‘Euphoria’ Highlights Hollywood’s Growing Willingness To Blur the Line Between Entertainment and Porn

The third season of “Euphoria” concluded recently, and was greeted by considerable controversy, as the rest of the season had previously been. For those who have not seen the show, this is a spoiler, but in its final episode two major characters got killed off. Nate, played by Jacob Elordi, was bitten by a rattlesnake, and Rue, portrayed by Zendaya, succumbed to a fentanyl overdose.The HBO teen drama series has been much criticized for what many perceive to be its creator and showrunner Sam Levinson’s primary interest, bordering on an obsession: Sexualizing its young, attractive characters and turning them from the complex and multi-faceted figures of the first two seasons into two-dimensional caricatures who possess all the nuance of OnlyFans creators.This was literally true of Nate’s girlfriend, Sydney Sweeney’s Cassie, who becomes an OnlyFans tycoon in the third series. Her activities, all of which seemed designed to erotically provoke audiences, included her cosplaying as a baby, dressing up as a dog, frequently being naked and, in the final scenes, waving a Bible and dildo around at the same time as she mourned Nate’s death. While Ms. Sweeney, like the rest of the cast, was not a household name when “Euphoria” first began in 2019, she has now become an A-list star and so her presence in these highly provocative scenes seemed to be now almost an in-joke on the part of Mr. Levinson: an actress who is probably the first choice of many hormonal fans to start an OnlyFans account is playing a character who has done just that.Sydney Sweeney and Maude Apatow at the Los Angeles premiere of ‘Euphoria’ in April 2026. Presley Ann/Getty Images for HBOMany of Ms. Sweeney’s most outrageous moments have, of course, been taken out of context and gone viral on social media and on the kind of websites that solemnly warn teenagers that their content is forbidden for anyone under the age of 21. Their eager patrons ignore these injunctions and ensure that “Euphoria” continues to be one of the year’s most talked-about series, if not necessarily for the right reasons. Yet its willingness to embrace the dark side of sexual kinks has placed it in line with a new movement of apparently candid dramas that are depicting activities that would once have been illegal, and, even now, continue to be seen as distasteful in many circles.In the recent Apple TV series “Margo’s Got Money Troubles,” Elle Fanning portrayed a struggling single mother — baby daddy, none other than her “spineless” community literature professor — who takes to OnlyFans in order to alleviate her titular woes. The show, created by the ubiquitous David E. Kelley and based on a novel by Rufi Thorpe, does not suggest, exactly, that Margot is doing something empowering and brilliant, but nor does it condemn her for it, instead focusing on the way in which she manages to make a living for herself in dire circumstances. This would once have been the stuff of gritty and X-rated cinematic drama — probably released by the disgraced mogul Harvey Weinstein and his company Miramax – but now it streams on Apple TV and stars none other than that cinematic icon Michelle Pfeiffer as Margot’s disapproving but ultimately supportive mother.Porn on screen is, of course, nothing new. It was, somehow unbelievably, nearly thirty years ago that Paul Thomas Anderson’s sophomore picture “Boogie Nights,” an examination of the Seventies adult entertainment industry, took depictions of hardcore pornography out of the hands of the solitary VHS viewer and into cinema, to Oscar-nominated effect. Crucially, the characters were not portrayed as perverts or in need of punishment, but as a surrogate family of sorts for Mark Wahlberg’s Dirk Diggler, albeit with rather more familial intercourse taking place than many would have imagined.The idea of porn, especially in the mainstream birth of the industry in the Seventies, constituting a rich seam of material for auteur directors is what is driving Brady Corbet, director of Oscar-winning “The Brutalist,” whose next film is said to be a four-hour X-rated epic that will span centuries but predominantly focus on similar territory to “Boogie Nights.” Its cast is said to include Michael Fassbender, no stranger to pushing this particular edge of the cinematic envelope after his anguished performance in Steve McQueen’s sex addiction drama “Shame,” as well as Cate Blanchett and one-time Disney Channel stalwart Selena Gomez, who, like Ms. Fanning and Zendaya, seems intent on trashing her good-girl image with decidedly risqué and adult-leaning fare.Michelle Pfeiffer and Elle Fanning in ‘Margo’s Got Money Troubles.’ Apple TV“Euphoria”‘s Mr. Levinson has rejected accusations of opportunism. “I don’t think of myself as cynical and I don’t want to put out cynical movies or art,” he told The Tablet. “There’s plenty of nihilism in the world. I see Euphoria largely as a rejection of it.” He added he viewed his show as catering to the complex demands of modern TV viewers: “There’s a certain amount of guilt you can impart onto the audience by making them aware of what they’re actually asking for.”If “Euphoria” was intended as the last word in controversy, it succeeded, but not necessarily for the reasons that Mr. Levinson intended. The third series attracted far more criticism than the earlier ones, with slighting comparisons being made with the music industry drama “The Idol,” which attracted similar criticism for the lascivious male gaze being directed towards its star Lily-Rose Depp. Artistically, “Euphoria” was often bewildering, too, partly due to the demands of having to accommodate three lead actors in the forms of Ms. Sweeney, Zendaya and Mr. Elordi who had all become A-list household names since the earlier series were made, and partly also because its depiction of the mores of teenagers had been transformed into a western-influenced crime drama that, at times, felt as if Mr. Levinson was making an homage to “Breaking Bad.”Much of the online criticism revolved around the score, which shifted from the hipper-than-hip British musician Labrinth — who had been responsible for composing the earlier series — to none other than the legendary Hans Zimmer. The great composer produced a suitably epic soundtrack that was equal parts Ennio Morricone-inspired and reminiscent of his work for Christopher Nolan’s “Interstellar;” lest we forget, the score to that picture has soundtracked a million memes on TikTok, but it somehow seemed inappropriate for the show and was consequently much mocked by “Euphoria”’s fanbase.Sydney Sweeney in ‘Euphoria.’ Eddy Chen/ HBOOnlyFans appropriation; uncomfortable A-list stars; too much Hans Zimmer: Mr. Levinson cannot be accused of having made life easy for himself. Yet at a time when it seems as if the #MeToo movement that was supposed to profoundly change Hollywood has shifted violently away from its core principles — yes, you might have intimacy coordinators on set, but the intimacy that they are coordinating is considerably more demeaning that it was a decade ago — he can only be said to have reflected the world as he sees it today.The show’s viewers might not all be fentanyl addicts, desperately trying to get their next hit, or OnlyFans mini-entrepreneurs. But in its combination of sexual prurience and dedication to giving the audience what they want, “Euphoria,” for all its faults, reflects America as it is today. It should be praised, rather than blamed, for doing so.

‘Euphoria’ Highlights Hollywood’s Growing Willingness To Blur the Line Between Entertainment and Porn

‘Euphoria’ Highlights Hollywood’s Growing Willingness To Blur the Line Between Entertainment and Porn

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