Yeah, some movies I can't bring myself to watch even out of curiosity. And forget about the books--at least a movie is over in a couple of hours.
Pleasure and pain CAN be closely connected--it doesn't hold a huge attraction for me, but I can understand it. There's always been a market for rape fantasy among women who wouldn't for a second want to experience it for real. It's kind of like enjoying a horror movie without ever wanting to ever actually BE in the scary situation.
Thanks for posting the link to the Atlantic article, Carlotta. That first article just reminded me a little to much of the "anti-drug" movies we had to watch in the late 60s when I was in Junior High. We all left, going, REALLY?? If I were a teenager reading that column, I think I'd be first in line to buy a ticket. Anything THAT dangerous would HAVE to be worth seeing.