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Modern action films fetishize the body even as they desexualize it

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Re: Modern action films fetishize the body even as they desexualize it

#501

Post by tenebrisalietum »

honkdaddy wrote: post #489
xg15 wrote: post #475

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I think this is an accurate summary of certain conservative or puritanical stances on sexuality. Of course there are also decades of progressive literature that argue why this is essentially bullshit. Also, if you follow this line to its logical conclusion, you end up with inceldom. I think there is also another mechanism at work in why many modern societies seem at the same time oversexualized and prude: By raising…

>Also, if you follow this line to its logical conclusion, you end up with inceldom What does that mean?

If you make sex too difficult to attain you get frustrated people who give up and stop participanting and become vulnerable to things like the propaganda of certain ideological cults that provide promises of controlling women, for example.

Re: Modern action films fetishize the body even as they desexualize it

#502

Post by twoslide »

airhead969 wrote: post #325

Fuck all that mass-media social programming propaganda. Murder and violence are "okay," while sex and sexuality are "bad." I'll walk around naked, look at women, and hookup whenever I damn well please. Sex is awesome, bodies are beautiful, and no shame is necessary for either. Films that cannot be made in modern America: - Laura, les ombres de l'été (1979) - Lolita (either) - Pretty Baby (1978) - Caligula (1979) - Ro…

> hookup whenever I damn well please

Hopefully it's implied, but it should be whenever all involved "damn well please."

Re: Modern action films fetishize the body even as they desexualize it

#503

Post by xg15 »

rayiner wrote: post #498
xg15 wrote: post #475

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I think this is an accurate summary of certain conservative or puritanical stances on sexuality. Of course there are also decades of progressive literature that argue why this is essentially bullshit. Also, if you follow this line to its logical conclusion, you end up with inceldom. I think there is also another mechanism at work in why many modern societies seem at the same time oversexualized and prude: By raising…

> I think this is an accurate summary of certain conservative or puritanical stances on sexuality. Of course there are also decades of progressive literature that argue why this is essentially bullshit. Those ideas served civilization for thousands of years. But after just two generations of “progressive literature” western countries have literally ceased to be self-sustaining, becoming reliant on importing the next…

> Those ideas served civilization for thousands of years.

Civilisation also had wars and famines for thousands of years to manage population and "cull off the weak". Do you want to go back to that?

> western countries have literally ceased to be self-sustaining, becoming reliant on importing the next generation from conservative Latin (in North America) and Muslim (in Europe) countries. Victory!

And yet the same people who argue like that are also usually worried about overpopulation of the planet.

> those changes

What do you mean by that? Allowing people to be in charge of their own sexuality?

Re: Modern action films fetishize the body even as they desexualize it

#504

Post by ABraidotti »

milchek wrote: post #27

This was a fun read, especially as someone who grew up with those 80s and 90s movies. That said, and as the author touches on, the action/super hero of today is a PG-13 one. Studios need to reach the widest audience possible to make the most money, so it's a safer bet. Sure, back in the day studios had the same imperative, but the licensed toy game was still young, so they didn't realise that maybe if they made Die H…

Marvel movies are also made to export to a global audience looking for family-friendly entertainment. I'm sure some countries' censors would balk at sexual content as much as they would disagreeable political content.

Re: Modern action films fetishize the body even as they desexualize it

#505

Post by joshspankit »

xg15 wrote: post #475
_xnmw wrote: post #415

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Scarcity increases value. We often artificially enforce the scarcity of things in order to preserve its value. That's the reason why patents, IP and copyrights exists, for example. "Marriage" and "fidelity" are a means of artificially enforcing scarcity on sex, in order to increase the value and likelihood of partners bonding for life, which in turn improves the child-rearing situation for society, as single parents…

I think this is an accurate summary of certain conservative or puritanical stances on sexuality. Of course there are also decades of progressive literature that argue why this is essentially bullshit. Also, if you follow this line to its logical conclusion, you end up with inceldom. I think there is also another mechanism at work in why many modern societies seem at the same time oversexualized and prude: By raising…

As well: a population that is completely restricted (no sex and no masturbation) has a lot more energy that can be channelled to reach for that carrot.

Re: Modern action films fetishize the body even as they desexualize it

#506

Post by FrojoS »

aasasd wrote: post #445
lstamour wrote: post #349

Earlier quoted context omitted.

