What are we watching when we watch "naked scenes"

Iva 2022-04-19 09:02:30

Men can take off their clothes without being slandered, why can't women?

After smoking marijuana, Emi started dancing.

It was the most beautiful moment of the sunset. She stood under the flag of Tai Chi, peeled off the scallion and shed her shirt, and immediately she was as naked as a gull, dancing with her arms, as if flying over the sea.

After that, she cried for no reason and fell asleep again. She always said, "When I feel sleepy, I fall asleep anywhere, and it doesn't take ten seconds."

When I woke up, it was already night, and there was no sunlight.

She ran into the yard, raised her head, stared at a tree, smiled and told Fa novel behind her, "The tree has grown a lot." Fa Xiao was expressionless, and uttered a sentence, very light, but it hit people. Breathless:

How can you undress so easily in front of a man? Prostitutes take off their clothes like that.
©️ [Burning] The 68th minute is the nude dance scene of the heroine Huimei. Many viewers believe that this dance is so beautiful that it is enough to be famous in the history of photography

whispering sound.

From George Meriai's [After the Ball] to Li Changdong's [Burning] , the undressed heroine spans a history of 120 years, and the meaning it carries is no longer as simple as a "prostitute".

It's not about being debauched, lustful, or not serious, but being the master of one's own body, which is the awakening of women's self-consciousness.

In 1897, George Méliès made [After the Ball] starring his fiancée, Jeanne.

Silent film, black and white, 1 minute and 6 seconds long. It is about the female protagonist taking a shower and changing clothes after the dance is over. But it's not really eye-catching, because it doesn't really reveal anything.

But it was the servant who helped the hostess undress, took her into the bathtub, poured water into the bath, and finally dried her body and changed into a robe.

©️ The picture on the left is Jenny, the second wife and queen actress of Méliès, and the picture on the right is her nude scene [after the dance]. Because it was a black-and-white film, Méliès was worried that the bath water would not be able to develop, so she replaced the coal ash and poured it on the on jenny

At first glance, it is quite fragrant.

But throughout the process, the heroine wore flesh-colored tights to imitate nudity . Generally speaking, it can be regarded as the earliest nude scene in film history. On closer inspection, it may be called a " pseudo-nudity show ".

Méliès learned this trick from stage play.

In 1861, there was an American actress named Ida Mencken, she wore such a dress in the play "Mazepa", which was very tight.

Actors at that time, whether male or female, could not go on stage naked. If you wear a corset for simulating nudes, that's fine, as long as you cover your important parts with long hair.

It is said that it is to encourage the development of the theater industry, which can be imagined with the toes.

After the birth of film technology, many directors felt that they should be able to make a lot of money by filming such nude scenes .

©️[Bridal Night Bride] in 1899, 7 minutes long, talking about the wedding night, the husband is reading the newspaper, and the wife is dancing while taking off the wedding dress, which is quite sexy. Actor Louise Willie is also famous for this striptease

In 1900, Méliès made another film [The Temptation of Saint Anthony] .

It is said that two women went to seduce the great Anthony to test his piety. He was also wearing tights and scratching his head.

©️ [The Temptation of St. Anthony] is one minute long, using stop-motion shooting and superimposition. It is also the first film in film history to find inspiration from religious stories. The picture shows the heroine wearing a flesh-colored tights, which is the initial presentation of a sexual comedy

Méliès was a clever and speculative man.

How to say, although at that time, not long after the film was born, there was also a censorship system. There was a "Saturn Film Company", but the scale was not properly adjusted, so it was blocked, and the film was completely destroyed.

Some people don't care, though, like Francisco Bertolini.

In 1911, he filmed [Dante's Inferno] , which was adapted from "The Divine Comedy". He talked about the torture of souls in hell. There were nude scenes, which he said was shown in some brothels in South America.

©️ [Dante's Hell], naked women often appear, and the first male nude scene in film history was born

It has been remade many times, but no matter how it is rewritten, there are no less nude scenes, and even flogging scenes.

After all, it is for entertainment, everyone is straight to the point, the gun is implanted, and the gestures are purely for the pleasure of the audience. Women only represent desire and lust, and write "money misappropriation" on their faces.

In 1915, [Inspiration] was released.

The heroine is Audrey Munson, who plays a nude model of a sculptor in the film, with a well-proportioned body, like a puddle of water full of moonlight.

Of course, some people sing the opposite, saying that this is "promoting nudity", and the words are filled with righteous indignation, and they are even published in the newspapers, adding to the indignation.

The producer couldn't sit still and sent a letter to the media, saying "our [inspiration] was reviewed by a national censorship board". More and more film critics are also affirming after watching:

This is the first non-pornographic film in film history with an artistic purpose.
©️In 1918, the film was re-released and renamed "Perfect Model", and the heroine became famous because of this. She was praised by the media for her "classic beauty" and "extraordinary temperament". Unfortunately, all her photocopies are now lost.

