Crashing Todd Clearly

After reading Mainstreaming Kink: The Politics of BDSM Representation in U.S. Popular Media, I began to think about how common BDSM is in the media. What first came to mind was the movie 50 Shades of Grey. In this movie the male dominates and the female is submissive. I wondered if there were other portrayals of BDSM where the male was not in power and maybe it wasn't even between a male and female. That's when I remembered Wedding Crashers. 

Wedding Crashers is a movie that was released in 2005 starring Vince Vaughn and Owen Wilson. In this movie the two main characters crash weddings, yet one wedding in particular becomes the focus of the movie. This is the wedding hosted by the Secretary of the Treasury, William Clearly. William Clearly has two daughters and a son named Todd. In the scene shown above, Todd Clearly is attempting to engage in BDSM with Vince Vaughn's character. Todd is a gay character with many social issues, he is immature, and he does not know how to act in public. He screams phrases that are shown in the images below. It is an accepted fact throughout the family, which it then becomes accepted by the audience, that Todd is damaged. 

In this particular scene, Todd has used restraints to keep Vince Vaughn's character tied to the bed. In a movie such as 50 Shades of Grey, restraints are seen as sexy and the woman enjoys being tied to the bed where she receives pleasure from Christian Grey. The reading speaks about how views towards BDSM have been shifted from dangerous and shocking to accepted and normalized. The use of restraints was accepted and normalized in 50 Shades of Grey, especially because Christian Grey was damaged from childhood. However, it is interesting to compare the use of restraints in Wedding Crashers because they are used between two men, one straight man and one gay man. While Todd is also a damaged character, similar to Christian Grey, the use of bondage and discipline is completely different. The use of restraints is quite shocking and possibly dangerous for Vince Vaughn's character because consent was not given prior. This portrays BDSM in a slightly dangerous light. As the viewer I was nervous to see what Todd was going to do to Vince Vaughn's character yet when I viewed 50 Shades of Grey I didn't question the use of restraints because it was expected. This comparison between the two is interesting to research because Wedding Crashers was released 10 years prior to 50 Shades of Grey. While this may show the shift from BDSM as dangerous and shocking to accepted and normalized, it also may be due to other factors. For example the fact that Todd is gay or there was not consent. 

I also looked at Wedding Crashers with Information-Seeking Practices during the Sexual Development of Lesbian, Gay, and Bisexual Individuals: The Influence and Effects of Coming Out in a Mediated Environment in mind. This reading came to thought because just as BDSM has been accepted and normalized due to the fact that people are damaged, that is a common view towards the LGBT community being accepted. In this reading there is a quote from a gay participant about the confusion he faced due to the fact that there were so many different stereotypical views and representations of gay people and the gay culture in the media. Another participant also felt that the media shows extreme stereotypes of gay people and it makes it confusing as well (Bond et al., 2009). The portrayal of Todd in Wedding Crashers may cause confusion and possibly a decrease in self-esteem among gay viewers. I believe this because Todd is seen as a damaged and crazy character, especially with his use of restraints on another character. As well, this movie is a comedy therefore the audience is meant to laugh at Todd's character. This portrays gay people in a negative light and that may have a negative effect on gay people looking to the media to find information. 

References

Bond, B.J., Hefner, V., & Drogos, K.L. (2009). Information-Seeking Practices during the Sexual Development of Lesbian, Gay, and Bisexual Individuals: The Influence and Effects of Coming Out in a Mediated Environment. Sexuality & Culture: An Interdisciplinary Quarterly, 13(1), 32-50. doi: 10.1007/s12119-008-9041-y

Wedding Crashers: Todd. (2006, May 12). Retrieved November 11, 2015, from https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bvRQX-IKgPM

Weiss, M. (2006). Mainstreaming kink: The politics of BDSM representation in U.S. popular media. Journal of Homosexuality, 50(2/3), 103-132. doi: 10.1300/J082v50n02_06