I love FFN in general, not nec. because it turns me on (though it CAN), but more because it is REAL and I think normalizing that aspect of ourselves is a positive thing. The shock value goes down/away and we can just see those body parts as BODY PARTS, like any other.
I’m not talking about porno (which is decidedly UNreal, in most cases) but in mainstream films/other media.
The most recent example I’ve seen was from a video for the song Bohemian Like You by the Dandy Warhols…about halfway through, there is a wonderful full frontal nude shot of the “waiter” (one moment he’s fully clothed, next cut, he’s standing there in all his flacid glory, a more well endowed version of David:D). My daughter (10) was watching it with me the first time and it was no big deal…just “yeah, that’s a naked man”. (hell, I think she has a right to know what to expect…not that she hasn’t seen it before, having had a father and having an older brother :p)
In mainstream film, some of my favorite uses have been:
28 Days Later, Cillian Murphy, wakes up on the hospital bed, nude. Really imparts his vulnerability and humanity.
Kinsey, Peter Sarsgaard’s scene as he changes into his pajamas. Was integral to the scene which involved a homosexual encounter between his character and Liam Neeson’s.
A History of Violence, Maria Bello’s entrance from the shower following a dramatic, “rapish” (meaning initially violent and resisted but evolving into consensual) sexual encounter with her estranged husband (Vigo Mortensen). The look she gives him and he her coupled with her nudity was more powerful than it would have been otherwise. imo.
About Schmidt, Kathy Bates’ FF shot…WOW! The impact here came from the fact that she is an older, heavier woman, presenting herself in a completely unashamed, fully confident manner to an older, heavier man (Jack Nicolson) who pursues younger women, and his reaction is shock and scrambling terror 
Hey buddy, this is what a REAL, more mature woman is likely to look like…deal with it.
Thirst, a Park Chan-wook vampire film (I highly recomend it…funny, gory, complex), leading man Song Kang-ho exposes himself in a brief shot while fleeing a tent…the audience at the pre-release screening I attended audibly gasped at the glimse of his flacid male member…yeah, I think Americans are still pretty hung up about male FFN, overall (no gasps at the female FFN the film contains).
I think for a long time, and still to some degree, male FF nudity was hugely taboo in mainstream American film, and I often wondered why, since the female equivalent was much more common. I have a few theories.
One, as a rule, much more, er, DETAIL is evident in male frontal nudity…to get the equivalent view of a woman’s genitalia, you’d have to do a spread-eagle shot. Otherwise, not much more than breasts and a V.
Two, I think American society in general has serious issues with female sexuality, and considers allowing girls/women to see male FFN as somehow far more dangerous/damaging than allowing boys/men to see female FFN. This manifests as shock value for male FFN and can often translate into more restrictive ratings which can doom a film. (check out the excellent documentary This Film is Not Yet Rated…everything you never knew about how this process occurs)
Finally, I think many males actors are hesitant to expose themselves in this way. As mentioned in my first theory, they have a lot more to expose than female actors do and like not a few males, might have insecurities about size (irrational though they may be). For actors of either sex, FFN is a brave act, exposing you to the judgement of others. (Kathy Bates and her non-Barbie build sure got blasted by the juvenile, FM morning radio set, I tell you… That whooshing sound was the point going right over their heads :rolleyes:)