To be honest, I think this is the real nude scene.

Refers to the scenes in which at least one person is fully nude or half-naked, and must be part of the story, which can be used to describe the character, promote the plot, and exaggerate the atmosphere.

As for [inspiration], it is all about the hard work of creating a plaster sculpture of a human body. The so-called nude scenes are just to gain a reputation for the sculptor.

Besides, in 1921 [Queen of Sheba] , Betty Bryce changed 28 sets of transparent clothes of different styles before and after, all of which fit the beauty of Queen Sheba in the "Bible · Old Testament".

©️[Queen of Sheba] Produced by 20th Century Fox, it was a huge success after its release. But in 1937, a fire in New Jersey destroyed almost all of Fox's film negatives, and [Queen of Sheba] ceased to exist.

It was also the same year that David Griffith filmed [Orphans in the Tempest] , which was 150 minutes long, with the French Revolution as the background and talked about class conflict.

Among them, there is a small nude scene that is not very noticeable. Griffith took this to satirize the debauchery of French high society.

©️ [Orphans in the Tempest] is Griffith's rare, wildly successful commercial, and his last successful commercial

We know that many painters are good at depicting nude women, such as Botticelli, Rembrandt, Ingres, but this is not pornography, but " nude art ".

There are nudity scenes, but with an artistic sense of composition, color and storytelling.

That's what it means to be a nude show. It pays attention to "moderation", carries artistic value, and sometimes has educational significance (such as [Is Your Daughter Safe?] in 1927). It should not be too much, this is a worry about the taste of the film.

On the contrary, using redundant, gratuitous or provocative nudity scenes to attract audiences is not called nudity, but "yellow".

In the 1930s, sound films were born. There have been many such films, all of which are emotionally shocking and hot, such as [Doll Bride] .

The heroine Shirley Mills was only 12 years old, and the director actually spent 5 minutes showing her nakedness and 30 minutes of nude swimming scenes.

Just in time for the promulgation of the "Hays Code" a few years ago, it was naturally banned, because this is "a fragment that appears for no reason".

©️[Doll Bride], 12-year-old Shirley Mills was topless and was photographed by unscrupulous cameras, which was controversial. Later, these scenes were edited out

Once a nude scene has motivation, it doesn't look good.

Fortunately, in the same period [Cleopatra] and [Outlaws] , they braved the "no nudity scene" rule in the Hays Code to photograph the beauty of women.

Claudette Colbert is charming and charming, and Jane Russell is like a god, making the nude scene a little bit of a touch.

©️ The picture on the left is [Cleopatra], and the picture on the right is [Outlaws], both of which have brief nude scenes

However, the latter's plump mind is regarded by the audience as a "big wave show". It is difficult to say that it is not the director's exploitation and use of women under the banner of "dedicated to art".

In the 1960s, the sexual liberation movement broke out.

Western women began to march on the streets, striving for the same status as men, demanding to choose a lifestyle according to their own wishes, and to break down the barriers of clothing, behavior, ideas and physical barriers.

In 1969, Andy Warhol made a [Blue Movie] about a man and a woman lying in bed, talking about the Vietnam War and marriage, and then going into the bathroom to have a good time.

All naturally, actresses have no sense of shame.

©️Andy Warhol has been fighting against censorship and protecting nude scenes from obscenity charges. He really wanted to make a pure film, called "Fuck". Who knows, he used the wrong film and made the film a blue-green tint, and it became [Blue Film]

The Japanese film industry was also influenced by the sexual liberation movement, and filmed [Gate of the Flesh] and [Killer Brand] .

Especially the latter, the lens design is very elegant, even the nude scenes have a tone, and the artistic sense far exceeds the expression of desire. The female killer fought back mercilessly, suggesting the rise of female consciousness.

©️ The female killer in [Killer Brand], played by 19-year-old truth Annu at the time

In addition, there is Nagisa Oshima's [Sensual World] .

The woman was on top, strangling the man's neck with a belt, quivering in almost suffocating joy, and finally strangled him, cut it off, and carved her name on the man's body with a sharp blade.

©️ [Sensual World], a woman gets an orgasm by strangling a man's neck

This kind of initiative by women to meet their own physical needs is extremely rare in East Asian films.

It is quite similar to Li Cangdong's [burning] , Huimei will send a small "cheat" to come to the house, and half push and half fall asleep. Halfway through, Emi reached out and took a condom from the storage box under the bed.

©️ [Burning], Huimei had sex with Faxiao, said "wait a minute", reached out and took a red condom from under the bed

This action means that a woman sleeps with a man, not a man sleeps with a woman. It also represents the awakening of women who dare to satisfy themselves.

