it.

The hints are all there in the passages I posted, if you look. Taken together with your post they have more than enough clues.

What is it in this book that is so satisfying to women that that many copies have been sold, so quickly? What nerve in the collective subconcious has it tweaked all around the world?

More to the point, what lesson can all those here take from it?

[Something I and Kidd almost constantly point out in various ways]

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In building a statue, a sculptor doesn't keep adding clay to his subject.He keeps chiseling away at the inessentials until the truth of its creation is revealed without obstructions. Perfection is not when there is no more to add,but no more to take away.

The book gives them space to be free. They can unashamedly identify and and go with their desires.

Maybe I'm wrong, but I think this has something to do with space.

Well judging by the passage you posted peregrinus, what stands out at first are the names of the books ending with 'Fifty Shades Freed'. The 'male' archetype, 'dominant', 'aggressive' and 'business magnate', which fits under marquee value, provides the freedom for women to project their erotic fantasies. What they crave for is the man who will free them to fully express their sexuality.

It's a book for women, so the female character obviously is a recent graduate, nothing spectacular, just like the average women.

There is a reason these books are labelled as "Women's literature and fiction". The same reason this particular book has been described as "Mommy porn". Women, as emotional creatures, are using this modern pseudo-form of Harlequin as a substitute of the nonexistent real men. Mommy porn = desperate housewives who are frustrated by their weak, passive husbands. Mimicry and the popularity of this book offer an invaluable excuse for them to buy the book and live the dream.

Some further points:

Its unprecedented success highlights the increasing importance and effectiveness of viral marketing.

Women have a strong desire for an independent, ambitious man with potential. They NEED to submit to this kind of men, something they cannot resist, as the sexual life between the protagonists clearly depicts. The writer distorts this message by making this man chase her like a maniac, buy her expensive objects, whatever a true symp does. Thus, this girl enjoys a man who gives her mostly what she WANTS and a bit of what she NEEDS. But since the media which promote the book emphasize the sexual BDSM relationship between the two protagonists, female readers focus on this aspect of their relationship and fantasize about the perfect man who is the one chased and seduced by them and not the other way around.

The protagonist is a stupid college graduate with insecurity, self-pity and extremely low self-esteem being her dominant traits. Her object of lust is a 27-year-old billionaire who is self-made, very attractive in appearance, has extraordinary hobbies, philanthropist. So, we have your typical girl and the perfect man. The average girl reading this will think: "If she can have him, why won't I get an opportunity?" The average woman, which is more than that (postgraduate education, a decent career etc.), thinks: "If she can have him, than I am far more likely to have someone similar or even better."

The phenomenal success of this book, which is so badly written, with so pure vocabulary, fake dialogues, nonexistent rhythm, is another evidence that the vast majority of people, mainly women, are stupid, irrational and desperate for this bdsm kind of relationship. They crave for a confident and indifferent man who will encourage and facilitate discipline and submission from their part.

Apparently there is more to this subject than meets the eye and I agree with peregrinus posting it in this thread and not in the "Movies, Books, Music, websites".

These facts make me even more proud to be an INTJ and a member of this forum.

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The opposite of courage in our society is not cowardice, it's conformity.

What does being INTJ have to do with this ?

Don't mistake the finger for the moon. I mean that, more or less, the majority of the members of this forum are rational, intuitive, judgmental thinkers whether they are INTJ, INFJ or any other minority personality type. We can understand the underlying dynamics of this hype and use it to our advantage instead of falling for it.

I believe that 95% of men (maybe more) neither want to nor can be pimp tight. And they can't because they don't want it enough (steak tastes good). But that is another issue, let's not go off-topic.

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The opposite of courage in our society is not cowardice, it's conformity.

What's interesting is that the forum is dominated by Introverted Intuitives.

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"The heart is deep beyond all things, and it is the man. Even so, who can know him."

I see... I'm an ENFJ, I think that's the rarest type amongst men, 3% or so.. That makes me probably minority in minority as I read what you wrote.. I'm not really rational, I try to but I'm more abstract and chaotic than most most men I've ever met
I don't If I can just eat steak, but I can't probably be pimp tight either... I guess I'll go for something vegetarian in the meantime..

They're as much responsible for this state of affairs as anyone else.

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"The heart is deep beyond all things, and it is the man. Even so, who can know him."

Well I'll be damned ...long time no see, Zogler!...and that's quite a welcome back post!

'Grinus...I think we have a winner.

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EVERYTHING in life is conditional...EVERYTHING.

Pimposophy Revisited is now finally available on Amazon in all territories!

I didn't read the book. But I read the text on wikipedia about the content of this book.

I noticed that he offers her a contract containing rules for their relationship. So he sets the boundaries for her to behave within. In other words he is a man that knows what he wants.