I’m always fascinated by stories that capture a unique aspect of a particular culture. For example, in the US articles arising from the gun control debate are both common and unique to its culture. Nowhere else is that kind of discussion happening. This story from Japan last year was another example of a story that could seemingly only be written in that country. Nowhere else allows hardcore pornography while simultaneously prosecuting someone distributing an abstract mathematical model of the female genitalia.
The latest example I have is from France – who just declared the Marquis de Sade’s manuscript of 120 Days of Sodom a National Treasure. I can’t think of many countries whose politicians would he happy to declare a snuff pornography book – featuring teenage girls being tortured to death and children raped – as a national treasure. I don’t state it in that way to necessarily say there were wrong to do it, just to emphasize the cultural dissonance. Even by modern standards, Sade’s work remains shocking and unpleasant. While I can imagine a lot of politicians owning and jerking off to a copy, I can’t imaging many outside of France speaking up to defend its cultural value.
Sade of course gave us the word sadism, which gives me an excuse to feature a nice sadistic image. I’m not exactly sure what’s just happened in the scene below to make him dance like that – I’m guessing that riding crop she’s holding was involved somehow – but it certainly looks like it hurts.
I believe this is originally from the Sado Ladies site.
Don’t be too surprised.
From my “to write about”-list:
There is a Prix Sade, intended as an hommage to Marquis de Sade:
https://fr.wikipedia.org/wiki/Prix_Sade
Somebody mentions a Marquis De Sade day, but I doubt it’s an official holiday:
http://www.bobcrespo.com/2017/06/todays-national-day-6215-marquis-de-sade-day/
“Venus in Furs” is still on my reading list, but when it comes to “The 120 Days of Sodom”, I don’t think I ever will.
Venus in Furs is worth reading IMO, just for its historical value. Although I found it fairly dry and dull. Get the version that Sardax put out if you can, as it least then you get his wonderful illustrations!
Sade’s writing on the other hand is easily skipped. It manages to be both disgusting, shocking and also kind of boring. Quite an achievement. He may have had a unique mind for his time, but I can’t seem me ever wanting to celebrate its output.
-paltego
The French recognise De Sade as one of their great philosophers. And they collectively feel they do not have to agree with the philosopher or with the philosophy he produces to honour the man or his work. They openly give the devil his due, so to speak.
As for “Les 120 Journées de Sodome”: De Sade had to make up this (let’s call it a) theater of punishment and delight from scratch; improvising the decors, the costumes, the blasphemous rites and what not. He was in jail when he wrote this book and he had a lot of time on his hands. All the time in the world and it shows. It’s one of the most long winded and tedious works of literature I ever chewed through. From start to finish you’re in it for the long haul and have to do all the heavy lifting yourself. If anything else; it was an excellent preparation for reading “50 Shades of Grey”, which is an even more tedious piece of writing. But I didn’t know that as a young woman in the mid 80s.
It opened up a vague connection between my fondness and my preference for wearing leather and my sexuality, though. A vague connection that remained rather unimportant to me, until it solidified into full blown fetishism, after we started experimenting with BD/DS/SM.
I ‘read’ 120 days and Juliette in my youth. I use quotes for the ‘read’ because I think a fair amount of skimming and skipping was involved. As you say, long winded and tedious, even if his does have a skill for piling grotesquery onto grotesquery.
I’ve no desire to go back to his books, but I should do some background reading on his life, philosophy and the revival of his work in the 20th century.
In the US I’m still seeing stories about classic books (like To Kill a Mockingbird) being pulled out of school libraries. So funny to see something like this in France. I might not care for his work, but I do appreciate a culture that can give the devil his due!
Thanks for stopping by to comment.
-paltego
The thing about Japan. Their pornography is blurred so it’s not considered obscene. The artists model for printing her vagina was not blurred so it was considered obscene.
Well what the hell IS obscene you may wonder? Any depiction of a real person’s vagina that is not osbcured.
So that’s why sex toys are okay, because although they depict vaginas they are fictional. But an exact copy of an existing one is obscene.
I know it’s dumb as fuck.