Theres refuge in the familiar. Theres reassurance in the reliable. Theres security in the consistent. The same way we gravitate to comfort foods do we gravitate to the faithfulness of a story archetype. These are the stories that follow an unswerving narrative arc be it that of the heros quest or the unlikely romance or the steadfast structure of a Law & Order episode and in doing so bring order and a feeling of safety in an out of control world full of chaos.
Some frequently condemn these stories as predictable, when in fact that is often the precise reason they are so successful and beloved. With three movies that cumulatively brought in over $1.3 billion worldwide The Fifty Shades franchise is one such set of stories following the same tried and true formula of a standard romance with a lot of kinky sex or at least an allusion to it thrown in and they all connect to and reflect one another. Lets take a look at some things you can find in every film of the Fifty Shades of Grey trilogy.
It was never a secret that the original Fifty Shades of Grey novel was born out of Twilight fan fiction and even casual observers can see the numerous parallels between the franchises. Besides both being set in the Pacific Northwest they both revolve around an unnaturally gorgeous, enigmatic and withdrawn man and an insecure clumsy virginal brunette who has really into books. The man does not understand boundaries and the woman does not understand basic human interaction. The man has access to seemingly unlimited funds while the womans finances are probably best described as generic middle class suburban in that she drives an old car can not just replace high ticket items and has to use airline deals to fly cross country but is in no way actually struggling to get by. Both couples will be threatened by malcontents. Both men will struggle with inner demons.
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