Steve's explanation for Losers' sex scene

[Robert Gray]

Thanks to Mrs Mod and SK for taking the time to post this explanation. It makes perfect sense that there needed to be some kind of adult act.

Steve said: "Times have changed since I wrote that scene and there is now more sensitivity to those issues." and this made me curious if he was writing the same story now what else could he use to connect them to adulthood?

I'd like to think that he wouldn't write it any different today than he did then. It would be unfortunate and dishonest. Mr. King has always put forward the notion that if you want to be a writer, your days among polite society are numbered. Stories have a life of their own and demand that the writer tell them as they were intended to be told. Constructing stories artificially and spending lots of time to make constructs to fit nicely into socially acceptable constructs is just one more part of formula. There are lots of uncomfortable issues in It to which people are more sensitive today:

1. Children smoking.
2. Racism, i.e. a failure to be politically correct
3. Children and sex
4. Juvenile crime
5. Child abuse
6. Language
7. Spousal abuse
8. Animal Cruelty
9. Yadda Yadda Yadda

...you get the idea. In general, our modern society is more sensitive to just about EVERYTHING you can think of. Can you imagine a "Politically Correct Stephen King Story?" I can and I shudder at the notion. It wouldn't be honest. It wouldn't be true. It wouldn't be a work of art, a story to last the ages.

[msouza78]

To me the scene makes sense to me because all of those kids were really on the verge of sexual awakening and adult-hood anyways. With them staring down the horror of the being IT, enduring the torture of the leper, the ware-wolf, Ben's mummy, Stan's dead kids, Mikes giant bird, Bev's dad, and Bill's brother, they all faced something that really pushed them to the brink, the real end of childhood innocence. I see the sex scene as an acceptance of becoming adults, of bursting through that barrier as a group, a whole. I see that "sexual" act as the whole reason they all remember after Mike's calls, how those scars from the bottle cuts comes back to them all. It just makes sense to me.

[mohctep]

Thanks to Mrs Mod and SK for taking the time to post this explanation. It makes perfect sense that there needed to be some kind of adult act.

Steve said: "Times have changed since I wrote that scene and there is now more sensitivity to those issues." and this made me curious if he was writing the same story now what else could he use to connect them to adulthood?

+1 Great Post from both!

[Bryan James]

In other words, "Yeah, I guess that particular scene isn't timeless, but it worked for me then. I wasn't writing a preschool coloring book, ya know."

[Suzana]

In other words, "Yeah, I guess that particular scene isn't timeless, but it worked for me then. I wasn't writing a preschool coloring book, ya know."

[Richard Edwards]

And, since I just posted about this, I see that. I wasn't getting all crazy about that part of the book; just something that rubbed me the wrong way. That happens all the time in all types of media.

It's good to hear his thoughts on the subject.

[muskrat]

Heh...I think I'm the only one from my high school class that actually finished that book, 'cause whenever I mentioned that scene, my fellow King fan-addicts thought I was making it up.

[TBlack]

As parents we feel that we understand our teenagers... because we were teens once.
But we're looking at it all through the luxury of hindsite & through the eyes of adulthood.
The rational decsions that we think would be so clear are no longer clouded by the hormonal roller coaster they're on.
We can't possibly understand, "Jimmy Looked at me during lunch !!!" or, "Michelle wore that sock dress!" and what that does to your day anymore.
They are right! We're just too damn old!
And ME??? I'd rather take a nap!

[Puzmo]

I have always loved this scene and have never viewed it as "perverted" or "wrong." In fact, I see this scene as one where Bev asserts her power as a woman for the first time. As a child, she is continually living in fear of her father. Her father accuses her of fooling around with the boys in the Barrens because he is afraid of her growing up. I think that Bev senses this fear, and that is why she knows the act of making love holds a lot of power. An act that makes her father scared must have a lot of power indeed.

Other than that, I've always thought the scene was pretty self-explanatory, as it serves as a bridge between childhood and adulthood, as well as reaffirms the connection between the Losers and the love they have for each other. Bev is the key to holding them together. I do find it ironic that IT was a female possessing the power to hate & destroy and Bev is a female with the power to love & connect, which essentially makes them polar opposites. Talk about girl power!

[!redruM]

I'm a little interested on what other surprises I'll find in the book! I've only seen the movie.