Violence vs Sex

Agaric

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How is it that it's ok for a movie to show people sticking things in other's eyeballs and cutting up their bodies, but if a movie is too explicitly sexual, it gets slapped with an NC-17 rating?
 
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Because we are hypocrites and dont realize that what we project out is eaten up by the masses that try and emulate the images they see?
 
Sex gets special treatment as a taboo. Compare the two over the ages, in 'western' society, specially around the turn of the B.C./A.D mark.
 
How is it that it's ok for a movie to show people sticking things in other's eyeballs and cutting up their bodies, but if a movie is too explicitly sexual, it gets slapped with an NC-17 rating?
I think it is for three reasons,
We are really uptight about sex
We are such an openly violent society that it doesn't phase us much whereas we tend to keep our sexlives behind closed doors.
If one is making a movie with violence, it is all fake, if there is sex and nudity, there is a little bit of realism to it. It can not be all faked whereas eyeball cutting is completely fake.
 
If one is making a movie with violence, it is all fake, if there is sex and nudity, there is a little bit of realism to it. It can not be all faked whereas eyeball cutting is completely fake.

Good point. I completely forgot that because I thought we were also referring to documentaries and non-fiction works too. Actually, how are the ratings on those treated?
 
How is it that it's ok for a movie to show people sticking things in other's eyeballs and cutting up their bodies, but if a movie is too explicitly sexual, it gets slapped with an NC-17 rating?
I don't know, but the rating system is a mess for parents who would enjoy watching something other than a cartoon with their children, but don't want them to see anything sexually explicit or violent.


My daughter is 9, and we like to watch all kinds of movies at home from Netflix. A rated R movie can have everything from full-on sex shots to using the "f" word twice. It can be about a gay couple who are totally innocent - or about something disgusting. In other words, Rated R means nothing or too much.
 
Eldragon: your comment raises the very relevant point that there is an agenda behind the ratings committees that process films. Normally the agenda is relatively conservative and therefore anything that offends sensibilities and might possibly skew values of younger people must be restricted until their views are hardwired and they are at no risk of "being brainwashed".

On a less cynical note, the "adult themes" label is generally used if the film includes themes that one wouldn't expect children to be equipped to understand, because they wouldn't reasonably have been exposed to it. There is I suppose a fair risk because of "monkey see monkey do" habits of children (this is justifiable in light of evidence of developmental neurology), but often this consideration can be abused.
 
Good point. I completely forgot that because I thought we were also referring to documentaries and non-fiction works too. Actually, how are the ratings on those treated?
I ahve wondered abotu documentaries myself. I think that they often relax a little with documentaries. For instance, I saw a very graphic documentary on television about homosexuality on basic cable. It showed oral sex but, it was very brief and I don't believe was done for the viewer's sexual excitement or shock value. But, I also was a bit concerned because there was no warning and one of my teenage daughters was watching it with me.
 
We watch alot of foreign films that are NR, and you can never tell what will happen. I mean - one minute a couple is walking on the beach and in the next shot they are totally naked with full on frontal male nudity!

It's scary!
 
I ahve wondered abotu documentaries myself. I think that they often relax a little with documentaries. For instance, I saw a very graphic documentary on television about homosexuality on basic cable. It showed oral sex but, it was very brief and I don't believe was done for the viewer's sexual excitement or shock value. But, I also was a bit concerned because there was no warning and one of my teenage daughters was watching it with me.

It's abit of an inconsistency isn't it- either that or 'sexual references' and 'sex scenes' only refers to fiction.

So if a documentary shows real sex it's okay, but if a film shows it (like, say Romance or Ken Park as opposed to the whole simulated thing) then no way? That'd point somewhat to differential cultural perceptions between the two, I'd think.
 
It also appears to me that showing a gay relationship gets the movie an R rating, because some of the most harmless shows I've seen - have R ratings and a gay theme - with absolutely no sex or anything.

An Australian movie with that Hogan guy in it where he pretends to be gay to get some tax benefits - had an R rating and there was nothing bad in the thing.

And a German film about a gay soccer player - again an R rating for no reason.
 
I think this is a slightly more recent practice, to be honest, that probably accompanies the rise of the "religious right" (unfortunately). Since conservative members of the clergy often find themselves on the ratings boards.

I can think of some older examples that implicitly show gay relationships (you should have heard my english teacher on the subject in Welles' The Third Man), but the one that sticks clearest in my mind is The Bird Cage. From various sources I was under the impression that such transgendered practices as cross-dressing were pretty popular in integrated into parts of the US cultural scene. Perhaps the reason was because it wasn't really a pressing issue then (I kinda doubt this) and because it was presented in such a lighthearted, irreverent manner that it was seen as non-threatening. My mother's reaction would be the perfect example of this- while she is admittedly somewhat uneasy about (and uses religious rationalisations to condemn) homosexual conduct, she found that movie cute, all the way down to when the flagrantly camp house assistant was cleaning the pool in a pink G-string singing in his affected nasally voice "she work hard for her monehh..."

Perhaps the nature of the presentation is far different. I mean, Brokeback is a far cry from that kind of thing. I'm really not sure about Strange Bedfellows (Paul Hogan) as I haven't seen it, though.
 
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I don't even rely on ratings anymore. I go to places like www.kidsinmind.com where I can look at exactly what the controversial parts will be. It is broken up into ratings according to language, sex and violence.
Regarding homosexuality issues, lesbians are shown usually as a way to stimulate males, and are often shown kissing on television, now. Gay men are usually shown as a joke and much less likely to kiss on tv. This double standard hurts men and women in general and certainly our perceptions of homosexuality. I just HAD to go there again, didn't I?
 
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