Over on our sister site, Offbeat Home & Life, our former copyeditor Caroline wrote an awesome post about how The Addams Family is one of the only pieces of mainstream media that gets BDSM relationships right...

The depiction of BDSM in popular films suffered a blow from which it will not easily recover with the release of Fifty Shades of Gray. While it was unfortunately many people's introduction to the topic, bloggers from all corners of the internet have derided the relationship pictured in Fifty Shades for what it really is: abuse masquerading as kink. But twenty-four years ago, a family comedy centered on a couple who liked to torture each other for pleasure gave audiences a much healthier glimpse at BDSM.

But more than that, the piece also has a lot to explore about marriage in general...

The Addams' lawyer Tully and his wife Margaret exemplify a sadly more familiar and cynical marriage: two people who ostensibly can't stand each other but feel forced to stay together. The loathing is definitely mutual: when Margaret asks rhetorically, "Why did I marry you?" Tully responds, "Because I said yes!" The "unhappily married" cliché exists to varying degrees in most American media, to the point where Gomez and Morticia's contrasting relationship is noteworthy.

Head over to Offbeat Home & Life to read the rest of the piece!

Megan Finley

Megan Finley is the Associate Publisher and Editorial Overlord. When she's not slaving away for the Empire, she's sharing her dork side on her own blog.