Nudity in movies and paintings/photography; good or bad?

[Chie'N'Kadath]

I was raised to believe that we shouldn't be ashamed of our bodies, but at the same time I was raised to believe that we shouldn't flaunt them publicly.

When I see nudity in many paintings or photographs, if it is tastefully done, I think it can be beautiful and truly it is there to express the beauty the human body, male and female, can hold. Unfortunately, more often than not in the latter medium of photography, it seems these days the lines of what is tasteful and what isn't is blurred. It would be hard to really explain why without examples, but I am sure there are some people that know what I mean.

Despite my liking of tastefully done nude artwork, I can say that I feel the way it is often portrayed in movies is bad. Movies more often than not seem to show nudity simply for sex appeal, and that would fall under my category of 'flaunting.' Movies are only shy of the male gender, because they see the average consumer who is likely to find sex appeal in a nude scene in a film is likely to be a male, and they just want to see the women. Nude scenes in films are often attached to a sex scene, and even when it is not attached to a sex scene, the woman's body is often the center of focus in the scene. There are always exceptions to the rule, but it just seems to me that nudity in films isn't there to show beauty in a tasteful sense, but rather the sexual version of what 'beauty' is. While I think sex is a beautiful thing, I think it is private and it should stay that way. I am not offended with nudity or sex in films, but I often feel it is over used and the potential beauty of a well directed, artistic shot is destroyed by the fact that the movie makers know that sex appeal will sell.

Chie mostly agrees with me, although she does have an odd obsession with seeing sex on film >_>

[Alex]

I dont think its a question, in terms of movies, if Nudity is bad or not, but is it better or worse than violence. Paremts consistently complain about violence in video games and on T.V., but movies with scenes about or including erotica get NC-17 ratings while bloody, gorey movies get PG-13.

I think that is the bigger issue, because if you feel nudity is wrong, do you feel it is more wrong than violence. If not then it should be included in PG-13 filmaking, if not then you agree with its limits to R and NC-17. If all excessive violence and nudity was limited to NC-17 wouldn't it cause uproar among the movie-watching community. I think it would.

Its a business descision, and quite frankly I would gladly show a woman naked on a screen if it gauranteed me 2 million dollars. What that says about me as a person, I don't know, but it is just how I feel. You can't get rid of nudity in filmaking if violence doesn't come with it, and I don't feel either should be taken because both, despite being offensive to some, admittedly make money for the movie industry.

[Chie'N'Kadath]

I dont think its a question, in terms of movies, if Nudity is bad or not, but is it better or worse than violence. Paremts consistently complain about violence in video games and on T.V., but movies with scenes about or including erotica get NC-17 ratings while bloody, gorey movies get PG-13.

I think that is the bigger issue, because if you feel nudity is wrong, do you feel it is more wrong than violence. If not then it should be included in PG-13 filmaking, if not then you agree with its limits to R and NC-17. If all excessive violence and nudity was limited to NC-17 wouldn't it cause uproar among the movie-watching community. I think it would.

Its a business descision, and quite frankly I would gladly show a woman naked on a screen if it gauranteed me 2 million dollars. What that says about me as a person, I don't know, but it is just how I feel. You can't get rid of nudity in filmaking if violence doesn't come with it, and I don't feel either should be taken because both, despite being offensive to some, admittedly make money for the movie industry.

I don't think that nudity is worse than violence, I am not against violence in media either but I do believe that it does more harm than nudity, but I know many people think that one shot of a breast and they instantly think its pornography; even in the most tasteful of situations. Even in natural situations. It would be hard for me to approve of nudity in a PG-13 film mainly because I think if it is used just to exploit the sex appeal of the movie, I think the 'R' rating is justifiable. I think if tastefully done, it fits in a PG-13 film but its hard because its so rare for me to see that. I guess to use a good example of a movie that uses nudity 'tastefully' depending on your definition, would be Orlando. It got a PG-13 rating despite having a shot of Tilda Swinton fully naked from head to toe, but it was brief and it truly fit the context of the movie, and it wasn't forced for sex value. There was also the animated film Tokyo Godfathers, in which although I think in some ways it was a bit gratuitous to focus a full frame shot on the woman breast feeding, it got away with a PG-13 rating and once again didn't 'exploit' the 2 brief shots of nudity. However, when you look at many comedies, I'll take a look at the teen comedy genre, they deserve their 'R' rating because they have women stripping down just to please the viewers. A film like Revenge of the Nerds, in which they have a minute or two long sequence of a bunch of men watching women in a dressing room for perverse intent, is not tasteful nudity. That's the way I feel about it.

