Article posted Monday, February 16, 2015 2:25pm

Dear Mary Pat,

Can you explain what the deal is with this 50 Shades of Grey movie? If I see one more Facebook post, morning news show interview, or late-night show interview, I think I will have to unplug from the world permanently. I know sex sells, but come on! This is insane. And the thing that sent me over the edge was seeing an ad for a whole range of 50 Shades “products” … at Target. I feel like I’m alone in my opinions and that everyone has been brainwashed. Am I?

Signed,

Disney Instead Please

Fish Creek, WI

Dear Disney Instead Please,

No, I don’t think you are alone. I did a little research online after receiving your question and now I’m even more disturbed by all the hype. I’m also relieved that I found a lot of critics too. (Helps to restore my faith in humanity just a little bit.) Where there are clearly millions of fans of the book and the movie, you should also know that there are a lot of people strongly opposed to both.

Some are opposed on strictly quality standards – the book is poorly written (even though the author is now apparently worth $80 million for writing drivel) and the critics have said that the movie is possibly worse. The phrases “no plot,” “no character development,” “dud,” “boring,” “no chemistry,” and “blah” show up in the majority of the reviews.

Some are opposed on moral grounds, with obvious reasons. And finally others are opposed for psychological reasons. The book and the movie celebrate the main character Jamie, even though he’s clearly damaged and needs professional help. If he weren’t as handsome or as rich, I doubt he would be able to find someone to so willingly enter into an abusive and unhealthy relationship. I’m not a psychologist, but I think this phenomenon should be named “all shades of wrong.”

Good luck,

Mary Pat