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Netflix will release more episodes of the hit series “Bridgerton” today. You shouldn’t watch it.
Set in Regency-era London with modern twists, “Bridgerton” presents a world of attractive, well-to-do characters searching for suitable spouses. It can be easy to set aside the historical inaccuracies and predictable plotlines, given the gorgeous costumes, enthralling drama, and orchestral adaptations of modern music.
But woven throughout the show are graphic sex scenes. Simply fast-forwarding through them isn’t enough to avoid the show’s pervasive sexual content. Entire subplots consist of characters’ sexual confusions and explorations. In the first half of Season 4 alone, an episode devotes significant screentime to characters explaining sexual climaxes to newlywed Francesca Bridgerton. Even Lady Violet Bridgerton, the respectable widow and mother of eight children, hooks up with a side character because “life is meant to be lived” — or so says her maid.
Compare this with another beloved British period drama, “Downton Abbey.” Let’s not fool ourselves that “Downton” was always PG-rated. But even the show’s sexual aspects — which are never shown in nearly as much detail as in Bridgerton — added depth to already complex and well-written storylines. Lady Mary’s one-night stand with a Turkish diplomat haunts her for the rest of the series and affects whether her father’s heir will still marry her and save the estate.
In “Downton Abbey,” sex was an aspect of the show, but not its main draw. “Bridgerton,” on the other hand, relies on sex to keep viewers engaged and furthermore suggests that extramarital sex doesn’t have consequences.
In short, “Bridgerton” offers little more than smut.
The term refers to literature and media containing pornographic descriptions of sexual acts, most often appealing to female audiences.While pornography, broadly speaking, appeals to physical desires, smut attracts women specifically because it seeks to fulfill emotional desires as well.
Bridgerton’s brand of smut gives women unattainable expectations for their self image and relationships: that they are, and ought to always be, highly desirable to men. The male characters in “Bridgerton” are handsome and instinctively know just what to say to woo women. It’s as if they exist only to pursue and please women.
Comparing real life to this distorted version of reality will only yield disappointment. And relying on fictional worlds and characters to satisfy our human longing for love and relationships will prove more harmful still.
Christians often think of pornography as something people view alone, hidden in their room, staring at a screen. But it’s also proudly celebrated in women’s book clubs and viewing parties. Just look at the popularity of the romantasy “Empyrean” series by Rebecca Yarros, which contains graphic descriptions of sexual encounters between characters. The third book, “Onyx Storm,” became the fastest-selling adult novel in 20 years.
But just because smut is more socially acceptable doesn’t mean it isn’t wrong. Images form our thoughts, and when we dwell on thoughts, they do shape our character. Church Father St. Gregory of Nyssa writes, “after thoughts and words comes action, for our deeds carry out what the mind has conceived.”
Entertainment shapes your imagination. Don’t let smut disguised in sparkly Georgian garb shape yours.
Adriana Azarian is a senior studying politics.