[Imelda]

I think people are way too squeamish about nudity. We all have bodies, and most of us have normal bits. Nude statues and stuff amaze me, that a sculptor can make stone look so like muscle. Likewise the old paintings. I don't quite know *why* they felt the need to paint everyone naked, but it's not a problem. Even today I find quite a lot of nude photography perfectly acceptable. Who's that guy who does mass naked art? I admire him for showing the human body as it really is, in all its different forms. It's a nice step to making us not the paranoid weirdos we became after the restrictive Victorian era.

In films, I have to say I don't really agree with it. I'm not sure why, but it just seems to be more vulgar and for all the wrong reasons. Plus there's never enough male nudity, I mean, what's up with that?! The West just needs to reorganise their principles, I reckon.

[electrilad]

I definetely think (the American culture) is too squeamish about nudity in the arts, while we're pouring tons of violence into our media. We DO need to become more tolerant. We are perhaps the only country that has these sort of opinions: violence yes, nudity no.

Like when I went to Germany- no violence on TV! Whatsoever! But then, one day we went to a spa there, and boy oh boy do they have nudity there. And there we were, our lil American family, the only ones in their bathing suits, covering out eyes as we walked around the massage level.

[GeorgeMichael]

Like when I went to Germany- no violence on TV! Whatsoever! But then, one day we went to a spa there, and boy oh boy do they have nudity there. And there we were, our lil American family, the only ones in their bathing suits, covering out eyes as we walked around the massage level.

yeah... they do that a lot...

Anyways.

I really don't disagree with all of the nudity that they put into today's films becuase as Alex said it's a business. hey could make the shittiest movie ever and just say hey can we throw in her flashing the audience or a sex scene (they have done this many... many times before... think modern "horror" films) and they just do it because they know that
1. The majority who will see these movies are male.
2.The Majority is not going to complain about seeing this in the movie.
3. IT actually gets them more into the movie.

The business people know this, they know that so many guys are like "WHOA!" Everytime that it appears and that they like seeing Nudity, I mean come on... they're teenage guys for the most part, what can you expect?

And on the lack of male nudity in movies, I really think it's because male nudity doesn't carry over the same effect towards females. Take for instance... Walk Hard or Forgetting Sarah Marshall, they showed male nudity and it made like this enormous controversy (not enormous... but it was big for a while) about showing a man naked in a movie aimed for teenagers. (Keep in mind it is rated R) and then hundreds of movies come out with female nudity and no one says anything. The business has just evolved to the point where naked women means more tickets selling and no one questions it anymore. Sex Sells. That's just the way it is for the majority of the population.



ok keep in mind I'm not actually one hundred percent sure that the majority of movie goers or anything like that are males and I don't have charts or statistics... but come one, you know it's pretty much common knowledge that a movie like Prom Night or some other shitty slasher flick is bound to have mostly guys and some dragged girlfriends for revenge towards Made of Honor... and then the occasional girl who wanted to come.

