Secretary Clarifications

October 19, 2002

Warning: Only entertaining for those who have seen or plan to see Secretary. Definite Spoilers.

The film Secretary is, if nothing else, very interesting. Personally, I loved it. But over the last few weeks I have come across a number of reviews, most recently this Flak one, that have talked about how this movie is all about S&M. Now I'm not an expert on the fringes of sexuality, but I think that this is more about pure submission. Lee, the main character, appears to get off on all of the whips and paddles but really all she wants is to completely submit to one person. Some people like to dominate and some like to submit, and Lee seems only to care about the latter.

And so, at the end, when the lovely couple are more gentle, it really isn't a betrayal of what was built throughout the rest of the film. She is still allowing herself to be controled by her man, and in this case he chooses to bathe her without any pins and needles. I stand behind Shainberg (director) in his choices here, dispite what some reviewers might say.

Any experts on sexuality, feel free to chime in.

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