Discipline USA 24

Sting continues to produce the highest quality work in this genre. So please take this as constructive feedback from an American fan who would prefer a touch more authenticity in American-themed scenarios.

First: Time period. Unlike the UK where caning is now outlawed, it’s still common for teenage boys to get paddled at school in some parts of the United States. In today’s day and age, however, it’s almost impossible to think a guy would be made to bare his backside for the paddle anymore. So, for a bare-bottom paddling at school, an American scene really needs to be set in an earlier time period — like the 1950’s, ’60’s, or ’70’s. Think about the characters and school settings in Dead Poets Society, School Ties, Grease, or even Dazed and Confused. Sting is expert at British period pieces; the same thought and detail could be applied to an American school setting with period costumes for actors (including underwear), etc.

Second: How to paddle. An American school paddling is not a drawn out affair with moderate swats that slowly pinken the skin and build up the sting. It’s a short, sharp ASSAULT with a sturdy paddle on a young man’s behind. An American teen would expect to find bruises on his backside after such an encounter, just as his English counterpart would expect raised tram lines on his behind after a caning. American teachers, principals, and athletic coaches who paddle are men that are used to swinging a baseball bat and/or a tennis racket. They shift their weight as they swing, putting their body into it, so that they hit hard and follow through. Three or five hard “licks” or “swats” from a paddle would be enough to make the point and bring tears to the eyes of all but the toughest American young men. I realize, however, that wouldn’t give Sting viewers enough time to find sexual gratification. So here’s a suggestion for a more realistic scenario that might still turn audience members’ cranks: tell the story of a recidivist who gets paddled on three different occasions by the same authority figure in the same place for the same offense. The first time, it might be three hard licks on the seat of his shorts/jeans/trousers. The second time, the disappointed teacher/principal/coach could give the young man five hard licks across his underpants. And the third time, the outraged disciplinarian could dish out ten hard swats to the bare bottom. (And by the way, while in those days it would have been common for a lad’s father to follow up a school paddling with a bare-bottomed spanking/paddling/strapping at home, it would have been very odd for the school disciplinarian to both paddle and hand-spank the rascal himself. At school, one would expect to be paddled, full stop.)

Third: Different scenarios for different amounts of clothing removed. It’s not hard to imagine a principal in the ’50’s or ’60’s telling a miscreant who has been sent to the principal’s office to drop his pants and underpants for a paddling and bend over the desk (or a chair or to grab his knees or ankles), but it’s very hard to imagine him ordering the guy to get naked. For the principal, this is about imparting the appropriate amount of pain, not about exposure. But nudity (and gang showers) would have been part of the everyday experience in the locker room after PE or a sports practice. So for an athletic coach to paddle a young man in any state of dress — over PE uniform, over underpants, over a jock strap, or completely nude — would feel plausible in that setting.

Just some food for thought for Sting’s future films that are set in the USA.