But most people do not have to drive that far to find a strip joint. One could argue that this is simply the latest evidence of Hollywood's moral degeneracy, or that this proves Tinseltown's misogyny, only valuing women as long as they take off their clothes. While true, these observations are so obvious even actors make them. They do not fully explain this particular top-heavy transaction. I think they paid Demi over 250 years' worth of my wages because Hollywood's imagination is so Christian.
Striptease is a lust movie.
And for lust to work, it needs a context that says it is naughty. Without the naughtiness factor all you have is someone embarrassed because he or she forgot to put clothes on. With it, you have heat, adrenalin, arousal, and the energy one needs to fuel ticket sales for a multimillion-dollar movie. In seventh grade I was converted overnight into a bibliophile when I discovered Ian Fleming's Bond books had sex scenes. Wired and thrilled, we were intoxicated with the idea that we had pulled it off, that we had seen something forbidden.