Normal

As the British public seek to find a level after a recent terror attack, im left with a number of thoughts and I’d like to look away from that. However, I wonder if the events in Westminster will be hijacked by those who seek an agenda for a different way of interacting with society…

In a similar way, I’ve noticed that there is a slight drift towards the normalisation of sexual violence in film. In the last 50 years there has been a gradual loosening of the reins surrounding ‘morality’ and as a direct result we are facing some of the most complex questions regarding sex and sexuality. But overall we have got to the point where it is perfectly fine to have pornographic material as general entertainment – Game of Thrones. 

Moving on from there, I would dare to suggest that the recent film releases: Elle (18) by Paul Verhoeven, A cure for wellness – Gore Verbinski (18) and Nocturnal Animals (15) by Tom Ford (15 for goodness sake!), mark a shift to allowing sexual violence to be part of ‘entertainment’. They’re not the first; Gaspar Noe’s rather hard watch ‘Irreversible'(18), has violent rape as its central plot point but at least had the good grace to slip into the ‘extreme cinema’ category and not be widely available. 

This denotes a contempt for women and a distinct lack of any kind of understanding of the damaging effects of sexual exploitation on the mind of the viewer.  I understand that some would throw their hands in he air and label me a ‘prude’ but I’d rather that than see the contemptuous and sneering disrespect that is shown towards women and society by this shift.

Sex and porn addiction are damaging and this kind of thing begins to make it normal and it ought to stop.