Yeah, absolutely ridiculous, imo. The standards (and ratings) tend to be fairly reversed between the U.S and Europe; there, nudity or even sex is not considered that big of a deal in films. Graphic violence is what is frowned upon and considered more inappropriate for children to view.
Here, (in the U.S. I mean) we tend to tolerate violence and censor sex/nudity.
One of the most extreme examples of this I’ve seen recently was while watching a cheesy horror film ON Demand (cable)…there was a scene in which a naked man attacked one of the female characters…he’d been cut for an autopsy (dead/reanimated or not dead? not really sure…like I said, was not high cinema ;)).
She struggles with him and his innards spill out all over her…fully graphic, disgusting, violent gore…meanwhile, his naked ASS was fuzzed out. (presumably to protect younger or more sensitive viewers :rolleyes:)
I recently learned that here, in Portland, Oregon, it is perfectly legal for women to go topless in public. The right is explicitly granted/not considered a form of “indecent exposure”. Some college students did a “survey/performance art” thing on the topic, walking around in public topless and getting reactions from the general public.
Lest we have an influx of male tourists/relocators, I’ve never noticed any topless women wandering around town, so either most aren’t aware of this right OR are not interested in exercising it (or both). Me, eh, nice to know and fair from a gender equality standpoint, imo, but I’ve no interest in taking the ta-tas for a walk off the leash Not outside a nudist or private setting, anyway.
I agree. I find it far more distracting when there’s no nudity where you would expect it than the so-called “gratuitous” nudity. The L-shaped sheet takes me out of a movie every time.
Well, actually they HAVE, but overall, I agree with your point. It is the difference between a “death culture” and one centered on LIFE and peaceful expressions of it.
The U.S. is a very militaristic, violent culture (the U.S. has been involved in more wars in 200 plus yrs than any other nation, more homicides than most, than ANY not involved in some acknowledged civil unrest, we love our football, violent films and video games, the whole “old west” mystique, a history of genocide, slavery, racist violence, etc…)
And the old residue of puritanical sexual mores and stereotypes still largely prevails. Boys/men, we WANT them to be rough and tough and ever-ready to fight and kill and are far more tolerant of them being sexually exposed and active than we are of females being the same.
Girls/women, we shelter from such exposures (or at least pretend to) and cringe at the idea of a sexually active/informed female or one on the battlefield.
Cultures always inculcate their young in the dominate cultural mores, and the U.S. is a warrior/mysogonistic culture. So we train our boys to be killers/macho men and our girls to be sex-objects/submissive/enablers. Overall. This is certainly changing, but there remain deep undercurrents. JMHO.
Good one. But seriously, if nudity were not such a hot-button issue, if seeing naked humans was not so taboo, that sort of sexual association/response would quickly fade. (I suspect this is why many resist any opening up of this area, since if that were to happen, using half naked or naked women (or men) to sell products would become obsolete)
The nudist or clothing optional settings I’ve been in, no-one gives a shit about it or sees those “naughty bits” as sexually stimulating. Any more than we’d automatically get a hard-on/sexy thoughts at seeing someone’s lips or ankles. (although, of course, some do ;))
That doesn’t mean sexual attraction is eliminated, just that it is elevated to a higher level and not some knee-jerk reaction based on shock value/novelty.
Hey, I was EXTREMELY traumatized. Not by the flash of skin, or the nipple, but by that piercing. I’ve had to have a small tumor removed from my nipple, and it was flashback time for me. Ouch, ouch, ouchie, OUCH.
I didn’t see the “malfunction” live, but I did Google it, just to see what everyone was talking about, and I expected that the piercing would be small and not painful looking. Boy, was I ever wrong.
Actually, I’m already wearing chaps. Backwards, though, because this is Full Frontal Nudity time. This certainly didn’t go in the direction I’d intended but it’s becoming quite fun to watch.
Heh…that last sentence is cracking me up. Good golly I’ve gone silly.
This is just the end game of a distrubing trend that started in the 80’s.
There was a time when ‘nudity’ in a film meant boobies and FFN of women. It was a golden age…
Then, guys butts started creeping in.
At first, this wasn’t so bad…because there was still boobies and FFN of women.
Then…the distrubing trend. There were more and more guys butts and less boobies…then there were actually ENTIRE MOVIES where there was supposed to be nudity but it was only a guys butt.
It’s only been downhill from there until present day.
The most full frontal nudity I have seen in a non-pornographic movie is in a rather good Brazilian comedy and sort of historical document called Como Era Gostoso o Meu Francês. Available on Netflix under the title How Tasty Was My Little Frenchman
Not outside a nudist or private setting, anyway.
It is the difference between a “death culture” and one centered on LIFE and peaceful expressions of it.