The story of BDSM in the Netflix film 'Love and Leashes' has attracted the attention of many parties, including critic Jung Deok Hyun. Check out his comments in the news below.
The new Netflix film "Love and Leashes" has managed to attract the attention of many people after its release on February 11. Especially because this film tells a love story with BDSM, a sexual activity that refers to physical slavery, sadism and masochism carried out on the agreement of both parties.
In more detail, "Love and Leashes" tells the story of a man with unique tastes and a woman who knows his secret. The story begins when Jung Ji Woo (Seohyun), mistakenly receives a package for the purchase of S&M (a type of game that gives pain to increase sexual satisfaction). The package was actually bought by his coworker named Jung Ji Hoo (Lee Jun Young).
Jung Ji Hoo then explained about his fetish to Jung Ji Woo. After hearing Jung Ji Hoo's explanation, Jung Ji Woo thought that he might also have the same BDSM fantasy as him. Since then, they decided to be in a relationship for three months.
This plot reaped negative reactions from several parties. It is said that it is not safe to introduce a BDSM project in a sexually closed social and cultural environment like Korea because it could lead to sexual crimes.
Some also say that this glorifies violence or self-harm. To further emphasize their criticism, they brought up an article about the rise in imitation sex crimes with the release of the film "Fifty Shades of Grey".
On the other hand, there are counter-arguments about how people should learn to deal with them if they have these tendencies. Even if there is an element of BDSM in the film, it is not considered something provocative because the characters do it on a mutual agreement basis.
Some argue that due to its nature as a film, the depth of the story will definitely be shallow like the original webtoon. This ultimately reduces the element that the viewer can relate to.
Critic Jung Deok Hyun said, "It is true that the film deals with provocative material that has never been discussed before. However, there are things that I think should be handled sensitively which are actually not discussed at all in this film."
"If they are able to attract viewers' sympathy more boldly in areas that are considered controversial, they will persuade more people," he added. (wk/eval)
