During the "baby party" secretly watched by Prof. Marston and his wife, Olive spanks "Pledge Sara". Another woman orders Olive to hit her twenty times, whereupon Sara looks surprised and anxious because of this order. Does she actually feel threatened and uncomfortable, or does she pretend to be surprised and scared because it's part of the game?
- Since Sara gets spanked because she spoke out of turn (expressing her reservations about the baby party), it seems that she really was threatened and uncomfortable.
- The problem is, if she really feels threatened and doesn't want to be spanked, it would make Olive, Marston and his wife very unsympathetic. Marston (and the film) is trying to show people that sadomasochistic things are also okay and to promote more tolerance towards other life models. But when it is shown how a woman, who is supposed to be sympathetic to the viewer, beats someone against her will ...
