Deviant Cinema

History of Sexual Domination and Submission in the Movies

The public spankings of Kathryn Grayson in Kiss me Kate or of Maureen O’Hara in McLintock are iconic, but the emotions and conflicts that they address are common preoccupations and recur continuously as themes in the global cinema. Buried in the vast inventory of movies released over the last century are almost 2,500 that partly or fully portray sexual dominance and submission of both genders, mental and physical, heavy and light, erotic as well as pornographic, documentary as well as fiction. Some are third-rate productions or crude attempts to exploit sex, but many do meet the fantasies and needs of a wide audience and they also occur as music videos, commercial advertisements, documentaries and game and talk shows on television. This impressive volume of movies from every country and period is largely unknown to the great majority of people, but most of the productions can be located and viewed with the help of this book.

The cumulative examples presented here both identify significant changes and answer the following questions. When did deviant movies appear and what differences emerge between periods? Where do they originate and which countries, cultures and media forms are most supportive? What issues, types of movie and subject matter predominate and how are they presented? Why has an alternative lifestyle ultimately been able to gain recognition and acceptance?

The development of deviant cinema is both a cause and a result of changes in attitude and objectives on the part of directors, actors and actresses and those responsible for the finance, production, and marketing of movies. Independent changes in the culture have also created more opportunities, as attitudes towards male superiority and female compliance within society have changed. In some respects, movies have anticipated the transformation of sexual behavior and morality throughout the world.

Kristina: welcome to the movies 💋