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Sado-Masochism                USA                       **

2002       107mins                   Colour                                    Horror/Comedy

A classic satire on sex that might actually be enjoyable, Sado-Masochism is 21^st century’s most recognisable form of deviancy and it is widely recognised as the unavoidable finishing school for sex people. It was a brand of sex that came to popular attention during a torture scene in 1995 classic Pulp Fiction but was more fully explored  in 2002 release Secretary –   although the influence of 9 ½ Weeks is clearly a presence in any depiction of the reception or infliction of pain in and around a fridge freezer. It is the only sex that Michael Haneke has ever experienced.

Fifty Shades of Grey, the publishing sensation of 2012, perhaps now contains the most popularised representation of S&M – dividing opinion between people who read and have sex and people who don’t and haven’t. Although S&M is now widely popularized, most people who have tried it experience a peculiar sensation known as silliness followed by a hollow joylessness and then a pledge to stick to duvet spoons and/or masturbation. Rumours that S&M is actually playful and fun are largely countered by the fact it is brazenly odd and sinister and when there is a humour breach it just seems like a Carry On film taken to its logical conclusion.

By Chris