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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

#561

Post by nickelcitymario »

hnmullany wrote: post #524
ghaff wrote: post #486

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I'm always skeptical about claims that $MOVIE couldn't be made today that was made in a past decade. Lolita's title character was 3-4 years older than the character in the book in both films. Pretty Baby was very controversial when it came out. (ADDED: And I'd entertain the thought that it might be even harder to make today/be even more controversial.Might be more like HBO material.) Nymphomaniac is a European art fi…

And most of Nymphomaniac is very very boring

More to the point, it's a movie that doesn't seem to have anything positive to say about sexuality. So it's a weird film to bring up in this context.

It's not a sexy movie. Yes, there's sex and nudity. It seems to hate both.

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

#562

Post by anoonmoose »

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…

A live remake of Rocky Horror Picture Show aired on Fox in 2016 during normal viewing hours with Frank N Furter played by a trans actress. I disagree with your general point, but also, you're explicitly wrong on that front.

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

#563

Post by throway98752343 »

pjc50 wrote: post #545
aasasd wrote: post #445

Earlier quoted context omitted.

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?

I should have elaborated on this in my other flagged comment, but: the poster has linked two papers, the relevance of which is not obvious, and not explained it at all. (Also, I feel we've gone somewhat offtopic here; it's not a Party matter, the depiction of sex in American films - unless we're counting the targeting of films at the global market resulting in films being made compliant with Chinese censorship? Could…

The linked papers provide context for the quoted passages by describing British sexual culture during which Orwell wrote 1984.

The party, or rather the government, does influence what's in TV shows and movies. See Carlin's "7 words you can't say on TV" https://youtu.be/kyBH5oNQOS0 and Family Guy's FCC song: https://youtu.be/Eeg4J8yNk4g.

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

#564

Post by nicoburns »

wl wrote: post #490
ardit33 wrote: post #484

Earlier quoted context omitted.

From written record. We know for sure, since Old Egypt/bronze era, marriage was almost universal. Heck, we even have tablets of workers that built the pyramid that were writing about how they think they made a mistake marrying their wife, as she is miserable and complains all the time, and suspicion of her cheating. It is a story that could have been written today, but it was written 4800 years ago

There's a decent argument that marriage came about as a consequence of agriculture, where paternity suddenly mattered when it came to inheriting property. Of course, this predates writing, making it hard to definitively prove one way or another.

It's possible, but pair bonding is also common in other species such as Puffins where inheriting property is unlikely to be a factor.

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

#565

Post by anthonypasq »

jmarbert wrote: post #555
BunsanSpace wrote: post #546

"In the early 2000s, there was a brief period where actresses pretended that their thinness was natural, almost accidental. Skinny celebrities confessed their love of burgers and fries in magazines; models undergoing profile interviews engaged in public consumption of pasta; leading ladies joked about how little they exercised and how much they hated it. It was all bullshit: no one looks like that without calorie res…

Another example of dehydrating for shirtless shots - Henry Cavill talks about doing just that for The Witcher in an interview on the Graham Norton Show. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ne5xD5XrzOc

i think its also worth noting that actors really exaggerate how hard is it to look good on camera and it ends up discouraging people from improving their diet and exercise.

you dont need a nutritionist, and a personal trainer, and to treat it like a full time jobs and get paid for it to look good.

you need to clean up your diet and do resistance training at least 3 times a week for an hour, and be consistent.

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

#566

Post by Cthulhu_ »

Thorentis wrote: post #368

Our society glorifies pornography and sex-work, but condemns the objectification of bodies. Our society condemns fat shaming, but makes idols out of instagram models. We are very, very confused. Huxley predicted a world where sex became God. Orwell predicted a world where sex was taboo. Unsurprisingly, the reality is that our society has become a paradox by adopting both.

I think you're making some sweeping generalizations about "our society" to be honest, because pornography, sex work and instagram models are condemned just as hard by a lot of people, throughout generations.

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

#567

Post by sideshowb »

Singletoned wrote: post #399
A12-B wrote: post #393

Earlier quoted context omitted.

It wasn't banned in the United States, which the OP said it would.

No, he said it couldn’t be made there, which seems about right

Well certainly not, you don't have enough castles. (And where would you get the coconuts?)

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

#568

Post by bojan »

globular-toast wrote: post #560
BunsanSpace wrote: post #546

"In the early 2000s, there was a brief period where actresses pretended that their thinness was natural, almost accidental. Skinny celebrities confessed their love of burgers and fries in magazines; models undergoing profile interviews engaged in public consumption of pasta; leading ladies joked about how little they exercised and how much they hated it. It was all bullshit: no one looks like that without calorie res…

Or they actually are naturally thin. Such people do exist and I refuse to believe most people haven't ever met someone like this. Why is it so hard to believe that the tiny fraction of people who make into Hollywood are selected for this trait? I'm not saying they don't also do unnatural things to their bodies that set unrealistic standards and don't set a good example, but being "thin" is not one of them.

I don't think that's how it works. People you perceive as "naturally thin" probably simply:

* are used to not snacking between meals

* eat when they are hungry, and stop when they are not

* do not drink (excessively)

* are more-than-average active

Calories add up extremely quickly and it's very easy not to notice if you don't pay attention. Say you have one Mars bar per day, as a snack - that makes a difference of 10 kg of body weight per year as compared to someone who skips such a snack (a back-of-the-envelope calculation).

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

#569

Post by smusamashah »

throway98752343 wrote: post #246

> [Julia] was a bold-looking girl, of about twenty-seven, with thick hair, a freckled face, and swift, athletic movements. A narrow scarlet sash, emblem of the Junior Anti-Sex League, was wound several times round the waist of her overalls, just tightly enough to bring out the shapeliness of her hips. Winston had disliked her from the very first moment of seeing her. > Better than before, moreover, he realized why it…

How do people separate emotions from sex (i.e. changing/leaving partners). How do people do it without (emotional) bonding with the other person? I always thought the act itself is strongly emotional, isn't it?

Will it be correct to say that cost of sexual freedom is emotional detachment from it?

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

#570

Post by Cthulhu_ »

prirun wrote: post #317

I have never understood why nudity and consensual sex - basically harmless activities - are deeply frowned on by the ratings groups, yet stabbing someone in the throat and having their blood gush out everywhere is fine and dandy. Everyone knows that men have dicks. Why is seeing one such a big deal? Or a butt for that matter: everybody has one! It's no wonder our society is screwed up when it comes to our bodies. We…

There are some pretty good articles and videos about the subject; some random points:

Puritans, who believed that sex was sinful and suffering was noble.

The likelihood of something happening in real life. Most people will live their whole life without getting into a violent situation, which keeps it a fictional one, but almost all will be confronted with a sexual one. Violence in media will not beget violence in real life, generally speaking (if it did, given how much violence there is in video games and movies, we'd have a Problem), but sex in media will normalize it. Or that's the theory anyway.

Another one: Sex is always happy, a happy relationship, people looking pleased with themselves after the saxophone-music-pan-out smoking a cigarette (to invoke the 80's trope). Violence is almost always bad, the hero in agony, the bad guy coming to a gruesome end (falling off Nakatomi Plaza, into helicopter blades or a jet turbine, getting roundhouse kicked into defeat, etc), etc. It's a punishment, whereas sex in a film is depicted as a reward. Generally speaking.

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