Don Jon Disappoints and Misleads

After the recently released and quite good sex addiction themed film Thanks for Sharing, there was a lot of hope that the even more recently released porn addiction themed film Don Jon would be equally accurate and compelling. Unfortunately, it is not.

The film’s main character, Jon (Joseph Gordon-Levitt), is a Jersey Shore wannabe obsessed with his car, his pad, his male friends, his body, his religion, and porn. He masturbates to porn multiple times each day, even though he consistently picks up hot women for casual sex. In fact, he is so successful scoring with “dimes,” as he and his friends call attractive women, that his buddies have nicknamed him “Don Jon.” (Many scenes will be triggering for sex and porn addicts, so the film should be viewed with extreme caution.) Unfortunately, Jon’s in-person sexual encounters are far from mind-blowing, and as soon as whatever woman he is with has fallen asleep, he is out of bed, logging onto his laptop for the fix he finds online. At several points during the film he readily, even gleefully, admits that he prefers porn to the real thing.

“Thanks for Sharing” as an Educational Tool

One of the hardest things about being a sex addict in recovery is explaining to friends and family what sex addiction really is, and what trying to recover from it is really like. Frankly, most people either think sex addiction would be a really fun addiction to have, or they think that people suffering from it are either making it up or using it as excuse for bad behavior. If you’re in sexual recovery, of course, you know different. Sex addiction is not fun, it is not made-up, and it is not an excuse.

‘Don Jon’ Shows Numbing, Distancing Effect of Porn

A recent movie about porn addiction is capturing national headlines, but not for the sheer nature of the complex addiction itself. Rather, critics are talking about how the movie “Don Jon” portrays the nature of addiction as a force that separates individuals from genuine emotional connections.

Written and directed by Joseph Gordon-Levitt, who also held the starring role in Don Jon, the movie is noted for its parallels in story to the numbing effect of pornography addiction in a person’s real-life. Repeated, emotionless sexual scenes are shown during the first parts of the movie, including online porn and sex with multiple partners, allowing viewers to catch a glimpse about how porn addiction really is less about the sex and more about the escape or numbing-out factor it provides.

Is Christian Grey a Sex Addict?

Unless you’ve been living under a rock you’ve likely heard about the new adult fiction trilogy that’s currently sweeping the nation, called “Fifty Shades” by E.L. James. Briefly, the series is about the relationship between an innocent recent college grad, Anastasia Steele, and billionaire playboy, Christian Grey. When Anastasia meets Christian she is a sheltered virgin. Christian not only takes her virginity, but introduces her to a world most of us have only heard rumors about – bondage and discipline.

Puritanical Sex

There is a prevailing belief that the US has a very puritanical attitude towards sex and sexuality. This is borne out by the many sex scandals reported by the media; reports which show gender bias concerning the protagonists. From Bill Clinton’s peccadilloes in the White House with Ms Lewinsky, for which he was impeached and for which he received some faint praise and she was castigated, to the accidental appearance of Janet Jackson’s nipple blamed on a ‘costume malfunction’ and Madonna bearing her butt cheek and nipple at a concert, there is a prurience in the US media and judgment in relation to both sexuality and nudity. This judgment goes harder against women involved in these scandals than men.