Moral watchdogs in the US have launched a furious attack on the debut trailer for much-hyped erotic romance Fifty Shades of Grey, arguing that the film normalises sexual violence.
Morality in Media said the movie cultivated a rape culture which was now permeating US society. "With the popularity of this book, mainstream opinion-makers (like Oprah, the Today Show and Broadway) are telling the public (especially youth) that humiliation, degradation and torture in sex is normal and to just give it a try," said the Washington-based group.
The anti-pornography organisation described the film's central figure, Jamie Dornan's Christian Grey as a "stalker and batterer". It said in a statement: "Is this really the kind of relationship we want our daughters, relatives and friends willingly entering into? Do we really want our sons to become Christian Greys, practicing a violent masculinity that degrades men as well?”
Meanwhile, the separate Parents Television Council attacked US network NBC for showing the trailer during its Today morning show and called for the film to receive an NC-17 rating (equivalent to an 18) from US censors. "Here's a book and a movie that are really normalising and even romanticising BDSM relationships, and I think that that's very troubling, especially the way that this romance is presented in the trailer," spokesperson Melissa Henson told the Hollywood Reporter. "It's all made to seem very romantic to a teenage girl who's watching that trailer. That's definitely going to be appealing and probably going to pique her interest and be something that she wants to see – and for parents that don't know what the book is about or what the movie is about, they may easily consent to letting their teenage daughter see this film."
Ironically, early reports have centred on fears from fans that Sam Taylor-Johnson's film might be a rather tame affair in comparison with the books, as studio Universal aims for a finished product that veers closer to romance than erotica.
Fifty Shades of Grey also stars Dakota Johnson as Anastasia Steele, the young virgin who becomes Grey's willing sex slave. Fifty Shades of Grey is expected to be the first in a trilogy based on the bestselling books by British author EL James. The first movie is due in cinemas on 13 February 2015.
• Stuart Heritage reviews the trailer
