Tickled

‘Tickled’ is a very strange film. David Farrier is a journalist that comes across a video about ‘competitive tickling.’ That is a video of athletic men tickling another young athletic man. You’ve probably never heard of that sport and Farrier hadn’t either so he decides to reach out to the company.
 

Jane O’Brien, the company owner, does not take well to the idea of a documentary, taking special exception to the fact Farrier is gay. Not only does she throw multiple slurs at him but also threatens legal action if he continues to investigate the company. Of course, as a journalist this makes him only more interested and so begins a fascinating exploration of the ‘competitive tickling’ world. He decides to create this film with the help of his friend and colleague, Dylan Reeve.

From the moment the film begins, it is obvious that ‘competitive tickling’ is a front for a fetish around tickling. I’m not going to lie, I find that a bit strange. I mean these people are clothed so it’s not even really porn and yet is obviously sexually stimulating to some. At the end of the day though, you do you. If you get your kicks out of being tickled or tickling or even watching it and everyone is consenting, then what’s the problem?

And the film makers agree; during the course of the film they explore those that actively and openly engage in tickling in a sexual way. It's evident that they have no issue with the tickling fetish, believing that it demonstrates the beauty of a democracy and sexually enlightened society. Then again I can't help but feel that Farrier is giving conditional acceptance throughout as I detect a sense that he's still looking down on them for doing this. It’s a subplot of the film but it’s a very interesting one to me. Even though we happily throw up our hands and say ‘you do you’ to what extent do we actually believe that? 

As I say though, that’s only a subplot. The main plot is the fact that Jane O’Brien is trickling young men into participating in this fetish without their knowledge and using the competitive tickling as a cover story. This is absolutely not okay and as the film continues, we discover that the company specifically targets impoverished areas, offering money to young men in financially difficult circumstances. It’s easy to see why these men might buy into any narrative presented if, at the end of the day they received one thousand dollars.

The problem isn’t the fetish, it’s the exploitation of these people. The fact these guys were paid doesn’t invalidate the fact that by denying them the true facts, their agency was removed from them and therefore they weren’t able to make their own decisions. Not only that but in many cases these men were told that the videos would be kept private and then were put on youtube and could be accessed for free. You can imagine the devastation that could cause, especially when these guys are coming from very conservative backgrounds.

As the film continues, you’ll be stunned by the extensive web of lies that the company has spun to continue making these videos. The main thing that I take away from this film is that all this would be unnecessary if ‘Jane O’Brien’ was not so ashamed about the fetish. As already mentioned, Farrier visits a man who has set up a company which specialises in this fetish and does incredibly well. People participate voluntarily, engaging in activities which they know will be watched for sexual pleasure but have decided that they’re willing to do it. It seems to prove that it’s completely unnecessary for all the lies and deceit. In this light, the shadowy figure of Jane O’Brien which once seemed menacing is really a pathetic character almost deserving of pity had it not hurt so many people.

‘Tickled’ is an excellently put together documentary that is incredibly thought provoking and it’s a shame that it has had such a small release. However, it’s out on DVD at the end of November and I’d definitely recommend getting it.