# Dear Hollywood: Why do you think sex is the standard response to pretty much every human emotion? **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [August 6, 2015, 4:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dear-hollywood-why-do-you-think-sex-is-the-standard-response-to-pretty-much-every-human-emotion/727167 "2015-08-06T16:34:47Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Stoid](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/stoid/32/272_2.png) [@Stoid](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Stoid)\ **Post date:** [August 6, 2015, 4:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dear-hollywood-why-do-you-think-sex-is-the-standard-response-to-pretty-much-every-human-emotion/727167/1 "2015-08-06T16:34:47Z")
It’s ok with some emotions, but: I am so sick of people consumed by grief who respond by fucking. I am so sick of people paralyzed by fear who deal with it by fucking. I am so sick of people blazing with anger who only know how to express it by fucking. I am so sick of people in crushing depression who share it with others by fucking. I’m sure that in the history of humanity there have been people who behaved this way, but I’m also sure they are far from being representative, since I don’t know anyone who behaves this way, particularly women. So how is it that about 8 out of 10 times when a man and a woman are having big feelings in proximity, the default reaction is to fuck? Because it’s almost invariably annoying and totally unbelievable. Try harder, please. This is lame. ---
**Author:** ![TriPolar](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/tripolar/32/3008_2.png) [@TriPolar](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TriPolar)\ **Post date:** [August 6, 2015, 4:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dear-hollywood-why-do-you-think-sex-is-the-standard-response-to-pretty-much-every-human-emotion/727167/2 "2015-08-06T16:42:44Z")
I think you’re missing the point, the emotional situations are the excuse for the sex they were going to put in the movie anyway. ---
**Author:** ![Johnny\_L.A](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/johnny_l.a/32/1084_2.png) [@Johnny\_L.A](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Johnny_L.A)\ **Post date:** [August 6, 2015, 4:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dear-hollywood-why-do-you-think-sex-is-the-standard-response-to-pretty-much-every-human-emotion/727167/3 "2015-08-06T16:43:40Z")
Because audiences pay money to see naked people boffing. ---
**Author:** ![Thudlow\_Boink](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/thudlow_boink/32/320_2.png) [@Thudlow\_Boink](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Thudlow_Boink)\ **Post date:** [August 6, 2015, 4:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dear-hollywood-why-do-you-think-sex-is-the-standard-response-to-pretty-much-every-human-emotion/727167/4 "2015-08-06T16:47:21Z")
> [@Johnny\_L.A](#): > > Because audiences pay money to see naked people boffing. They do? In this era of free internet porn? ---
**Author:** ![Johnny\_L.A](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/johnny_l.a/32/1084_2.png) [@Johnny\_L.A](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Johnny_L.A)\ **Post date:** [August 6, 2015, 4:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dear-hollywood-why-do-you-think-sex-is-the-standard-response-to-pretty-much-every-human-emotion/727167/5 "2015-08-06T16:47:57Z")
> [@Thudlow\_Boink](#): > > They do? In this era of free internet porn? Yeah, they cant help it if it’s in a movie. 😉 ---
**Author:** ![lieu](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/c2a13f/32.png) [@lieu](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/lieu)\ **Post date:** [August 6, 2015, 4:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dear-hollywood-why-do-you-think-sex-is-the-standard-response-to-pretty-much-every-human-emotion/727167/6 "2015-08-06T16:52:37Z")
> [@Stoid](#): > > - people consumed by grief who respond by fucking. > - people paralyzed by fear who deal with it by fucking. > - people blazing with anger who only know how to express it by fucking. > - people in crushing depression who share it with others by fucking. Ah, so _that’s_ why there was no fucking in **Mary Poppins**. ---
**Author:** ![Alessan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/alessan/32/465_2.png) [@Alessan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Alessan)\ **Post date:** [August 6, 2015, 4:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dear-hollywood-why-do-you-think-sex-is-the-standard-response-to-pretty-much-every-human-emotion/727167/7 "2015-08-06T16:56:37Z")
Sex is a good story engine. It creates complications, which move the plot forward. If people just repressed their feelings and acted normally, there wouldn’t be much of a movie, would there? ---
