The Childish Sexuality of American Movies
When flipping through the channels the other day, I passed by Auto Focus, which is the bio pic about Bob Crane's life. Or rather, it is about one specific part of his life, his sexual addiction that eventually cost him his life. Or rather, it is about how American movies approach sexual issues, which is to say that they reduce every sexual issue, no matter how mature or complex, into the nodding, winking, leering, overexcitement a teenage boy is supposed to feel when he sees his first naked female breast.
I don't know why American movies do this. I think I know why, but I am hoping I am wrong. I think they do it because they are afraid to take on sexual issues in a mature, adult (and I mean adult as in your are a grown person with a sex life, not "adult" as a synonym for "pornographic") manner because we still have a puritanical streak (God forbid we would offend someone) and it is easier to take on a mocking, adolescent tone rather than tackle the subject head-on.
Someone once made the observation that rock and roll music is full of songs about sexual immaturity. It is full of songs that basically take the viewpoint of a horny high school boy that might be having sex for the first time that night. Since the boy might have sex, the songs deal only in anticipation, not events. When disco came out, and dealt with songs with people who actually had sex (I Feel Love, for one) certain people were offended by the "frankness" (although the songs at that time weren't very frank). But since the mid-80's, and the gradual decline of rock and roll as the face of popular music, popular music dealt in a more head on manner with sex. Not rock and roll, however, where a song like Stacy's Mom can maintain a safe and snickering distance.
Movies haven't even made this much of an advance. Porky's, American Pie, The 40-Year Old Virgin, and the godawful Austin Powers movies all make millions of dollars. They all deal with people desiring sex, but instead of actual getting laid (unless getting laid involves embarrassing someone else (the Stiffler's Mom complex)), they are an exercise in tease and frustration. I have no idea why these movies would appeal to people. They deal in unoriginal material, they are not funny, and they all deal with the unnecessary thwarting of a natural desire. Would anyone go see a movie about a hungry person that was always this close to eating a meal, except that at the moment of truth the table collapsed, or a bird flying overhead pooped in the food, or some other unlikely contrivance prevented him from eating? I would think not, as that sounds like a repetitive, not entertaining movie. Yet Americans flock to the sexual equivalent of such a movie over and over again.
Which takes us back to Auto Focus. While it is not a comedy, it feels the need to fall back on comic and crowd-pleasing elements because it thinks we can't handle a straightforward movie about a man with a sexual addiction. So we get lots of shots of people playing Hogan, Newkirk, Klink, etc. The worst offense is a nightmare scene where Crane is dreaming he in costume on the set of Hogan's Heroes while dealing with sexual temptation. But, face it, that was the scene the American audience wanted to see in the movie.
Whenever an American movie does try to take on sexual issues in a straightforward manner, it is usually criticized in an exaggerated manner. I have recently come across writers going on and on about what a horrible movie Eyes Wide Shut is. This movie is not great, but it's not horrible either, especially when compared to an Austin Powers movie. Eyes Wide Shut is somewhat of a mess, but it does deal with the issues of sexual desire in contrast with what a rationale course of behavior would be. Of course, no critic wants to talk about that, they just want to pile on the "ridiculous" orgy scene.
The scene is unrealistic, but what I think bothers the puritanical American critics is that the scene deals with people having and actually enjoying sex, not anticipating sex and being somehow stopped at the last minute because Mom got home, or a pipe suddenly burst, or a cow kicked over a lamp and set the barn on fire.
I don't know why American movies do this. I think I know why, but I am hoping I am wrong. I think they do it because they are afraid to take on sexual issues in a mature, adult (and I mean adult as in your are a grown person with a sex life, not "adult" as a synonym for "pornographic") manner because we still have a puritanical streak (God forbid we would offend someone) and it is easier to take on a mocking, adolescent tone rather than tackle the subject head-on.
Someone once made the observation that rock and roll music is full of songs about sexual immaturity. It is full of songs that basically take the viewpoint of a horny high school boy that might be having sex for the first time that night. Since the boy might have sex, the songs deal only in anticipation, not events. When disco came out, and dealt with songs with people who actually had sex (I Feel Love, for one) certain people were offended by the "frankness" (although the songs at that time weren't very frank). But since the mid-80's, and the gradual decline of rock and roll as the face of popular music, popular music dealt in a more head on manner with sex. Not rock and roll, however, where a song like Stacy's Mom can maintain a safe and snickering distance.
Movies haven't even made this much of an advance. Porky's, American Pie, The 40-Year Old Virgin, and the godawful Austin Powers movies all make millions of dollars. They all deal with people desiring sex, but instead of actual getting laid (unless getting laid involves embarrassing someone else (the Stiffler's Mom complex)), they are an exercise in tease and frustration. I have no idea why these movies would appeal to people. They deal in unoriginal material, they are not funny, and they all deal with the unnecessary thwarting of a natural desire. Would anyone go see a movie about a hungry person that was always this close to eating a meal, except that at the moment of truth the table collapsed, or a bird flying overhead pooped in the food, or some other unlikely contrivance prevented him from eating? I would think not, as that sounds like a repetitive, not entertaining movie. Yet Americans flock to the sexual equivalent of such a movie over and over again.
Which takes us back to Auto Focus. While it is not a comedy, it feels the need to fall back on comic and crowd-pleasing elements because it thinks we can't handle a straightforward movie about a man with a sexual addiction. So we get lots of shots of people playing Hogan, Newkirk, Klink, etc. The worst offense is a nightmare scene where Crane is dreaming he in costume on the set of Hogan's Heroes while dealing with sexual temptation. But, face it, that was the scene the American audience wanted to see in the movie.
Whenever an American movie does try to take on sexual issues in a straightforward manner, it is usually criticized in an exaggerated manner. I have recently come across writers going on and on about what a horrible movie Eyes Wide Shut is. This movie is not great, but it's not horrible either, especially when compared to an Austin Powers movie. Eyes Wide Shut is somewhat of a mess, but it does deal with the issues of sexual desire in contrast with what a rationale course of behavior would be. Of course, no critic wants to talk about that, they just want to pile on the "ridiculous" orgy scene.
The scene is unrealistic, but what I think bothers the puritanical American critics is that the scene deals with people having and actually enjoying sex, not anticipating sex and being somehow stopped at the last minute because Mom got home, or a pipe suddenly burst, or a cow kicked over a lamp and set the barn on fire.
posted by Beukey @ 8:49 PM
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