Open sexuality is a joke in American film. Look at gay people in Adam Sandler movies. They are always played for laughs. Look at lesbians or bisexual women in horror films, they are not that way “naturally” they are objects to be glared at are used to sell tickets.
Yet somehow Brokeback Mountain and Milk have made their way to the multiplex without the world coming to an end.
Not that there isn’t hypocrisy and idiocy to be found, but we shouldn’t over generalize.
Open sexuality is a joke in American film.
Second! I would even venture to say that there is no open sexuality in American film. I can’t think of any Hollywood movies where sex is honestly portrayed.
Brokeback Mountain and Milk were not mainstream films. Any variation to sexuality is looked down upon and any variation in regards to sexual acts is also frowned upon. If it doesn’t look fake and isn’t in the missionary position the MPAA gets all worked up.
>>Brokeback Mountain and Milk were not mainstream films.<<
How can this be the case with major studios, big movie stars and multiple Oscars between them?
You don’t have to be big studio to win big Oscars.
Slumdog Millionaire was almost a direct to DVD release. It won eight Oscars.
I haven’t seen Brokeback Mountain or Milk, but do either of these movies honestly portray sexuality? My perception of them is that, yes, they address a “deviant” lifestyle, but that it’s still filtered through Hollywood, and every bit as dishonest as The Ugly Truth or any other romantic comedy. How much do those films directly address sex?
I do find it totally silly that the MPAA get their panties in a wad with mildly erotic or unusual sex scene, but the most depraved violence is okay for society.
I’m not gay, so I cannot tell you if Brokeback Mountain or Milk were positive portrayals of homosexuals.
On a side note, do I use the term Gay or Homosexual? I’m not sure which is appropriate.
>>I haven’t seen Brokeback Mountain or Milk, but do either of these movies honestly portray sexuality?<<
Both films directly confront sexuality as its subject matter. Neither is explicit (is that a standard being suggested?) Not being gay, I cannot verify how honest the portrayals were, but as one who appreciates emotionally moving stories, I can verify that they do not deserve comparisons to The Ugly Truth.
We’ll find out the answer to this question when Shame (which is being distributed by Fox Searchlight) gets rated.
I don’t know how many Mubians have seen the film yet but I ordered my tickets today and will see it next week at the Hamptons film festival (a double-header with Sleeping Beauty… Lots of sex on a sexy Saturday :p)
^ I’m looking forward to Shame but Steve McQueen is not an American and don’t think he’ll be dealing with sexuality in the “American” way.
“If a drama has adult themes and nudity they are delegated as x rated and unmarketable. "
The “X” rating was retired in 1990. Generally American films are uptight about sex. I think this has started to loosen up a little though. The cunnilingus scene in Blue Valentine, for example, they got appealed down to a “R” without having to recut it at all.
That was one scene of cunnilingus.
Bergman had woman masturbating in the early sixties(Take that as you will.).
Yeah, but Bergman was shooting to imply, not to directly show.
^ You are indeed correct, but even the suggestion of a woman masturbating gets people riled up….
Yup.
natalie portman did it in black swan…with her mother in the room! :0
i think things are loosening up too. i haven’t seen blue valentine but someone told me it was a ‘porno’ LOL
The moral and philosophical implications of their standards are deeply disturbing.
To put the OP more concisely, the MPAA delegates open sexuality to any context in which it:
A) Is filmed accessibly and in line with modern Hollywood filmic convention
B) is through the male gaze
C) is fused with violence
D) is rape
E) is heterosexual
F) is male-centric(i.e. see prominence of male sexual functions in comedies opposed to female)
To the sensibilities of the MPAA, a scene plainly depicting consensual cunnilingus is potentially more destructive to a child’s mind than violent rape. Or brutal mutilation and dismemberment.
Also, while we’re at it, a child hearing the word Fuck more than twice(depending on the usage)is as unsavory as a child viewing a person’s head being blown to bits.
The psychotic and archaic mentality of the MPAA is an abomination to cinema, art, and decency.
That is all.
(P.S. wrote this before any of this hour’s responses/didn’t see those.)
There was a similar seen a few years back in The Cooler where they had to go back and digitally remove Maria Bello’s public hair in order to get an “R”. Don’t think they would have to do that now. The Portman thing was focused on her facial response, though, right? I wouldn’t say *Blue Valentine is “porno”, but you do get (albeit obliquely) a visual impression of . . . um . . . head between legs.
can someone remind me why henry and june was nc-17?
^ lesbianism
They did in fact get angry over her pubic hair and had it removed. Oddly enough I can get a glimpse of all of it in A History of Violence….
so if she had a wax it woulda been ok?? lol
re: ‘porno’. i live in a small town with lots of churchy people. these are the people who don’t want their kids seeing nudity in films but allow them to play first person shooter games, cuz that’s just target practice
Yeah, it’s a weird standard the people apply to sex and violence.
Thank you Dada Weatherman – you said everything I wanted to say but wasn’t smart enough to articulate! And what you brought up is exactly the problem with the masturbation scene in Black Swan. I’m not a girl, so I don’t have firsthand experience of solo feminine masturbation, but based on my own masturbation experiences and conversations I’ve had on the topic, it’s NOTHING like how Natalie Portman did it. Especially considering that it was implied that it was her first time ever. She goes so over-the-top with it and acts like she’s in a porno (i.e. totally unreal). This is exactly what I mean by dishonest representations of sexuality in American cinema today. The scene seems to me to be there only for the titillation of the male audience, and the fact that this scene is “shocking” is just really sad.
It’s hard to think of what to type because I have so much to say about the subject!
the whole film was pretty ott, no? and she isn’t a good actress, so…
the thing i found most offensive was everyone implying she just needed to get laid, the age-old male solution to women’s issues lol
^At the risk of preaching, I will say that I think her getting laid would help… provided that it was part of a healthy, symbiotic relationship. She was pretty repressed.
see what i mean? ^
barbara hershey as the mom from carrie made me laugh. but the funniest scene was when she ‘killed’ mila kunis in the dressing room! i was on the floor!
k i’m outta here
earman
If a drama has adult themes and nudity they are delegated as x rated and unmarketable. This has also led to all dramas with adult themes delegated as independent films with less commercial appeal and limited distribution leading to the dumbing down of American Cinema.