This essay argues that Stanley Kubrick's final film, Eyes Wide Shut, systematically dismantles conventional Western sexual morality — centered on monogamy, marriage, and family values — and replaces it with a moral framework defined almost exclusively by power. Drawing on Freud's concept of innate human aggressiveness, Nietzsche's genealogy of morality, and Foucault's work on the politics of sexuality, the analysis traces how power dynamics govern every sexual encounter and allusion in the film: from the couple's flirtations at a party, to Alice's destabilizing sexual confession, to the elite masquerade orgy, to the exploitation of a shopkeeper's daughter. The essay concludes by noting the implications of this power-centered reading for future gender and sexuality studies.
There are two highly distinct — and largely intertwined — themes in Stanley Kubrick's final film, Eyes Wide Shut: sexuality and enigma, both of which revolve, to varying degrees, around the presence of an unnamed, all-powerful secret society. Whereas the film makes little attempt to illuminate the inner workings or structure of that society, it does detail a number of decidedly unconventional aspects of sexuality. Aside from the nearly maudlin ending, the portrayal of sexuality in the film is quite distinct from the way sexuality is typically portrayed within Western society. There are numerous sexual encounters — and allusions to sexual encounters — that present alternative varieties of conventional power and morality.
A thorough analysis of the film, as well as of salient works related to sexuality and social mores within Western society, reveals that Eyes Wide Shut obliterates Western morality as it conventionally pertains to sex and establishes a new morality — or immorality — that revolves almost exclusively around power.
The staid Western morality pertaining to sexuality, which has prevailed since the sexual revolution at the turn of the twentieth century, is greatly contrasted with the representation of sexuality as power within this film. Aside from overt instances in popular culture in which homosexuality — in all of its myriad forms, including transgender individuals, lesbians, gays, and virtually everything in between — is not only embraced but seemingly promoted, the morality of sexuality and sexual practices is strictly enforced in the United States. Conventional mores such as monogamy, family values, and the sanctity of marriage largely govern the public perception of sexuality, among both heterosexuals and homosexuals. In this respect, Kubrick's film appears to be a dedicated assault on such mores, presenting instances in which nearly every one of these values is not only challenged but, for the most part, largely eradicated.
The significance of this assault on conventional sexuality is considerable. The reserved Western sense of morality that typically surrounds sexuality is not the only perspective within Westernized culture. It becomes fairly clear that a different sort of morality is enforced within the film as regards how sexuality is defined — and, for the most part, that morality is based around power. This aspect of power is suggested in the following quotation: "men are not gentle creatures, who want to be loved, who at the most can defend themselves if they are attacked; they are, on the contrary, creatures among whose instinctual endowments is to be reckoned a powerful share of aggressiveness" (Freud). This implies that there is a core element of power and aggressiveness central to human nature that evinces itself everywhere — even in sexuality.
An examination of the two main characters — Bill and Alice — particularly in their interactions early in the film, indicates that the conventional moral values associated with sex are largely set aside in Eyes Wide Shut in favor of a framework in which power is the chief determinant. Initially, the pair seems like any other reserved, sexually conservative couple. Bill enjoys a certain social eminence owing to his profession as a doctor; they have the requisite home fulfilling the American dream; and a young daughter completes that image. However, when the pair attends a party, they quickly abandon one of the chief characteristics of sexual morality — monogamy. Bill shamelessly flirts with a pair of young women, regardless of Alice's presence; Alice shamelessly flirts with an older "Hungarian" (Ebert) man, regardless of her husband's presence.
It quickly becomes apparent that each is flirting precisely because the other is present, as the film later reveals that both were fully aware of the other's behavior. Bill's social eminence functions as a form of power with the women he flirts with, who are enamored of his status as a doctor. Similarly, Alice's status as a married woman is effectively a form of power that renders her more desirable in the eyes of the older man. These manifestations of power have forsaken the conventional moral value of monogamy and replaced it with one based on social standing.
"Alice's fantasy as destabilizing power over Bill"
Alice's recounting of this tale is the ultimate exercise in power, because she is telling Bill about a man who, for all practical purposes, no longer exists and for whom she was perfectly willing to sacrifice everything that represented conventional Western morality — her husband, her daughter, their home, their family life. This assertion is her way of demonstrating to Bill that he does not control her sexually, emotionally, or mentally, and that she possesses considerable sexual power that exceeds his own at this point in the film. Further testament to the degree of that power is the fact that it galvanizes Bill into his own sexual encounters, drawing him into an entire underworld of sexual behavior based not on conventional Western morality but on power.
Perhaps the most cogent illustration of sexuality as power in the film is the scene in which Bill goes to an undisclosed location that turns out to be an orgy. The concept of power pervades every aspect of this event. Attendance requires an invitation; only the wealthiest and most powerful people are invited; and everyone wears elaborate costumes and masks, ensuring no accountability for what takes place. Under these circumstances, the typical standards of Western morality that define its sexuality no longer apply. In their place is a single standard: power, and the exercise thereof.
One of the most revealing indicators of this fact is the clear delineation between those who are empowered and those who are effectively disenfranchised. The wealthy elite in costumes have the power and autonomy to do whatever they wish — especially as it pertains to sex. The women present, who are not wealthy socialites or notable political figures, are left to serve at the pleasure of the former. They have been brought to the event for a particular purpose: to allow others to do with them sexually as they please. This imbalance of power is crucial to the way power represents sexuality in the film. There are those who have power and those who do not; the former use it to exercise dominion over the latter — whether that means Alice flaunting her sexual fantasies to her husband or the rich and powerful engaging in acts of coitus with women at a salacious masquerade party.
"Costume shop scene illustrates wealth overriding moral taboos"
"Street encounter inverts Bill's power via Nietzsche's framework"
The significance of this thesis — that sexuality is defined in Eyes Wide Shut as power — has substantial ramifications for future studies pertaining to gender and sexuality. Specifically, it would be of considerable interest to attempt to quantify the concept of power as it relates to sexuality. There are a number of variables to consider in doing so, such as physical strength, numbers of people, social standing, wealth, and a host of other factors that merit examination. It would also be useful to analyze settings and cases in which conventional Western morality pertaining to sexuality is overridden for any number of reasons.
You’re 52% through this paper. Sign up to read the remaining 3 sections.
Sign Up Now — Instant Access Already a member? Log inAlways verify citation format against your institution’s current style guide requirements.