A few words on '50 Shades of Grey'

With the great hype for the now record-breaking opening box office for the movie “50 Shades of Grey,” which I knew I was never going to see, I posted links on Saturday to a review by Claudia Puig at USA Today (she’s Catholic) and an insightful essay from Kirsten Anderson from LifeSiteNews.com (not my usual go-to place for commentary, but this one is exceptional). The site is promoting a boycott of the film, but history shows that boycotting movies and any kind of media just makes it more tantalizing. 

In the run-up to the movie’s opening, I was surprised at the promotional efforts of NBC’s “Today” show in the daily banter of the hosts and beyond. (They keep saying their show is family-friendly.) But of course: The film was released by Universal, and Universal owns NBC and the “Today” show. Therefore, nothing like critique coming from that quarter.

I also posted a link to the Vatican’s 1989 document on pornography and violence, an easy read. It’s a response, too, not a reaction that provides information for guidance when it comes to entertainment media.

Here’s a link to my blog at Patheos: ’50 Shades’ — it ‘lacks grey matter’ and ‘why it’s so wildly popular’