It’s worth pointing out that Orwell wasn’t so much predicting a future as commenting on current trends. For instance https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4412199/ or https://www.jstor.org/stable/27673024 My point is not that the above articles are definitive but to show that the more things change, the more they stay the same, etc.

Now that's some specialized knowledge. How do the stars even line up so that someone with the insight on British sex practices of the fourties, lands precisely in a random thread mentioning Orwell's writing on the matter?

Welcome to HackerNews

Re: Modern action films fetishize the body even as they desexualize it

#507

Post by triceratops »

joe_the_user wrote: post #52

Tiny point: "It was all bullshit: no one looks like that without calorie restriction." I'm 6' and I've weighted 135-145 pounds for my entire adult life and I'm 50+. Being a guy, I never restricted my calorie intake. I'd expect there are women with a similar metabolism. Which isn't to say that a lot of skinny celebrities aren't dieting like mad to get this look. But probably some percentage aren't and the rest hate th…

> Being a guy, I never restricted my calorie intake.

What's being a guy got to do with it?

Re: Modern action films fetishize the body even as they desexualize it

#508

Post by MisterTea »

milchek wrote: post #27

This was a fun read, especially as someone who grew up with those 80s and 90s movies. That said, and as the author touches on, the action/super hero of today is a PG-13 one. Studios need to reach the widest audience possible to make the most money, so it's a safer bet. Sure, back in the day studios had the same imperative, but the licensed toy game was still young, so they didn't realise that maybe if they made Die H…

> Sure, back in the day studios had the same imperative, but the licensed toy game was still young, so they didn't realise that maybe if they made Die Hard PG instead of R they could sell some John McClane action figures to younger viewiers.

Merchandising! Merchandising! Merchandising! Where the real money of the movie is made!" - Yogurt, Spaceballs (1987) Heck, most of the 1980's cartoons were designed to sell toys.

> I agree that more and more we are optimizing for artifice; fitness classes, extra curricular activities, holidays, concerts and events we attend, just to keep up an appearance online or in person. And in those activities we often don't get the true value out of them because we're doing them for the wrong reason.

Social media did this. Before narcissism became en vogue, gym rats and party people existed and no one else really cared because they were not visible. Now they show up in your social media feed every day. They make you feel small and less complete. Maybe you should go to the gym and more clubs to keep up otherwise you aren't cool or interesting. Meanwhile its all senseless, shallow peacocking and hedonism.

Re: Modern action films fetishize the body even as they desexualize it

#509

Post by prionassembly »

aksss wrote: post #299
jack_pp wrote: post #215

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I won't comment on the personal stuff because I've stopped trying to save everyone. For the record I rolled on random.org with a 20% chance saying I should offer to personally help you and you got 57. > When push comes to shove, women are expected to use their sexuality to some degree to open doors career-wise in a way men are generally not expected to do Men are generally not epected to use their sexuality because i…

> I rolled on random.org with a 20% chance saying I should offer to personally help you and you got 57. Funniest thing I’ve read today. Is that a normal thing you do? Just online or for the panhandler at the corner via mobile? How do you determine the saving throw? So many Q’s..

For a while, whenever I felt tempted to goof off a little, I'd look at my phone. It if was an even number, I followed my desire, if [the last digit of the clock] was an odd number I carried on with what I was doing. Figured it would cut procrastination in half. I think it did.

Re: Modern action films fetishize the body even as they desexualize it

#510

Post by literallycancer »

Const-me wrote: post #156
hirundo wrote: post #35

Is this a side effect of normalizing porn, that sexuality is more effectively partitioned? I once had a debate in an online forum about legalizing prostitution, and most participants were supportive of it. Then I asked the same group, what about legalizing partial prostitution, like a receptionist that also has sex with the boss as part of the job description. The participants all immediately switched to revulsion at…

> why is 100% sex work less exploitative than 50% sex work? I oppose receptionist that also has sex with the boss. Exploitation has nothing to do with that. At least in my world view, having sex at workplace is unprofessional. First of all, spending corporate or investor's money on paying sex workers is wrong. Even if the boss is the sole owner of the company i.e. spending their own money, boss fucking a receptionist…

It's OK to spend investor's money on massages or fitness coaches to keep the team in top shape, but not OK to add a happy ending and blow off some steam?
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