**Author:** ![Johnny\_L.A](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/johnny_l.a/32/1084_2.png) [@Johnny\_L.A](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Johnny_L.A)\ **Post date:** [August 6, 2015, 4:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dear-hollywood-why-do-you-think-sex-is-the-standard-response-to-pretty-much-every-human-emotion/727167/8 "2015-08-06T16:56:49Z")
> [@lieu](#): > > Ah, so _that’s_ why there was no fucking in **Mary Poppins**. You should see the scenes they cut to get the G rating! ---
**Author:** ![Slithy\_Tove](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/slithy_tove/32/18248_2.png) [@Slithy\_Tove](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Slithy_Tove)\ **Post date:** [August 6, 2015, 5:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dear-hollywood-why-do-you-think-sex-is-the-standard-response-to-pretty-much-every-human-emotion/727167/9 "2015-08-06T17:21:02Z")
> [@lieu](#): > > Ah, so _that’s_ why there was no fucking in **Mary Poppins**. There was subversion of America’s youth by other means. 46 seconds in: [Two male robins sharing a nest](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vLkp_Dx6VdI) ---
**Author:** ![Machine\_Elf](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/82dd89/32.png) [@Machine\_Elf](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Machine_Elf)\ **Post date:** [August 6, 2015, 5:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dear-hollywood-why-do-you-think-sex-is-the-standard-response-to-pretty-much-every-human-emotion/727167/10 "2015-08-06T17:39:48Z")
> [@Johnny\_L.A](#): > > You should see the scenes they cut to get the G rating! I heard the working title was “The Aristocrats.” ---
**Author:** ![Dallas\_Jones](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dallas_jones/32/3277_2.png) [@Dallas\_Jones](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dallas_Jones)\ **Post date:** [August 6, 2015, 5:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dear-hollywood-why-do-you-think-sex-is-the-standard-response-to-pretty-much-every-human-emotion/727167/11 "2015-08-06T17:43:48Z")
> [@TriPolar](#): > > I think you’re missing the point, the emotional situations are the excuse for the sex they were going to put in the movie anyway. This is the real answer. They were going to put the sex scene in the movie anyway. About to get killed? Time for sex. Just survived almost getting killed? Time for sex. Just killed a bunch of zombies? Time for sex! Fell into a fetid pile of maggot infested horse shit? Hey, there is a water trough right there, let’s get out of these clothes! And insert (hey, sex joke!) sex scene! ---
**Author:** ![lieu](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/c2a13f/32.png) [@lieu](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/lieu)\ **Post date:** [August 6, 2015, 5:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dear-hollywood-why-do-you-think-sex-is-the-standard-response-to-pretty-much-every-human-emotion/727167/12 "2015-08-06T17:51:23Z")
> [@Johnny\_L.A](#): > > You should see the scenes they cut to get the G rating! … and the musical score. _Just a poon full of sugar helps the manly man go down The manly man go down The manly man go down_ ---
**Author:** ![Anaamika](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/5f9b8f/32.png) [@Anaamika](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Anaamika)\ **Post date:** [August 6, 2015, 5:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dear-hollywood-why-do-you-think-sex-is-the-standard-response-to-pretty-much-every-human-emotion/727167/13 "2015-08-06T17:57:38Z")
> [@Thudlow\_Boink](#): > > They do? In this era of free internet porn? Free Internet porn is mostly boring. If I watch a movie, 9 times out of 10 I don’t want to see the fucking either. It derails the plot. When I do, though, it’s because enough sexual tension has been built up between the leads that even I want to see their clothes off. In Internet porn, there is no sexual tension. There’s just: oh look! a penis! must ride! But, I like action movies and superhero movies and am not a big fan of sex in them; it just grinds (hah!) the plot to a halt while we watch the characters fuck. For example, in Mr. & Mrs. Smith, I wanted the sex scene to be longer. In that movie, it was as important as the violence and the spy stuff, and it was kind of cheap that we had X minutes of them beating the shit out of each other, and x-y minutes of them actually fucking. Anyway. Sex sells, this is not a surprise. I just demand (!) more naked men. Enough of the female-only nudity. ---
**Author:** ![bup](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/6bbea6/32.png) [@bup](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/bup)\ **Post date:** [August 6, 2015, 6:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dear-hollywood-why-do-you-think-sex-is-the-standard-response-to-pretty-much-every-human-emotion/727167/14 "2015-08-06T18:11:55Z")
There’s a lot less sex in movies than there used to be. I guess “The Reader” was the last time I remember seeing sex in the theater, and it came straight from the novel like that. I can’t think of any examples from the OP’s list, with the exception of some really bad horror movies for the ‘paralyzed by fear who deal with it by fucking’ one. ---
