General Politics XII World • Page 34

LOL

gonna have to go get a job now

 

Yeah, this is strange to me. Mainstream movies are already about as sexless as they've been in the history of the medium. And, then when there is some sexuality (thinking of Challengers), it seems moviegoers lose their minds with joy at the brilliant novelty of it. I suppose Challengers would be better without the two dudes kissing? I dunno. I feel this tracks with Gen Z's love for Trump. Some of the most sexually frank (and best) films I've seen of late have come from the queer community (or involved queer romance plots) and people of color. And now that they're finally getting just a *slight* bit more opportunity, people seem to be getting even more puritanical.

 

Yeah, a good friend of mine is a bassist who moved to Seattle about 2 years ago. He is trying to get into the metal scene but says finding a band that isn’t vocally right wing has been really difficult.

 

I mean, I'm going to sound like a total prude, but I'm all for the actual sex acts being off screen. There's barely a movie I can think of where the characters relationship / motives / overall characterization is improved because I know exactly how they do the deed. Same for books, I'm very much a 'fade to black' kind of guy after it's hinted at. Why does horny need to be an emotion brought into the move going experience?

 

I respect that. I suppose I'm coming from an angle where queer folks have rarely properly been able to depict sex in an honest and realistic manner. It doesn't have to be exploitative. It's part of the human experience. If a movie is going for realism, the fade to black concept feels insulting. Why should queer people rarely get to see sexual representation in movies?

 

Agreed and nothing wrong with including it for those that enjoy it as part of the movie going experience. If you're talking about bias and queer sex scenes being unrepresented compared to straight, and those specifically being the ones behind closed doors, no argument. I know the new Daniel Craig movie is supposed to be explicit as a counter point and correction to criticism of how much of call me by your name was 'sanitized'.

It's also refreshing how many strides we've made in regards to queer romances not having to have a shame aspect to it and it not always being about the struggle of being queer but now often embracing it and treating it like any other romance.

 

I’m of two minds with it. I do think sometimes movies/tv focus on sex in the same way they depict drug use or drinking in a way i don’t really care for, IE to say something about opulent or decadent lifestyles which I think simultaneously diminish and overblow all activities listed above. That said, you are 100% correct about queer romance/sex being depicted for the first time in ways that are meaningful (I mean, Moonlight alone is such a gorgeous film which cannot be made without sex being explored).

I guess my line on it is: if sex adds to the plot/says something unique about the characters then I think it’s worthwhile to examine it; if it’s just a shiny object on the screen for viewers then i think it’s goofy and superfluous.

 

My opinion on what is too frequently in shows and movies? Wealth. It’s often just a cheat code to advance plots. It’s disproportionately represented, shallowly dealt with (if ever), and seemingly has the benefit to the wealthy of making them seem more relatable. Corrosive.

Similarly, all the films and programs that have come out the past several years that are explicit in capitalism being evil, but never go further to explore what you do about it (advance towards socialism, militant collective action, etc.) have begun to get on my nerves. Thoroughly captured. Real Mark Fisher shit.

 

i don't really think about movies really, i think about HBO.

 

The only movies I watch are when The City of New York plays a character.

 

Seems bad

Drought conditions across Philly region: What you need to know – NBC10 Philadelphia

 

Sex in movies is perfectly fine as long as the actors don't feel like they are being exploited.
EDIT:

I also don't think it's a conservative/liberal thing. There's a lot of weird scolds about sex and nudity in movies on both sides, at least from what I've seen on social media.

 

I’m very much on board with less sex in movies and I also believe things such being able to see queer sex represented on screen is important. Context matters, and the issue to me is that a great deal of sex scenes in movies feel superfluous and for the male gaze. That’s what we can use less of.

 

I would just add content in general to your first point here - YouTube, TikToks, all of it

 

For years I've been seeing headlines on articles about Gen Z studies and it seems for that generation they are less interested in pursuing sex (at least in their teenage years) and not interested in drinking alcohol. I use these two examples because they're seen as more popular teenage vices of older generations.

 

This seems less like taking a stand and more like not wanting to draw the ire of trump

 

There's also the validity of the polls to consider. If I were a teenager and someone came up to me and asked if I liked sex and liked to underage drink I'd probably just lie and say no lol.

Maybe it is true, but as a high school teacher I can say that my kids are still absolutely obsessed with teenage relationships and absolutely still drink/smoke regularly.

 

Yeah my wife says her classes are not that different than any of our classes were when we were their age. Main difference is MCR is in the place Nirvana was when we were middle school kids.

 

I totally agree that context is important. And I certainly respect your opinion. But, like, can there really be much less sex in movies? I just rarely see it in modern movies. Admittedly, my tastes do skew to older movies and more indie stuff. And, if every actor is consenting and does not feel exploited, is there something inherently wrong with depicting sex, even if it’s merely for the “fun” of it? Again, I respect your opinion. I’m likely older and perhaps just not as sensitive to its depiction onscreen, unless I feel that the actors are being exploited, which I very much felt while watching Blue is the Warmest Color.

 

maybe the true change is lying, but about not getting laid.

 

Maybe previous generations lied about fucking to sound cool