Sex Sells!
Sex can sell. No matter what you believe, we can all agree to a certain degree that sex has an influential appeal over the human mind. It attracts our attention and can hold it for some time, whether it is out of intrigue or disgust. For some, sex is an absolute taboo topic; there is to be no talking about it and there is certainly to be no exposure to it. That seems almost silly in our 21st century society where you would think sex would not be considered such a delicate subject when it creeps into our lives outside of the privacy of our bedrooms. Growing up I remember wondering if society has always been so sexual and since I was young, I wouldn’t have understood anything, or if sex has become more accessible in my day and age allowing it to dominate our social media, pop culture, and advertising. Sex will grab our attention and will make us remember an advert in a magazine that features a half-naked Ryan Reynolds. Who cares if it was for men’s denim jeans, something a female wouldn’t buy for herself, but there’s the chance that she recommend the brand to her brother, male co-worker, or any of her male friends. It may not be the best brand out there, but that doesn’t matter because Ryan Reynolds wore them and he is attractive.
Unfortunately, this is how advertising works. It taps into our desires and makes us believe that a certain product will give us our fantasy. This is seen is almost every fragrance commercial out there. Two lovers roam around the streets of Paris destined to find each other under the Eiffel Tower as they fall madly in love, and all because both wore Lancome’s fragrance. We are convinced that if we wear the perfume as well then we might be able to sweep some man off their feet. This is not true, but it feeds our imaginations and our desires to a point where we remember the advert and will buy the product because of the advert.
With sex being the main character here, and not romance, I would like to discuss the way sex is advertised in honour of ‘Fifty Shades of Darker’ appearing on the big screen. ‘Fifty Shades of Grey’ is undoubtedly a huge success which took bookstores and cinemas by storm. The emergence of the books gave everyone a free ticket to indulge in their secret naughty fantasies openly without having to be ashamed that of it. But despite the book’s mediocrity and questionable writing skill, we have to give ‘Fifty Shades of Grey’ and E.L. James credit where it’s due. We have to admit they have done something fundamental in society: it has brought sex into the limelight, but not just ‘sex’, it’s kinky, unfiltered sex delving into the realm of BDSM, a theme which is at the centre of the narrative. People became more adventurous and less embarrassed, but why?
Having porn featured in books is nothing new. E.L. James did nothing shockingly brand new with her books. All you have to do is walk into any bookstore and browse through the romance section and hidden amongst those sappy love stories will be extracts purely consisting of sex written clearly for the reader to fantasise over. You could take it even further and simply google books that feature pornographic scenes and you are bound to have quite a list to get through. So what exactly is ‘Fifty Shades of Grey’ doing in order to get our attention? It all comes down to the way it was advertised.
I would say that when it comes to literature we crave certain things when it comes to the story — we either want relatability or we want a fantasy, a place where we can escape to. I have picked up books purely based on the fact that the author has written and possibly experienced something that I went through and it comforts me to know that I am not alone in that retrospect. Yet the other books I will pick up usually are something I cannot relate to, allowing my creative mind to gear up and start to have some fun. I doubt anyone who is deciding to read or watch ‘Fifty Shades’ is doing so because they can identify with the characters and their absurd contractional and intense relationship. No, people are picking up the books because they know it’s about sex. We can see it immediately with the titles and covers of all three books. They look mysterious and a little dark — hinting at the very nature of the story line itself. The images of featured on the covers don’t necessarily match up to the titles, but they are images that make our minds wonder about a possible romance.
I find that the movies were better advertised for this idea of sex selling. The trailers are filled with scenes that are heavily lenient towards the sexual aspect of their relationship, showing nothing more than the idea that the whole movie will be about their intimacy. The dialogue we are exposed to is mysterious and doesn’t suggest anything too complicated of a storyline — again we get the idea that the movie will be solely about their relationship and the sex involved in it. Even the music creates an atmosphere that is steamy and indulgent. The audience will watch the film knowing exactly what they’re getting. As I said previously, the audience are allowed to engage with fantasy without having to be embarrassed about it as there will be thousands of people going to see the movie as well for the exact same reason.
The saga is trying to normalise sex in society, saying that it’s okay to want to watch something that is usually considered a private subject, and although it still seems like a forbidden thing to acknowledge, we have to accept that it will always be a dominant part of our society.
