Re: Nudity in Films (This is a Rant)

Well ladies and gents…I feel a rant coming on. Just a warning. It feels like the past week or so my mind has been bombarded with unrelenting images of fake breasts and “willing” females…whether during regular television watching (yes, Girls Gone Wild commercials at EVERY break do get old), regular comedy movies, or in reviews of current releases that I’m considering seeing. Now you can call me a prude if you wish, say that my mind has been brainwashed by uptight American standards of morality, or claim that I have a “problem” with nudity, though it is a natural and beautiful thing.

Let me clarify what my problem is, because it’s not with artistic or natural nudity. I’ve seen plenty of films where nudity was used in a responsible way to enhance the story and to make a film more realistic. These include Titanic, Shakespeare in Love, and Schindler’s List. All of these films use REAL female AND male bodies to create a realistic portrayal of the events that are taking place. These films use nudity in an artistic way, and I have absolutely no issue with this. So what DO I have a problem with? Nudity in films such as American Pie, Eurotrip, and the new release Hostel. Why do I pick on these? Because the nudity is forced and it is fake. The situations are unrealistic, and the women used in these films are paper thin, surgically enhanced, airbrushed versions of real women. Frankly, comparing these films to art is offensive to me. It's like comparing Hugh Hefner with Picasso. I don't think so.

Case in point: In Eurotrip (a film which I own and think is hilarious, by the way, so don’t think that this is based on a dislike of the film), a dorky guy jumps into a hot tub with a girl in a bikini. He then tells her that she has “something” on her breast and convinces her to remove her top and rub it in front of him. Maybe I went to the wrong parties in highschool, but I doubt this was a common situation. And even less often, I doubt that the girls looked like this! Yeah, implants seem to be a requirement for women to get parts in movies like these. And why’s that? Because men like it. Let’s not beat around the bush. And why shouldn’t they? These women are physically “perfect.” Their breasts are huge, their waists are small. They’re ditzy and have no qualms about removing their clothes and sleeping with any guy who stumbles into the hot tub/hotel room/shower…

And what effect does this have on the average teenage/twenty something female? Well I can’t speak for everyone, but as a nineteen year old girl I can speak for myself. I’m 5’7” and I weigh right around 120 pounds. Most days I look at my body and hate it. My hips are too wide, my breasts are too small. My butt is huge. Sad but true. And why do I feel this way? It probably comes from all the times I’ve settled and watched these films with previous boyfriends…watched as their eyes bugged out. Seen the posters that guys post on their walls. Seen banners on websites with scantily clad models asking men to click. And I think the biggest issue is that men don’t even know the damage these images cause to women. Men are the targets, women are the victims. I was disgusted recently to watch a show where a seventeen year old girl, who was thin and had a great body, bought breast implants because she felt she wasn’t pretty enough to keep up with celebritites. How sad is that?

So what do I propose? Nothing I guess. I don’t think that American cinema is going to change as long as hordes of males can be lured to spend millions of dollars to watch a film loaded with silicone breasts and Barbie doll figures. But maybe men will eventually see the damage that is being done to the beautiful women they care about by such films and will avert their eyes or God forbid opt for a film with a plot. Maybe. We’ll see.

Now stepping off of my soapbox. Have a nice day.