Welcome to our community

Be a part of something great, join today!

Log in
  • Hey all, just changed over the backend after 15 years I figured time to give it a bit of an update, its probably gonna be a bit weird for most of you and i am sure there is a few bugs to work out but it should kinda work the same as before... hopefully :)

Sex Sells

alexwhitmer

alexwhitmer

Well-known member
Joined
Oct 24, 2008
Messages
337
Reaction score
0
Points
0
Location
Wherever I hang my head in despair
Website
www.alexwhitmer.wordpress.com
Kinda concerned the whole T&A love affair in music videos will become a required element in short and indy film to get any notice. Let's dispell the whole 'sex sells' nonsense right here and now. Okay, it most certainly does, but so do cigarettes, and that does not mean it's a good thing.

I do get asked to 'spice up' scripts for maketability. In some cases it can work, but I think all too often is just naked fluff with the stupid subliminal message 'If I watch this film, I just might get lucky'.


Oh, and check out DVXuser's THRILLFEST goin' on now.
 
"Sex sells" is a self-fulfilling prophesy. That is, the more that tenet is believed, the more sex that is shown.... And thus, the more it becomes desired.... and then? The more often it is shown.
 
Last edited:
alexwhitmer said:
Let's dispell the whole 'sex sells' nonsense right here and now. Okay, it most certainly does, but so do cigarettes, and that does not mean it's a good thing.
Click to expand...

The first advertisement was carved into the street for the oldest profession; an outline of a woman and a hand pointing the way to the services.

Sex sells. It always has; it always will.

By the way, used as directed, cigarettes kill you; sex does not, although itcan inspire all manner of mayhem, most of us consider it well worth it.

Best of luck with this one, you've got several millennia of human evolution to overcome. In fact, you've got the essence of all life to overcome.

Leo
 
You know, from all the so-called vices, sex really has the edge.

Guns
Drugs
Alcohol
Violence
Cigarettes
Sex

Which is the only one that actually really doesn't harm you and is in many ways good for you?

I'll do sex any day!

(yes... I have 3 kids... so what?) -:)
 
Ha- yeah with all due respect to the OP, speak for yourself. I'd much rather look at some sexy movie than a movie full of violence, drugs, suicide or whatever else happens to seem in vogue in the indie filmmaking world next week. :lurk5:

Noah
 
Alex,

I feel you, sex as a spice to the film recipe has become overused, formulaic and downright boring. But, very few human emotions or traits, if any, remain unused to tell the truth, so this is unavoidable. And yes, if faced with choosing the lesser of several evils, I'll happily throw in a sex scene as opposed to guns blasting away, faces being punched, cars racing off and blood being spewed by the gallons. The popular conscience at large has become predictable, violent and sometimes plain ignorant, but it is what it is, and if we want to work in this field, it is up to us to make the best of it. Whenever I'm asked to write or film a sex scene, I welcome it as a challenge, imbuing it with images that are more suggestive than explicit while still stirring up longing, desire, lust, whatever the script calls for. This is the most primal of all human interactions, so resistance is futile, but being creative in the presence of so much repetition and mediocrity, that is unique.
 
Leo Ticheli said:
The first advertisement was carved into the street for the oldest profession; an outline of a woman and a hand pointing the way to the services.

Sex sells. It always has; it always will.

By the way, used as directed, cigarettes kill you; sex does not, although itcan inspire all manner of mayhem, most of us consider it well worth it.

Best of luck with this one, you've got several millennia of human evolution to overcome. In fact, you've got the essence of all life to overcome.

Leo
Click to expand...

Rudi Herbert said:
Alex,

I feel you, sex as a spice to the film recipe has become overused, formulaic and downright boring. But, very few human emotions or traits, if any, remain unused to tell the truth, so this is unavoidable. And yes, if faced with choosing the lesser of several evils, I'll happily throw in a sex scene as opposed to guns blasting away, faces being punched, cars racing off and blood being spewed by the gallons. The popular conscience at large has become predictable, violent and sometimes plain ignorant, but it is what it is, and if we want to work in this field, it is up to us to make the best of it. Whenever I'm asked to write or film a sex scene, I welcome it as a challenge, imbuing it with images that are more suggestive than explicit while still stirring up longing, desire, lust, whatever the script calls for. This is the most primal of all human interactions, so resistance is futile, but being creative in the presence of so much repetition and mediocrity, that is unique.
Click to expand...


Well said.

And, in spite of possible diseases, I'm with Gunleik!


Gunleik Groven said:
You know, from all the so-called vices, sex really has the edge.

Guns
Drugs
Alcohol
Violence
Cigarettes
Sex

Which is the only one that actually really doesn't harm you and is in many ways good for you?

I'll do sex any day!

