The Fifty Shades of Grey movie has caused a lot of people to stick up their noses and scowl, mainly over the provocative content. Unfortunately, that’s what happens when your film is based on a BDSM-filled erotic novel that just so happens to have gotten its start as Twilight fan fiction. What’s unexpected, however, is the latest protest one particular organization is making over the film, as it doesn’t seem to take much issue with its sexual atmosphere in the story.
According to The Hollywood Reporter, a new online campaign called #50dollarsnot50shades launched last week and is seeking both a boycott of Fifty Shades of Grey as well as donations to support battered women. While the campaign and its supporters don’t necessarily seem to be taking a stance against the explicit BDSM content, they do claim that the film glamorizes violence against women. The executive director of the National Center on Sexual Exploitation (NCSE), one of the campaign’s supporters, stated on the organization’s website:
Hollywood is advertising the Fifty Shades story as an erotic love affair, but it is really about sexual abuse and violence against women.
As such, the #50dollarsnot50shades movement is calling for audiences to not see Fifty Shades of Grey when it debuts on Valentine’s Day weekend and instead donate the money they would have spent on a popcorn, drinks, movie ticket and babysitter to charities that support abused women. The NCSE is not only one who is taking a stand. While the campaign’s Facebook page has 4,232 likes, groups promoting it include London Abused Women's Centre and Stop Porn Culture.
As of now, neither E.L. James, author of the original book series, Universal Studios or the main stars have responded to the controversy. But according to the organizers of the campaign, speaking with The Washington Times, the response has so far been miraculous. They say that they’ve received confirmation a number of contributions made to domestic violence organizations around the country, and in just six days time they’ve accrued 1,200 followers on social media.
This is the latest uproar to make headlines in light of Fifty Shades of Grey. Though its star, Jamie Dornan, keep reiterating that the film is more than just about sex, the NSFW content has been causing a stir in the US and the actor’s home country. Recently, the film was given an 18 certificate in the UK, which is pretty much the equivalent of an NC-17, while a movie theater in the UK banned one of the film’s posters in light of its scandalous nature. In the US, some have been saying that the film’s R rating doesn’t properly inform people of the graphic nature of the film - even though director Sam Taylor-Johnson has said that she and her team had to edit down the original draft quite a bit in order to make the R rating.
Fifty Shades of Grey has been bound to create a ruckus ever since the adaptation was announced, but the #50dollarsnot50shades campaign seems to be picking up steam. Do you think the supporters have a valid claim?
