Let me begin by saying that I have not read the book, Fifty Shades of Grey, nor do I intend to. Neither will I be seeing the movie. But who, with internet access, doesn’t know about the controversy that surrounds this book? The problem is not the lack of information, but the abundance and which direction to take with a critique.

When looking at the content of what can only be called the abuse and demoralizing of a woman by a depraved man I am struck by the irony of releasing such a movie on St. Valentine’s Day.

The day, which has over the years taken on a somewhat silly, sentimental perception, has a noble history that puts the sadistic idea of sex portrayed in this book to shame.

Whereas Christian Grey seeks to satisfy his vulgar desires at the expense of another person with no real love or commitment, the history of St. Valentine’s Day is the very opposite.

At the time of Emperor Claudius marriage for young people was outlawed, with the idea that an unmarried soldier would fight better than his married counterpart. St. Valentine took his life into his own hands by secretly marrying those couples that came to him. To the couples and to the priest the commitment of marriage was worth dying for. And for Valentine that is exactly where it ended, in his execution.

When compared to the self-serving acts of Christian Grey and the pathetic submissive behavior of Anastasia we can see the sickening contradiction of releasing a movie that describes the most intimate act of love in such a warped way on a day that glories in the noble, self-sacrificing truth of real love.