Unexpected Lessons From ‘Fifty Shades of Grey’

Cross Cuts

By A. O. SCOTT

“A man watches a movie, and the critic must acknowledge that he is that man.” So wrote Robert Warshow, almost exactly 60 years ago, setting down what would become an unofficial motto for the profession. The idea that movies and other forms of popular culture could be subjected to serious critical scrutiny was a new and controversial notion in American intellectual circles at the time, and Warshow wanted to make clear that any such criticism would have to take account of its origins in everyday experience. Wherever your thoughts and judgments might take you, you always start out as a consumer, a member of the audience, a fan.

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He wants to control her. She wants to make him normal. They can’t seem to live without each other, and yet they spend a great deal of time negotiating the terms of their connection, trying to determine which one of them is really in charge. Sound familiar?

A version of this article appears in print on March 1, 2015, on page AR1 of the New York edition with the headline: Critics and Fans, Pleasure and Pain. Order Reprints| Today’s Paper|Subscribe

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