The general decline in standards today

[LizzieMaine]

I'd never heard of this "50 Shades of Grey" thing until I saw an item about some hotel owner who'd taken the Gideon Bibles out of his hotel rooms and replaced them with copies of "50 Shades." Wonder how much the Boys From Marketing paid him to do that.

 

[Feraud]

If I checked into a hotel with a copy of that garbage in my room I'd knock the owner over the head with it..

 

[LizzieMaine]

Now that I know what it is, I wish I didn't. There have always been crappy novels -- I've read my share of cheap potboilers from the twenties -- but we seem to be setting the bar lower with every passing year. It isn't even about writing a book anymore, it's about coming up with a "media franchise" which can be marketed, marketed, marketed. Elinor Glyn is high art by comparison.

 

[V.C. Brunswick]

I'm so out of the loop when it comes to contemporary pop culture that I had to do a Google search to find out what 50 Shades of Grey is. Twenty-five years ago something like that would have been found only in certain little shops on Harbor and Garden Grove Boulevards, not Barnes & Noble! And in true porn tradition this thing started out as a rip off of the popular Twilight series. Why does that not surprise me? :doh:

 

[Tango Yankee]

From the descriptions I'd read I was under the impression that it was a ripoff of "The Story of O".

 

[MissMittens]

From the descriptions I'd read I was under the impression that it was a ripoff of "The Story of O".

Just had to Google that......now wish I didn't, lol!!

 

[jamespowers]

Media does a great disservice to readers with articles like this. They take what is a minority or abnormality in a given group and report it as "the newest thing". Readers who tend to trust anything they read online, "if they reported it it has to be true.." react accordingly.
Most reporting strikes me as nothing more than manipulative guerilla marketing.
It reminds me of they marketing hype they created for the latest bit of "mommy porn" 50 Shades of Grey. I was reading In trade journals how this book was "the hottest thing in the US" as the book hit the shelves. Marketing b.s.

Don't sell people short. Recent polls show that only 21% of people believe anything they get from the media. I am one of those people---especially when it comes to tv news on the three "minor" networks.

 

[Fletch]

Just be careful whom you do believe. There are sectors of the media that are falsely labeled Not The Media so they might be held above criticism - just as there are sectors of the government that are falsely labeled Not The Government for the same reason.

 

[PrettySquareGal]

Just be careful whom you do believe. There are sectors of the media that are falsely labeled Not The Media so they might be held above criticism - just as there are sectors of the government that are falsely labeled Not The Government, and for the same reason.

Excellent observation. Thank you.

 

[Flicka]

Because no one else said it: even erotica was better in the good old days. Like circa 1750. 2012, I'll see your 50 Shades and raise you one Fanny Hill!

 

[kamikat]

I'm so out of the loop when it comes to contemporary pop culture that I had to do a Google search to find out what 50 Shades of Grey is. Twenty-five years ago something like that would have been found only in certain little shops on Harbor and Garden Grove Boulevards, not Barnes & Noble! And in true porn tradition this thing started out as a rip off of the popular Twilight series. Why does that not surprise me? :doh:

It's not a rip off. It started as fan fic, which is completely different. If you google "fan fic", you'll find that there is a long history of fans writing their own story based of their favorite works. The authors I know who have given their approval to their fans to write fanfic, think it's flattering that their fans like their work so much that their continue the story.

 

[kamikat]

I've never in my life been in a situation where going out at night was an option. When I was young I worked in radio -- a job which required me to get up at 3 AM six days a week, so I had to be in bed by 8 PM. Now, I work nights, and when I'm finished all I want to do is eat my bowl of All-Bran and go to sleep. These people who party hearty all night long -- do they have jobs? Do they *function* in their jobs? Or do they just not care about their jobs?

It all depends on the job. Before I had kids, I was a hairdresser in salons. My usual work day was from noon-9pm, sometimes 10. That means dinner at 11, out to a club at midnight, clubs close at 2am by law here, in bed by 3am. I could get 8 hours of sleep and still be at work on time the next day. Also, it was typical for me to work on odd days. It wasn't unusual to work Thursday through Monday, so that Tuesday and Wednesday were my weekend.

 

[jamespowers]

Just be careful whom you do believe. There are sectors of the media that are falsely labeled Not The Media so they might be held above criticism - just as there are sectors of the government that are falsely labeled Not The Government for the same reason.

Anyone who claims to be impartial is not to be believed. They ALL have a bias. If they are up front with it then I can at least have a basis to go on.

 

[sheeplady]

Because no one else said it: even erotica was better in the good old days. Like circa 1750. 2012, I'll see your 50 Shades and raise you one Fanny Hill!

lol I only know one person who read 50 shades and they said it was horrible- horrible writing and horrible erotica. At least if you're going to peddle smut, peddle good smut.

 

[jamespowers]

lol I only know one person who read 50 shades and they said it was horrible- horrible writing and horrible erotica. At least if you're going to peddle smut, peddle good smut.

:rofl:

 

[Noirblack]

So what is the outlook on 50 Shades of Grey? Is it that the existence and popularity of one badly written erotic book is to be taken as evidence of the general decline in standards today? One book can hardly be taken as evidence of a general decline. Can anyone think of some good works of literature that have been written recently to help balance out the discussion?

 

[sheeplady]

So what is the outlook on 50 Shades of Grey? Is it that the existence and popularity of one badly written erotic book is to be taken as evidence of the general decline in standards today? One book can hardly be taken as evidence of a general decline. Can anyone think of some good works of literature that have been written recently to help balance out the discussion?

Although I haven't read it (and have no plans to) many people have commented that the relationship portrayed is abusive and manipulative; and that is portrayed as a good and desirable thing. I have heard the same about the twilight series in general. I think the fact that abusive relationships are portrayed in a positive light, and gobbled up by tons of people (and mainly teens, some of whom are accompanied by their mothers in being fans), suggests if not a decline in standards, at least poor standards at best.

If the best we can do for a popular erotic book is an abusive relationship, to me that suggests low standards, but I'm not sure if that's so much a decline as just being poor standards all around.

 

[Fletch]

There's been a backlash attitude from metrosexuality that says men ought to be more dominating - and women ought to go along with it.

 

[sheeplady]

There's been a backlash attitude from metrosexuality that says men ought to be more dominating - and women ought to go along with it.

I really don't think it's a backlash from metrosexuality as much as idiots who have always felt this way (that men should dominate and abuse women) and use backlashing as an excuse for openly acting like pigs.

 

[John in Covina]

Is being dominant always acting as pigs, does it always lead to abuse?

Is there no such thing as head of the household or is it always a social contract amongst equals?

In many relationships there often is a lead person an initiator. Male headship is not always the eqivilant to mysogeny.