Genre films continue to draw moviegoers’ interest for two reasons. Genre films entertain audiences while meeting their narrative expectations; thus making them successful at the box office.
Moviegoers desire verisimilitude, or the appearance of reality, in films they watch; however, they do not desire pornographic realism or scenes which defy narrative conventions or lack emotional resonance.
On the Basis of Sex
Many may find sexy movies unappealing; others, however, enjoy indulging in their stories of romance or sensuality without feeling embarrassed about it. Many enjoy watching nude scenes and erotic dialogue in films – this trend hasn’t just begun: according to Reddit thread that lists 592 users who enjoy them specifically for this reason, as well as Netflix offering numerous romantic comedies featuring sensual scenes.
Reasons behind the decline of sexy movies may include pornography’s accessibility and filmgoers not wanting to witness sexual scenes without some narrative purpose.
Still, genre movies featuring naked bodies continue to perform well at theaters; unfortunately, though most aren’t particularly great and fail to provide nuanced explorations of sex and love.
At times, directors aim to make an important statement about how we depict sex on screen. While artistic films that seek to challenge audiences (for instance Andy Warhol’s Blue Movie) can sometimes prove successful, eventually losing their shock value and losing interest among their audiences.
Ruth Bader Ginsburg deserves her own biopic on the big screen and, thanks to Felicity Jones’ great performance as Ruth, the film is largely an enjoyable watch despite some awkward moments. While Notorious RBG had more bite and tension, Ruth Bader Ginsburg lacks it altogether; its conventional connect-the-dots approach to her career makes this more of a bland crowdpleaser; nonetheless it serves as an appropriate and overdue tribute.
Let’s Talk About Sex
Discussing sexuality is one of the best ways to get to know someone better, opening up more honest conversations about what makes someone attractive, what makes them uncomfortable, and how their sexuality has developed over time.
There are various approaches to approaching difficult conversations; just take it at your own pace. While it might feel awkward or challenging in the moment, finding an environment in which both you and your partner feel safe enough to freely express yourselves is key for creating effective dialogues. Start off by discussing more basic topics before progressing further down.
Some argue that sex scenes are essential to the plot of any movie. Freelance illustrator Hazel Mead has an entire Instagram dedicated to her sexy illustrations of „things you don’t see in mainstream porn,” depicting stretch marks, scars, head banging and other details often left out of most on-screen sex scenes. There’s also the argument that movies like Black Swan or Game of Thrones use sexual scenes as evidence that their characters are developing as sexual beings and not simply lusting over each other.
The End of Sex
With such an inherently provocative premise, The End of Sex could go any number of directions: it could go for sexual content, comedy or explore Josh and Emma’s relationship during their week of freedom without children around. Instead, however, director Sean Garrity and screenwriter Jonas Chernick opt for a subtler approach in the film.
This approach yields a light-hearted movie with unexpectedly sharp humor. Aside from Hampshire and Chernick’s superb chemistry as characters, their characters feel real rather than over-symbolized onscreen couples; conveying an inability to comprehend sexual situations with relatable reactions from one sexual situation to the next.
They did an admirable job of making the sex scenes feel less weird; one particularly humorous scene features a menage a trois with obsessive tendencies and a trip to a sex club, with none of its members feeling embarrassed by what they were doing even when their behavior is outside of normal boundaries.
That being said, The End of Sex isn’t exactly an insightful movie; it doesn’t say anything new about the challenges associated with long-term marriages when entering middle age. Similar movies have been made before with Eyes Wide Shut being an obvious example. Furthermore, The End of Sex comes off quite mean-spirited when dealing with adventurous sex, as well as portraying one of Emma’s bisexual friends as a sexual monster with no boundaries to recognize.
Still, this film provides a pleasant diversion. While not an essential piece of cinema, it does feature enough charm and humor to entertain. Although its plot may be predictable at times, thanks to an accomplished cast of actors. So be sure to give this harmless romance movie a watch if romance is in your nature!
Love
Filmmakers tend to show love in an oversimplified manner. Romances we see at the theater usually involve two characters who meet, fall for each other, but have minimal or nonexistent physical intimacy between them – this message must come across through Hollywood somehow but can only go so far.
Hollywood remains committed to genre films because they make money and satisfy narrative expectations for moviegoers, immersing viewers into the characters on screen and their world. There are exceptions such as Serviced humanizing body and sex workers; Into revealing psychological pain associated with kink; or Booksmart’s awkward lesbian sex scene which challenge this norm.
These movies demonstrate that there are other ways of depicting sexuality on film than through depicting simulation of sexual acts, which has become prevalent in NC-17 movies. Unfortunately, such experiments do not seem to receive wide praise in the wider cinematic community and may even be seen as disrupting narrative or showing too much content. Cinematic directors need to recognize this mistake as sexuality is more complex than what’s depicted on screen, just as pornography entangled with cinema can also be complex. Film academics might liken moviegoers rejecting unsimulated sex as being too conservative or sheltered, when in reality moviegoers simply aren’t interested in movies with more than just upfront sexual scenes.