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I operate an Internet radio show that seeks to help independent entertainers and artists promote their projects.

Thursday 16 May 2013

What? No Sex? A Blog About The Disappearing Sex Scene: By guest: Casey Sheridan


Editor’s Note:

I’ve often said that getting to work with erotica author Casey Sheridan was some of the most fun that I’ve had on either end of an interview. After appearing on my show about a year and a half ago, she graciously invited me to join the fun on her blog as the subject of one of her playful “Pajama Party” interviews a short time later.

Needless to say, I was thrilled when I was presented with the opportunity to work with her again. The timing worked out extremely well and we agreed to each run guest posts by the other on the exact same day. As Casey will be talking about sex on my blog, I whipped together one of my signature rant pieces for hers which will also (hopefully) raise an eyebrow or two.

Ergo and without further ado, let the “Casey Crossover” begin.

Casey, the floor is yours…

CJR   

 
What? No Sex? A Blog About The Disappearing Sex Scene:
By: Casey Sheridan

Casey is a wonderful supporter of indie artists, authors, musicians–you name it. He's a great guy that I have a lot of respect for, so when he put up a call for guest bloggers, I jumped at the chance. What woman wouldn't want to hang out with such hot guy, right? J

Since I write erotica, Casey presented me with an article that appeared in Entertainment Weekly about the lack of sex scenes in movies. No sex? Really? I hadn't noticed, and considering what I write, you'd think I'd be one of the first people to notice that. But I didn't. I guess I was too busy being entertained by a good story.

Is it a bad thing that Hollywood has left their sex scenes by the wayside? Not necessarily. I can see your eyes bugging out of your head in disbelief. You're thinking, "How can she say that? She's an author, an author of EROTICA! She's supposed to be all about the sex. And the boobies! We want boobies!"

Look, I'm the last person to deny a grown, adult person their required boobie fix, but you can't just through a pair of tits onto the screen for no reason. Honest. If Hollywood's marketing is aimed at teenagers, well, let's say it's aimed at thirteen years of age on up, you're going to get more people into theatres, more people paying out hard earned cash to see a movie, so the boobies are going to stay covered. You're going to see battle scenes on other planets, high-tech explosions, car chases, fast moving action, demons and ghosts, robots going haywire and beating the shit out of each other. Some of that is damn good stuff.

So where's the sex? In writing, if your story can't stand on its own without the sex, you had better rewrite that story. It's all about the story. The sex is great, but you can't throw it into a story thinking it will make the story good. You do that, all you have is a bad story with sex. Sex needs to be part of the plot. It can't just be thrown in to spice things up.

Hollywood is about money, understandably so. They invest big bucks in settings, costumes, actors, F/X, etc. The more people that can see a film the better the chance Hollywood gets back some of the money, and then some, they invested. They want a good story.

Also, since it's the younger people, the 13 to 21 year olds (approximately), that have the most disposable income, that's what the target market is. That's why you have sparkly vampires and angst-driven teenage girls falling in love, or superheroes charging across the big screen.

I may not get into the sparkly vampires, but I do love the superheroes, although, they could be a bit sexier, in my humble opinion. Then again, I wouldn't exactly say no to Thor, Captain American, or Ironman just as they are.

Even my favorite character hasn't gone untouched by the lack of Hollywood sex scenes. "Bond. James Bond," Daniel Craig smoothly utters in his deep, sexy voice. 007 movies used to be a mix of action, gadgets, and sex with every beautiful woman that cast a glance his way. But starting with Casino Royale, they have had fewer beauties and gadgets, more story, more action, more Bond. I'm not complaining.

So, again, is it a bad thing that Hollywood has let the sex scene go to the wayside? As long as Hollywood is giving us good stories (for the most part), without sex scenes, I don't think it's a bad thing. I like a good story, good characters, whether it's in sci-fi, action, comedy, on-screen or in a book. If the story has sex included, that's great. If the story is good without it, that's okay too.

What do you think? Should Hollywood bring back the sex scene? Did you even miss it?

Bio:

Casey Sheridan is the author of playful erotic fiction. Like most authors, she began writing when she was very young. It was later in life when she read her first piece of erotica and it was on a dare that she wrote her first erotic story. Casey’s work has been published by CecilCat Productions, Breathless Press, and Cobblestone Press, and her short fiction has appeared on various erotic web­sites.

Find her on the Web:

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11 comments:

  1. Thanks for hosting me, Casey! The Casey Crossover was a great idea :)

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  2. Ms. Sheridan, lovely piece and could not agree with you more about the sex. As with all genres of writing and film, adding a sex scene is only appropriate to move the story along, or to reveal something meaningful about the characters, otherwise gratuitous sex is as useless in a movie as is too much violence in an action film or too much blood in a horror film.

    Like you, I'm a firm believer the storyline should dictate the amount of sex in a movie.

    Great post! Loved it and Casey's on your blog too!

    eden

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    1. Hi Eden!

      The article in Entertainment Weekly brought up a lot of valid points, mentioning some older movies with sex, but even those movies mentioned were good stories.

      Thanks for coming by xoxox

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    2. Thanks again, Eden! As soon as I saw that article I knew that Casey would have something cool to say about it. It also mentioned how ironically, the graphic sex scenes seem to have migrated over to cable TV shows.

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  3. The vast majority of readers and viewers want a good story. After I saw Silver Linings Playbook I realized there was no sex in the movie. I guess it was rated R for language. But the story was well written and performed.

    Now there are many erotica authors who write non-stop sex in their stories from opening sentence to end. And maybe some have built an audience. I think it will be tough to build an audience without a good story.

    One reason is perhaps nothing shocks anymore. And what engages our imagination and passion is the dilemma a character faces. Good post.

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    Replies
    1. Hi DD! Thanks for stopping by. I appreciate the support.

      I think many readers and viewers want a good story, like you said. Many people seem to be looking for shock value, but there are always those that want a good story.

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    2. Thanks, DD! Casey also touched on a valid point about part of the equation being what sells tickets the fastest. Clearly mind-boggling action sequences and lifelike animation are big draws.

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  4. Great article, guys!

    It IS interesting. I wonder if part of it is the focus on the story (as Eden states) or the commercially viable stuff that's selling now is primarily superhero and sci fi -- hardly the traditional venue of sex.

    I often wonder is a movie like Last Tango In Paris would ever be made in today's atmosphere. Something to ponder, for sure.

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    1. Thanks, Rachel. I thought it was an interesting topic to debate and it's not something that people generally notice until it's pointed out to them.

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  5. Thanks Rachel for your comment.

    Like Casey said, it's something people don't notice until it's pointed out to them. I know I didn't notice.

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