(yes... I have 3 kids... so what?) -:)
Click to expand...

Sorry Alex, I'll take some gratuitous (respectful) sex in the movies over gratuitous any other in that list.
 
Speaking of vice, a subject for which I admit I am fond, I've always been suspicious that the cigarette companies could be "influencing" heavy smoking in some films.

I'm no conspiracy theorist, but I wonder if any of the major stars who seem to be smoking in films or their directors or producers are the recipients of things of value from big tobacco.

Movies certainly have a profound effect on their favorite target market, teens.

Good shooting and best regards,

Leo
 
When it comes to sex and violence, I have always been a big fan of the old story telling methods. A scene does not need to be gratuitous to be effective. As a fan of film noir, I enjoy scenes that imply rather than depict. Road to Perdition is a perfect example. Any lesser director would have shown the murdered wife and son in the bathroom, blood all over the floor and walls but for me, Tom Hanks vocal reaction off screen was far more depressing as the camera focuses on the son downstairs in shock from what he has just seen. The film leaves the carnage up to our imagination.

That is one thing I don't like about directors like Lars Von Trier and Gasper Noe, they try to shock us with graphic depictions of sex and violence but the effect feels cheap and exploitative. It's kind of like "You were not expecting a 10 minute rape scene were you? Are you shocked? Just wait till later, I'm going to show you a man's face being disfigured by a fire extinguisher!"
 
Andrew Rieger said:
When it comes to sex and violence, I have always been a big fan of the old story telling methods. A scene does not need to be gratuitous to be effective. As a fan of film noir, I enjoy scenes that imply rather than depict. Road to Perdition is a perfect example. Any lesser director would have shown the murdered wife and son in the bathroom, blood all over the floor and walls but for me, Tom Hanks vocal reaction off screen was far more depressing as the camera focuses on the son downstairs in shock from what he has just seen. The film leaves the carnage up to our imagination.

That is one thing I don't like about directors like Lars Von Trier and Gasper Noe, they try to shock us with graphic depictions of sex and violence but the effect feels cheap and exploitative. It's kind of like "You were not expecting a 10 minute rape scene were you? Are you shocked? Just wait till later, I'm going to show you a man's face being disfigured by a fire extinguisher!"
Click to expand...

andrew i second that, you hit exactly my opinion..
 
Andrew Rieger said:
When it comes to sex and violence, I have always been a big fan of the old story telling methods. A scene does not need to be gratuitous to be effective. As a fan of film noir, I enjoy scenes that imply rather than depict. Road to Perdition is a perfect example. Any lesser director would have shown the murdered wife and son in the bathroom, blood all over the floor and walls but for me, Tom Hanks vocal reaction off screen was far more depressing as the camera focuses on the son downstairs in shock from what he has just seen. The film leaves the carnage up to our imagination.

That is one thing I don't like about directors like Lars Von Trier and Gasper Noe, they try to shock us with graphic depictions of sex and violence but the effect feels cheap and exploitative. It's kind of like "You were not expecting a 10 minute rape scene were you? Are you shocked? Just wait till later, I'm going to show you a man's face being disfigured by a fire extinguisher!"
Click to expand...

Road to Perdition is a perfect example of a movie that lacks the courage of its convictions. They show a man being executed at point black range - a bullet to the temple, and... no blood. I would have preferred they did what you are saying and just showed the kids reaction, then it would have been horrible, at least in my imagination. But the way they shot it was the worst of both worlds. And that ending. Ugh. Such a copout. I admire much about the movie, it's superbly made, the cinematography and score are amazing. But its totally gutless. With a title like road to Perdition, telling me at the end of the movie, that Perdition is actually the name of a town... fuck you very much.

Your point about a lesser director showing the aftermath of violence I don't agree with either. The only moral problem I have is when filmmakers remove the results of violence, which then implies violence is consequence free. That to me is more offensive than any amount of exploding heads. And you can't tar Gaspar Noe with that brush. His films are all about the consequence of these violent acts, and therefore, to me in no way amoral. Tactless thought they may be.

R.
 
The fact that the two word title of this thread got me to click on it answers itself. That and also I can usually look forward to another thought provoking subject from Alex.
 
Ruairi Robinson said:
The only moral problem I have is when filmmakers remove the results of violence, which then implies violence is consequence free. That to me is more offensive than any amount of exploding heads. And you can't tar Gaspar Noe with that brush. His films are all about the consequence of these violent acts, and therefore, to me in no way amoral. Tactless thought they may be.

R.
Click to expand...

I agree that the consequences of actions should be shown in films, from violence to sex to whatever. Otherwise what is being shown is fantasy, is a cartoon of life. However there is a also a place also for normal, no consequence, action films. But I prefer the former, where life is shown in all its toughness, sadness and joy!
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top