It was not until 1988 that Chinese films ushered in this awakening.

It's [Crazy Price] . Wu Yujuan, who is still a junior in Chinese opera, went into battle in person and starred in a 5-minute bathroom bath scene, which was placed at the beginning of the film.

Then, there are men's voyeurism and sexual assault. In the end, the paranoia and murder of women.

©️In 1988, Wu Yujuan did not have a boyfriend. Seeing the announcement of [Crazy Price], the salary was quite generous, so he went without thinking. At that time, there was no naked substitute, she went into battle in person, and some viewers wrote a ten-page letter to her, scolding her for being shameless

This kind of killing of female characters due to injuries was almost unprecedented in the Chinese film industry at that time. But there are still "enthusiastic audiences" who wrote and cursed: Moral corruption .

People have always been ashamed of this.

Whenever there is physical nudity in a movie, they associate it with lust and hurriedly label it "pornography."

Just like I wrote this push, be sure to mosaic the picture, and hit it hard. Because no one will treat it as art or female consciousness, but as a monstrous beast.

Therefore, most of the nude scenes in Chinese-language films are mainly breastfeeding scenes to praise the great mother's love. Such as [Life and Death Tribulation] and [Zhao's Orphans] .

©️[Orphan of Zhao's], the scene of Haiqing breastfeeding two children was added temporarily by Chen Kaige

The female role can only exist as a kind of "need", which is by no means gender equality in the true sense.

So, how rare is [Crazy Price], Wu Yujuan kicked the rapist down the tower, just like Catherine in [Instinct] lifted an ice pick, and Selma in [Wild Flowers] shot and killed the ugly man.

But my favorite is [Silver · Sex · Men and Women] in 1993 .

Julianne Moore was naked, pacing back and forth in the room, without any eroticism, just a person's ordinary daily life.

©️ [Silver·Sex·Men and Women], Julianne Moore has a vacuum in her lower body, but she is very ordinary

This nude scene is the self-consciousness of women.

You don't have to be secretive, you are yours anyway, and you have the freedom to choose what to wear and how to live. It's a pity that 14 years after the release of this film, the Chinese people are still insulting one of Tang Wei's naked backs in [Lust, Caution].

©️[Lust, Caution], Tang Wei's naked back

One hundred and twenty years later, nude shows have progressed from recreational value to self-awareness, yes, but the audience has never.

Therefore, it is not that I dare not shoot nude scenes, but that there is no soil that is willing to accept nude scenes.

Even so, Li Cangdong still shot [Burning] .

The sun shone all over the ground, the Tai Chi flag fluttered, and Emi held her chest out, dancing in the courtyard. She faced her body squarely, dared to be the master of this body, and didn't care about other people's eyes.

Seeing people's 36,000 pores reacted, as if following her, dancing with an ego-like temperament, transcending worldliness and gender.

©️ [Burning], Chun Zhongrui, born in 1994, staged a large-scale nude scene, like a gull flying over the sea, causing waves

"How can you take off your clothes so easily in front of a man? Only prostitutes take off their clothes so easily." But I did, what happened? Men can take off their clothes without being slandered, why can't women?

I'm afraid you can only see the nipples in the nude scenes, but if you can't see them, they are strong, gentle, and exhausted.

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Author/Aunt Liu

The article was first published on the WeChat public account "Bao Ci Er"

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Extended Reading
  • Maiya 2022-03-26 09:01:09

    A mix of the best and worst adaptations. There has never been any Japanese shadow that can imitate the omnipresent but ubiquitous male voyeur like Haruki Murakami to such a vivid state; however, when he left the original work and derailed in the second half, he put this ambiguity again. The aftertaste wafts away, turning into a vulgar sentimentality. This kind of rough attitude of making everything clear and not trusting the audience's brainpower at all is the main reason why Han Ying is difficult to really like.

  • Quincy 2022-03-24 09:02:43

    A shortcoming in Li Cangdong's works. The only thing that haunts me is the "well". Everyone has such a well in their life, like an enchantment that cannot be broken through. Emi's falling into a well at a young age has set the tone for her subsequent life: the void of love that will never be filled, and the hunger for meaning. In those few hours, she was forced to know the word loneliness in human life. I won't say what my "well" is.

Burning quotes

  • Shin Hae-mi: Do you know Bushmen in the Kalahari Desert, Africa It is said that Bushmen have two types of hungry people. Hungry English is hunger, Little hungry and great hungry. Little hungry people are physically hungry, The great hungry is a person who is hungry for survival. Why do we live, What is the significance of living? People who are always looking for these answers. This kind of person is really hungry, They called the great hungry.