Bal(lard)oney

JAMES Ballard and his wife, Catherine, are turned on by car crashes, and the wounds and deaths they lead to. If these do not by themselves induce orgasm, there is huggermugger sex in the front or back seat to get the job done. Alternatively, one can have intercourse anywhere, even in bed, so long as one fantasizes about automotive mayhem or its participants. This is the premise of David Cronenberg’s Crash, fairly (but not altogether) faithfully based on J. G. Ballard’s novel, and a piece of failed pornography.

Pornography, in my view, is a work existing for the sole purpose of sexual arousal, without any regard for truth or existential relevance. I am not against it, so long as it is kept out of the hands of children. But of all pornography, Crash is least likely to be catching: few people would risk car crashes for sexual thrills; even fewer could afford it.

JS

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John Simon

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JAMES Ballard and his wife, Catherine, are turned on by car crashes, and the wounds and deaths they lead to. If these do not by themselves induce orgasm, there is huggermugger sex in the front or back seat to get the job done. Alternatively, one can have intercourse anywhere, even in bed, so long as one fantasizes about automotive mayhem or its participants. This is the premise of David Cronenberg’s Crash, fairly (but not altogether) faithfully based on J. G. Ballard’s novel, and a piece of failed pornography.

Pornography, in my view, is a work existing for the sole purpose of sexual arousal, without any regard for truth or existential relevance. I am not against it, so long as it is kept out of the hands of children. But of all pornography, Crash is least likely to be catching: few people would risk car crashes for sexual thrills; even fewer could afford it.