--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: I think it's common sense to shy away…" description: "\"I think it's common sense to shy away from the erotic. Perhaps this grand experiment, which started with Lady Chatterley's Lover, of seeing what you ca..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/ee8/richard-flanagan-2253_certain_i-think-it-s-common-sense-to-shy-away-fr_900867.jpg" --- # I think it's common sense to shy away from the erotic… ![“I think it's common sense to shy away from the erotic. Perhaps this grand experiment, which started with Lady Chatterley's Lover, of seeing what you can write and how you can write about sex, has reached a certain weary terminus with Fifty Shades of Grey.” quote by Richard Flanagan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/ee8/richard-flanagan-2253_certain_i-think-it-s-common-sense-to-shy-away-fr_900867.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/ee8/richard-flanagan-2253_certain_i-think-it-s-common-sense-to-shy-away-fr_900867.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/ee8/richard-flanagan-2253_certain_i-think-it-s-common-sense-to-shy-away-fr_900867.jpg) > “I think it's common sense to shy away from the erotic. Perhaps this grand experiment, which started with Lady Chatterley's Lover, of seeing what you can write and how you can write about sex, has reached a certain weary terminus with Fifty Shades of Grey.” [Richard Flanagan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richard-flanagan/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. The quote critiques the over‑sexualization of literature and popular culture, suggesting that erotic themes have become formulaic and exhausted. **In simple terms:** Erotic content has become stale and overly commercial. Key Takeaway Seek depth over shock in storytelling. Themes literature culture sexuality commercialization Mood critical reflective Type analytical commentary When to use this quote - publishing - film adaptation - media criticism - creative writing Key Concepts Eroticism artistic fatigue censorship Questions to Reflect On - How can writers explore desire without falling into cliché? - What role does audience expectation play in erotic trends? A Different Perspective It may overlook the value of erotic art when used thoughtfully. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Common sense](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/common-sense/) [Erotic](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/erotic/) [Experiments](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/experiments/) [Fifty shades](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/fifty-shades/) [Grey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/grey/) [Lovers](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/lovers/) [Sex](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/sex/) [Shade](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/shade/) [Shades of grey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/shades-of-grey/) [Thinking](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/thinking/) [Writing](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/writing/) ## Related quotes > [I feel like I'm the only person - or woman, at least - who hasn't read 'Fifty Shades of Grey.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/carla-gugino/i-feel-like-i-m-the-only-person-or-woman-at-least-who-hasn-t-read/) [Carla Gugino](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/carla-gugino/) > [The movie Fifty Shades of Grey is considerably better written than the book. It is also sort of classy-looking, in a generic, TV-ad-for-bath-oil way.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lisa-schwarzbaum/the-movie-fifty-shades-of-grey-is-considerably-better-written-than/) [Lisa Schwarzbaum](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lisa-schwarzbaum/) > [“I had started on the marriage and motherhood beat by accident with a post on my personal, read only by friends, blog called ‘Fifty…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jennifer-weiner/i-had-started-on-the-marriage-and-motherhood-beat-by-accident-with-a/) [Jennifer Weiner](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jennifer-weiner/) > [“Nothing like a good rib tickling read like Fifty Shades of Grey”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/liz/nothing-like-a-good-rib-tickling-read-like-fifty-shades-of-grey/) [Liz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/liz/) > [“The old lady goes back to her paperback (it's Fifty Shades of Grey, and not her first trip through it, from the battered look…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stephen-king/the-old-lady-goes-back-to-her-paperback-it-s-fifty-shades-of-grey-and/) [Stephen King](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stephen-king/) > [Who here actually thinks I would do Fifty Shades of Grey as a movie? Like really. For real. In real life... ? ... Good.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/emma-watson/who-here-actually-thinks-i-would-do-fifty-shades-of-grey-as-a-movie/) [Emma Watson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/emma-watson/) > [Fifty Shades of Grey doesn't hold a candle to the masochism fix I get from coming to work every Monday.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/fifty-shades-of-grey-doesn-t-hold-a-candle-to-the-masochism-fix-i-get/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [Sorry the casting of Fifty Shades of Grey has caused you to completely revamp your masturbation fantasies.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/sorry-the-casting-of-fifty-shades-of-grey-has-caused-you-to/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [Completely committed to adapting 'Fifty Shades of Grey'. This is not a joke. 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