Wandering back to elderly post on Harry Potter, it occurred to me that there is a certain type of hyperintellectual personality that is unable to enjoy any work of art that does not have any depiction of overt sexuality, and who therefore are unable to understand how anyone else could have any sort of interest in a book or movie or what-have-you that did not have a scene of someone humping someone else (or at least have a lot of thinly-disguised allusions to sex, sexual organs, and so on). See the frequent utterances of commenters in the thread complaining that there is "no sex" in the Potter books (about a character who is a preteen and then only a young teen, yet).
Also, the "sex" so sought is invariably that which traditional society once saw fit to call "deviant" -- everything but sex between husband and wife for purposes of procreation -- but which these days is almost boring in its ubiquitousness if not its respectability. In other words, maybe there was something to those admonitions of bourgeois grandparents to their charges to "get your nose out of that book before you go blind!"
Posted by Andrea Harris at September 10, 2003 11:21 PMyou may just have something there, Andrea.
I've often plead (pleaded?) to a lack of sophistication because I am totally icked-out by the gratuitous sex scene (usually either a rape or other "unnatural" act) dropped in the middle of what was, otherwise, perfectly enjoyable historical fiction or novel. I would always wail "why did they have to DO that?" Of course - to please the certain hyperintellectual personalities who are usually the sort who review books.
Posted by: ricki at September 11, 2003 at 08:23 AMI am fully capable of enjoying a work of art that has no overt sexuality.
I just happen to like overt sexuality, too. Overt, graphic, slightly (or extremely) deviant...uh, excuse me...
Posted by: Ken Summers at September 11, 2003 at 09:46 AMOf course, there's the type of fan that prefers to see overt sexuality in books where there is none, and then to write fanfiction and essays claiming that various characters engage in all sorts of sexual acts. For some reason, homosexual liasions between two male characters are very popular with a certain type of female fan. In any case, these fans definitely claim that there is, in fact, sex in the Harry Potter books.
Posted by: John Thacker at September 11, 2003 at 12:38 PMFlat Frodo has arrived!
http://www.brazoscantina.com/archives/000106.html
Posted by: Sharon at September 11, 2003 at 12:41 PMOh, grow up, Andrea.
Anyone with an ounce of introspection knows that Western Civilization's entire problem is that everyone in America (except for intelligent, thoughtful, introspective, and caring liberals) is horribly sexually repressed. The masses need to be educated on their horrible sexual repression, and ultimately, only art which reveals this horrible repression can lead us to a better world.
Yeesh. What's wrong with you?
It's all about fear of the vagina, and our latent homosexuality. You know that. Why deny it? You reactionary tool of the establishment, you.
Posted by: Dean Esmay at September 11, 2003 at 05:04 PMYou've pegged me. I'm really a homosexual male trapped in a woman's body. (Snicker.)
Posted by: Andrea Harris at September 11, 2003 at 09:08 PMReally. You all must learn about Freud. There is sex in everything! There must be. I assure you that even in the life of the amoeba there must be sex! And I'll find it somewhere...
As Andrea said... "(Snicker)".
Posted by: Kathy K at September 12, 2003 at 08:34 PMLast I checked, no sane fanfiction writer claimed that fanfiction was real, although sometimes the subtext is confirmed to be real by the creators.
Of course, Potter fandom seems to have an exceptionally high percentage of wackjobs.
Posted by: Mel at September 17, 2003 at 07:23 PM