**Author:** ![Thudlow\_Boink](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/thudlow_boink/32/320_2.png) [@Thudlow\_Boink](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Thudlow_Boink)\ **Post date:** [August 6, 2015, 6:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dear-hollywood-why-do-you-think-sex-is-the-standard-response-to-pretty-much-every-human-emotion/727167/15 "2015-08-06T18:36:22Z")
> [@bup](#): > > There’s a lot less sex in movies than there used to be. I guess “The Reader” was the last time I remember seeing sex in the theater, and it came straight from the novel like that. > > I can’t think of any examples from the OP’s list, with the exception of some really bad horror movies for the ‘paralyzed by fear who deal with it by fucking’ one. I can’t either, but then I haven’t been watching a lot of movies lately. Note that, if I’m interpreting the OP correctly, she’s talking about sex that happens off-screen as well as on-screen. ---
**Author:** ![Snowboarder\_Bo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/snowboarder_bo/32/229_2.png) [@Snowboarder\_Bo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Snowboarder_Bo)\ **Post date:** [August 6, 2015, 6:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dear-hollywood-why-do-you-think-sex-is-the-standard-response-to-pretty-much-every-human-emotion/727167/16 "2015-08-06T18:43:15Z")
> [@Dallas\_Jones](#): > > This is the real answer. They were going to put the sex scene in the movie anyway. > > About to get killed? Time for sex. > > Just survived almost getting killed? Time for sex. > > Just killed a bunch of zombies? Time for sex! > > Fell into a fetid pile of maggot infested horse shit? Hey, there is a water trough right there, let’s get out of these clothes! And insert (hey, sex joke!) sex scene! Which is why [this part of the big battle scene from the movie _Serenity_](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PzIgxV3GEhE) is much beloved. ---
**Author:** ![TriPolar](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/tripolar/32/3008_2.png) [@TriPolar](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TriPolar)\ **Post date:** [August 6, 2015, 6:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dear-hollywood-why-do-you-think-sex-is-the-standard-response-to-pretty-much-every-human-emotion/727167/17 "2015-08-06T18:53:53Z")
> [@Snowboarder\_Bo](#): > > Which is why [this part of the big battle scene from the movie _Serenity_](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PzIgxV3GEhE) is much beloved. Please explain. ---
**Author:** ![bup](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/6bbea6/32.png) [@bup](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/bup)\ **Post date:** [August 6, 2015, 6:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dear-hollywood-why-do-you-think-sex-is-the-standard-response-to-pretty-much-every-human-emotion/727167/18 "2015-08-06T18:54:08Z")
> [@Thudlow\_Boink](#): > > I can’t either, but then I haven’t been watching a lot of movies lately. Note that, if I’m interpreting the OP correctly, she’s talking about sex that happens off-screen as well as on-screen. Well, if off-screen counts, then the question becomes “Why do HYOO-MONS like to watch stories about people that fall in love?” ---
**Author:** ![Sam\_Lowry](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/e95f7d/32.png) [@Sam\_Lowry](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sam_Lowry)\ **Post date:** [August 6, 2015, 6:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dear-hollywood-why-do-you-think-sex-is-the-standard-response-to-pretty-much-every-human-emotion/727167/19 "2015-08-06T18:59:21Z")
> [@bup](#): > > I can’t think of any examples from the OP’s list, with the exception of some really bad horror movies for the ‘paralyzed by fear who deal with it by fucking’ one. I’m curious about the examples too. I know there are some action movies where the two hot leads have sex because of the adrenaline, or because they’ve been through or are going through some crazy experiences. But I’m having a harder time thinking of movies that match the OP. ---
**Author:** ![CalMeacham](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/calmeacham/32/35_2.png) [@CalMeacham](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CalMeacham)\ **Post date:** [August 6, 2015, 7:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dear-hollywood-why-do-you-think-sex-is-the-standard-response-to-pretty-much-every-human-emotion/727167/20 "2015-08-06T19:40:11Z")
> [@lieu](#): > > Ah, so _that’s_ why there was no fucking in **Mary Poppins**. Mary Poppins: (Looking at the measuring tape she’s just, at Jane and Michael’s insistence, used on herself) “Mary Poppins – Practically Perfect in Every Way — DD” [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dear-hollywood-why-do-you-think-sex-is-the-standard-response-to-pretty-much-every-human-emotion/727167.md?page=2)