[Shadow]

I think it depends on the genre of movie. If it's a full-blown erotica movie, which I think would obviously give plenty of warning it's going to have nudity in it, then I think that's just fine and I steer clear of it, seeing as I have no motive to watching pornography. However, if it's a blood-and-gore type movie, then I think they should give us some warning that it's got nudity in it. I mean, I watched Hostel on Sky Movies. All it said in the info was a brief blurb going on about gore this and death that and I thought it'd probably be good. Then I watch the first five minutes and, wait a minute, it's got like thirty minutes of scenes that have 99.9% nudity in it. I watched it for about a minute thinking it'd probably end soon, then after five minutes I just fast forwarded it and it just went on and on and was just completely pointless. I think if a guy was looking for a turn-on, he got it about five minutes in, there was no need to dedicate a full thirty minutes to it. Anyway, I digress. So, yeah, nudity is fine and everything, but I think there should be warning if it's not of the erotica genre. As for paintings/photography, I don't see much of that anyway, but from what I have seen most of it was pretty tasteful.

[Chie'N'Kadath]

Imelda, your views reflect mine right down to a tee.


Who's that guy who does mass naked art? I admire him for showing the human body as it really is, in all its different forms. It's a nice step to making us not the paranoid weirdos we became after the restrictive Victorian era.

I think it's Spencer Tunick. If not, then Spencer Tunick does pretty much the same thing. And of course in all our ridiculousness, he's been arrested in the US several times for his huge nude photo shoots.

[Shaun]

Imelda also comes from a country that has a network TV show that gives detailed verbal and visual instructions on sexual activity (all the way from oral sex to sex sex, in graphic detail). So I imagine with that being shown there they would be much more tolerant to nudity.
I personal don't have a problem with nudity if it has a point. If it's just nudity for the sake of showing some boobs, then I really don't want to see it. Take Schindler's List. That had a lot of nudity in it, but it served a vital purpose to the story.

[Pibs]

I have to agree with most everyone. Nudity in art, if it's tasteful, doesn't bother me. For example, in a town near mine that's on the river, a local artist made a larger-than life statue of a water spirit, who was mostly nude. It was a tasteful and beautifully done piece of art.
In movies, same thing. It it plays an actual purpose in the plot line, fine, but be conservative about it. And otherwise, leave it out. For example, in Fullmetal Alchemist, the spirits that were still in human form on the Other Side of the Gate were nude. (For those who don't know FMA, the Other Side of the Gate was like, the afterlife) Totally fine with me, for whatever reason.

[Chie'N'Kadath]

For example, in Fullmetal Alchemist, the spirits that were still in human form on the Other Side of the Gate were nude. (For those who don't know FMA, the Other Side of the Gate was like, the afterlife) Totally fine with me, for whatever reason. I have not seen FMA, but I will assume that the reason it is probably fine with you is the fact that it wasn't done just for sexual reasons. I guess, yeah, I'd have to see it to really voice my opinion, but I can form an idea.

I think one of the few and only exceptions where I agreed with nudity in a slightly distasteful manner in a movie was OldBoy, but the sexuality played into the plot heavily. The fact it was distasteful as well was actually contextual as well, and it wasn't just used for sex value even if it was in a sexual manner.

I guess in Kadath's eyes Im a pervert. Although I dislike pornography or overtly erotic content in film, I love nudity in film even when its 'tasteless' in his purview. My idea of tasteless only goes into the softcore and explicit pornographic areas, like I see it as tasteless if a woman is spreading her legs and her genitals are completely visible or a man is in an obviously aroused state. I do think that the west needs to be a little more lax about nudity (especially male nudity, why is it so much worse than females? Just because the sex appeal generally is higher to the male audience?) and I think that not only should a certain amount of nudity be allowed in PG-13 movies, like say in a non-sexual context similar to the word 'fuck.' They can say 'fuck' in a PG-13 movie as long as its not used sexually. I also think, although I would not want to walk around entirely naked or see other men/women walk around entirely naked unless it was for an artistic purpose, I think that we women should have the legal option to walk around topless. Men are allowed to, and honestly I don't see why we cant. I just think it should be an option for those, like me, who on a hot day would like to walk as such without having to worry about getting arrested or being chased down perverts. I feel if we didn't sexualize the breast so much, when it serves almost no sexual purpose outside of certain fetishes, people wouldn't be so afraid of seeing them and people wouldn't be so perverted about them. If people were more open, I am certain that we wouldn't see them as something sexual and wrong.