Fifty Shades of Grey surprisingly funny romantic comedy

With all the media attention it’s been getting my curiosity got the better of me and last night I decided to go see the film version of Fifty Shades of Grey.

Possibly because I’ve read quite a bit of the books and was expecting much worse I found the film surprisingly funny and watchable. Played for laughs as a sort of quirky romantic comedy FSOG takes a tongue in cheek approach to its source material. Opening scenes of the female lead looking up the monstrously phallic “Grey Tower” office block and later shots of her pouty lips nibbling the tip end of a “Grey Industries” pen were laugh out loud funny examples of over the top sexual innuendo being played to almost camp effect.

Dakota Johnson’s Anastasia Steele has an unkempt, wide-eyed innocence that reminded me of Doris Day at her most amusing. With all the best lines in the film, Johnson’s portrayal brought a depth, credibility and dry humor to the role that were sadly missing in the book. The scene in Grey’s office where the two leads negotiate the all important “contract” was probably the high point of the movie for me – a scene I don’t remember and can’t find in the book.

That FSOG is such a watchable movie is a testament to the talent of the Director, Sam Taylor-Johnson, who reportedly had major battles with an author that wanted more of the books tedious, kinky sex scenes in the film. It’s a fight paid off. FSOG may not be worth the ticket price at the movies but it’s a pretty respectable option for those of us who like painting our nails in front of the telly on a Sunday night.

My first Fibonacci

... and here they are ... my first attempts of Fibnacci

We
cried
for the
stranded whales
on farewell spit while
eating our tuna steak and chips

How
like
it is
to a cat
dying, a rubber
duck sinking in a luke warm bath
when you realise no one wants to hear your crappy poem

They look so pretty!

NZ Poetry Society (NZPS) New Look Monthly Meetings off to a great start

The NZ Poetry Society's new look monthly meetings got off to a great start last night with an open mic followed by a poetry workshop facilitated by NZPS President Lonnard Dean Watkins. This was the first of the "new look" NZPS monthly meetings. Instead of the usual open mic and feature poet these sessions have been re-purposed to provide an opportunity for poets to get feedback and workshop in a small, safe group with experienced facilitators. Something NZPS sees as missing in the Wellington poetry community.

Last night Lonnard introduced us to the Fibonacci form which to quote wikipedia is typically "a six line, 20 syllable poem with a syllable count by line of 1/1/2/3/5/8". We had a look at some examples from the Fib Review before taking it for a test drive ourselves. The results were pretty good for a first attempt and it was a really fun night.

I'm really looking forward to the next session, 7.30pm at the Thistle Inn on the 3rd Monday of the month.

Details on the NZPS website.

Just because women like kinky books doesn't mean you can rape them

I've been feeling really uncomfortable with all the recent posts suggesting Fifty Shades of Grey promotes sexual violence against women. What particularly unnerves me about these posts is the tacit implication that since the books were written by and are primarily read by women, women are somehow responsible for sexual violence. It's a "she had it coming because she read that book" kind of an argument.

I have waded through a fair bit of all three Shades of Grey books and I'm not a fan. My objections to them are founded on the violence being perpetrated against characterization and the English language, not the subject matter. That the books are almost universally considered badly written and sit outside the artistic establishment is probably what makes them an easy target for moral outrage. There are plenty of books and movies about dominance and seduction: Secretary (2002), Quill (2000) and the Piano (1993) are just three works on this theme that played to critical acclaim.

Power and sex go together like cheese and wine. Stories of innocent girls redeeming arrogant, un-likeable, impossibly rich, handsome men are the bread and butter of the romantic fiction tradition and can be traced back at least as far as Eliza Bennet and Mr Darcy. They reflect a real life fascination many women (and arguably men do this too) have with unsuitable partners. As much as you know you should be giving your body to nerdy looking guys who volunteer on disabled youth camps you inevitably seem to end up in bed with the ultra-good-looking marketing executive who talks about nothing but his car and gym workouts.

Love and attraction have almost zero connection to rational logic. Sex has even less.
The problem I have with the moral critics of Shades of Grey is that they seem to want to blame our fantasies, failings and indiscretions for sexual violence. What is at play with these posts is a good old fashioned call for moral censorship of artistic freedoms based on that old chestnut "the public good". Sexual violence isn't the fault of sick, twisted individuals it's the fault of the naughty books and movies that objectify women. Next it'll be the fault of all that provocative clothing and makeup. Then just walking down the street by yourself at night without a male relative will become justification for rape.

That's why, much as I might not like Fify Shades of Grey, I do like that I live in a country where women have the freedom to write and read it.

Between the Lines - circus and poetry show

Last night Mum, He-Who-Does-Not-Want-To-Be-Named (HWDNWTBN) and I went to “Between the Lines”, a whimsical amalgamation of circus, poetry and dance playing at BATS Theatre from 3^rd to 14^th February 2015. Originally performed outdoors as part of the Wellington Fringe Festival the new and improved show at BATs has a bunch of new acts, a bigger cast and of course wonderful poetry by Genevieve Fowler.

Circus has been experiencing a world-wide resurgence over recent years as demonstrated by the success of shows like “EMPIRE”, which visited New Zealand in late 2014. “Between the Lines” is home-grown Wellington Circus originally conceived by Tess Munro Pedreros and performed by Tess along with Evelyn Coulson, Andrea Knox and Rebekah Jeromson.

Andrea’s Aerial Silks solo was a real highlight for me, the use of a wind machine to make the silks look like sheets blowing in the wind had a transformative depth that gave me that lovely tingly feeling I get when the art-magic happens. What the socks got up to when they were left out on the line at night was also a stand-out and anyone who has ever enjoyed the guilty pleasure of spinning on a Rotary Washing Line is sure to love the indulgent finale.

The performances were held together by the poetry, read by Genevieve, which explored laundry related themes such as domesticity, fashion and family. The poems were on-sale in zine form for a modest donation after the show - probably the best value poetry purchase I’ll make this year.