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I’ll begin this review with a disclaimer similar to that of Dr. Kinsey’s first sex ed class: read the review, but don’t see the movie unless you’re a professor, a campus minister, a married graduate student or you are mature enough to resist its nefarious influence and its moral manipulation.
The movie Kinsey retells the story of one of the first researchers of our time to study the sexual behavior of Americans. As portrayed by Liam Neeson, Dr. Kinsey was obsessed with research. From the time he was a young boy, Alfred Kinsey was a methodical, single-minded scientist. The first half of his life was consumed by the study of Gull Wasp Moths, the subject of his graduate research. In a moment of epiphany, Dr. Kinsey admitted to a room full of colleagues that his research was completely insignificant.
He began the second stage of his life by teaching a class on sex education. Driven by his scientific mind, he planned to research and write a book on male sexuality and one on female sexuality. The movie traces his research across the country, but the real focus of the film is on his personal life and the relationships between members of his small team of researchers.
The movie portrays Dr. Kinsey as the only member of the team who is a pure scientist; that is to say, he does not experience emotion during the research. It ends with three decisive moments. First, Kinsey is not able to secure funding to further his research, then he meets a woman who’s life was changed by his book, and finally he professes that his love for his wife is like the roots of a tree where he is nurtured and grounded.
According to the movie, the purpose of Kinsey’s research was to discover what was normal. However, no one ever asks whether normal was good, or who determines what normal really is? Sin is normal, but that doesn’t make sin good. At one point in the movie, Kinsey tells a research subject that people should not be forced to engage in any sexual act and that no one should be hurt by another because of sex. However, he fails to see that his own sexual experiments have hurt those around him. We are supposed to see Kinsey as the hero because he never ties sex to emotion while all around him people are hurt because of their emotional attachment to sex acts.
As Christians, we have a better way. Knowing what is “normal” is the driving force behind Kinsey’s research. Salvation is found in discovering and reporting normal sexual behavior. However, as Christians we have discovered through experience and God’s Word that salvation is only found in Jesus.
Kinsey’s father, in the film, represents Christians as fanatical, hateful people who repress their sexual urges to the point of injury. Kinsey’s faith is nonexistent and thus never informs his moral judgment. We are led to believe that people impose sexual restrictions in the name of God because they are covering up their own deviance. We are presented with a one sided view of human sexuality that is informed by postmodern culture. There are no stories of Christian men and women living in monogamous loving relationships blessed by God.
Love, to Dr. Kinsey, is an immeasurable irrelevant emotion. He is allegedly concerned solely with science. Love cannot be studied. Furthermore, he views love as separate from sex. In the end, Kinsey loves his wife deeply and all the hurt he has caused is forgiven because his sexual behavior is separate from his love. We are led to believe that this is how the world should be. I don’t want to live in a world where love is separate from action. Love is shown in the way we live, not just in the words we say. Sex, as a part of a loving married relationship, brings both love and sex together to co-exist just as God intended for our more abundant joy. In Kinsey, the movie, sex is always seen as scientific study and never as an expression of love.
Like a brother of mine always says, this movie is about relationships. Beyond the visually shocking drama, beyond the portrayal of Kinsey as scientist, beyond the carefully selected words, is a story of relationships between fathers and sons, between husbands and wives, between society and individuals. However, the most important relationship is left out, the one between God and His children.
Mike Wood serves as Campus Minister at Virginia Tech with the Blacksburg Church of Christ. His B.S. in parks & recreation is from the University of Idaho. His M.S. in ministry is from Pepperdine University. He and his lovely wife, Cindy, have been married for just under 10 years and they have two adorable (they take after her) children; one of each flavor.
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