MAGIC MIKE to MAGICAL MIKE - the Distinction Between Divine Sexual Energy and Disconnected Vulgarity

MAGIC MIKE TO MAGICAL MIKE

The Distinction Between Divine Sexual Energy and Disconnected Vulgarity

By Ansuya Rathor, Bellydance Artist, www.ansuya.com

When I was a little girl I dreamed of a boy who would be nice to me. When I was a pre-teen I dreamed of a boy who would kiss me. When I was a teenager I dreamed of a man who would make love to me. When I was an adult I dreamed of a man who would have passionate, intense sex with me. As this adult, I've learned that the most satisfying sexual encounters are the ones that take me back through this entire list on a single date night. A date with a man I have come to adore, who I respect, who is great at seduction, who loves me deeply and is hot between the sheets is my dream come true. I can bring that list so he should too! There is one more thing I like to bring, and if a man brings this as well, my world is totally rocked. Dancing! When a man adds dancing to his seduction, I find myself in an experience of bliss so ecstatic that it could only be described as magical!

Magic Mike, starring Channing Tatum and Mathew McConaughey, along with a full cast of other talented dancers and actors, hits this ecstatic level of bliss for me on many counts. However, it also hits me in the face so frequently with its vulgarity and focus on stereotypes that I am motivated to write about it in this review. I'm not a fan of negative reviews, so I must interject that I have enormous respect for the genius it takes to paint a picture of life on film. I offer my opinions respectfully as someone who is excited about this project and wants to see more!

For me there is absolutely no doubt that Channing Tatum can access divine sexual energy! Through his refined technique, unleashed emotions, and deep connection to the music, he alters and accelerates his own energy, reaching a mesmerizing level of sensuality, and inviting the audience to come along for the ride. This takes a tremendous amount of physical training, muscle control, stamina, and talent to execute. Such a level of performance should set him up as an archetype; to be studied, worshiped, and adored for his abilities!

I have heard that Magic Mike is based on Tatum's experience as a stripper before becoming a film actor. Set in Tampa Bay, Florida the atmosphere is balmy, sultry and shows the underside of nightlife in this particular male revue club. Though the gritty depiction may be based on truth, as an incurable idealist I would seek to improve upon his life with a different perspective.

I am a Bellydancer and I study the art of connecting sexual and sensual energy by opening up emotional pathways and chakras for the specific purpose of connecting to source energy. This is an erotic and spiritual process that has altered my state of being and my experience of life significantly. It has added to my health on all levels and opened my mind to my potential, the potential of relationships, and the potential of the universe at large. I love to hit "the zone" on stage and feel myself as the conduit for the audience to get high on this creative energy with me. You can imagine how excited I get when a man decides he is going to go for it and step into the realm of erotic movement. There are so many things I can do with that! Lol!

Unfortunately, dancers are not revered as portals to divine energy in our society. The promise of this idea is in Tatum's movements, but not in the story line. It's understandable that the story is not about a dancer who is revered as a God, if that was not the world Tatum found himself in. But the "moral" of the story could have been different if the hero had made an effort (in truth or with the use of dramatic license) to buck the stereotyping himself instead of fulfilling it with the self- destructive behavior expected of him by society. So there was nothing in the story to teach us anything new about how to relate to dance and sexuality. In fact, it felt like backsliding in its complacent and obedient serving up of the vulgarity that audiences seem to be lapping up these days. It's a debatable question as to whether media reflects life or life imitates the media, but one thing is for sure; we don't seem to be using the media as a positive influence on life as much as we could be.

After delivering an unbelievably good time in the first dance scene, led by a whole gaggle of talented male dancers, the movie begins to talk down to itself. Tatum is told that he is not on the path of a mature man if he continues to strip and so he gives it up. What I found sad was that his character agreed with this judgment. He seems to feel that because of an environment of damaging drugs and a lying business partner that he should be doing better with his life. This is something that I would agree with. But how do the drugs and lying have anything to do with the art of stripping? It is this thoughtless grouping together of elements that has us throwing the good stuff of life out with the bad all too often. Like basing a movie rating on the amount of "sex and violence". Why on earth are those two actions linked together for determining appropriateness? It also has us disrespecting the art of dance and the art of sexuality instead of celebrating them as the doorway to a magical connection with source energy.

Another unfortunate clumping is that of vulgarity and sexuality. For some reason it is very popular right now to see vulgarity as funny or sexy when it is simply an underdeveloped expression of sexual urges that are disconnected from source energy due to blocked chakras, suppressed emotions, and a lack of education.

Without education, people may not discover that they can get far more "tapped in, tuned in, and turned on" with a sacred approach to sexuality than with drugs, vulgarity, or violence. Since we are still only in the early stages of release from the religious oppression that suggested empowered sexuality belongs to the realm of evil rather than good, it is not surprising that many of our sexual feelings are wrapped up in degradation and violence represented by vulgar language and attitudes. This is a product of disconnection more than freedom. It's not something to be ashamed of so much as it is something that can be progressed into higher states of experience that generate even hotter feelings. This is not to say that vulgarity should not be depicted, explored, or satirized in film. It can help to educate and can certainly entertain, but if it is glorified as the norm or the ideal expression of sexuality we run the risk of some detrimental consequences that may disempower people, disempower artists and performers and lead to a desensitization to violence. It can be difficult to understand the nuances between what is freeing and what is limiting, disguised as freeing. I am suggesting that it is not vulgarity, but the intended purpose and placement of vulgarity that makes the distinction.

Current media is really putting a focus on vulgarity and our young women and men are being taught that unleashed sexuality is represented by this approach to sex. If behaviors and images are rude and degrading without intelligent context or commentary, exposure to this may stunt potential growth in youth through early impressions that are hard to reverse. To teach young people that sexuality is sacred and that all kinds of dance can be a powerful way to connect to this transcendent state, will bring magic into people's lives. This can be regardless of how old someone is or what their body type may be. Every being has access to the sexual arts of charisma, romance, love, dance, and relationship. A great example is Mathew McConaughey's character, Dallas. Though Tatum's character, Mike, is admonished for continuing his lifestyle at 30, it is clear that Dallas is way past that and still dazzling audiences. The Full Monty is a great example of a movie that has you cheering to see every man in the cast shake and celebrate his sexy bits regardless of whether or not he fits the current media's standard for physical prowess. This is because dance inspires you to expand your sexual experience to be a celebration of life and love. Imagine if Tatum's character had this empowerment. This would transform Magic mike into Magical Mike. That is my hope for the sequel. Plus, of course, that his character falls in love with a Bellydancer who teaches him all of this! Lol! It's my dream, I can have it whatever way I want! And so can you! Make your dreams big, make your dreams high, make your dreams magical and be sure to check out the sequel to Magic Mike!