Cinema Vitæ

Sex sells . . . at least at your local Cineplex.

In this second in a series of three “intermission” posts exploring issues in film ethics (see my first one here), we will briefly examine the role of sex in films.

Question: Does sexual content have a place in film and, if so, where?

Movies tell stories. The vast majority of these involve people. Since human beings are emotional, intellectual, physical, spiritual, and sexual creatures (amongst other things), one would expect that stories about humans will focus on a broad range of topics and circumstances including sexual ones. To divorce from films such a powerful and universal experience like sex is to tell an untrue human story (or perhaps simply a “subhuman” one).

Certainly, not all films are about sex in the same way that not all of human life is about sex. However, in those instances when sex comes into the story, we must not shy away from its inclusion. The manner of its use — that is, how graphically it is displayed on screen — must be in keeping with its relevance within that story’s arc. Sometimes less is more in film, while in other cases more has to be shown. These decisions are best made by the responsible filmmaker.

Sadly, many of today’s filmmakers (these would be the non-”responsible” ones) include sex in their films as a gimmick to sell more tickets or increase movie rentals because, after all, the most sought after demographic is the young adult male age 16 - 25. Regardless of the reason for its inclusion in the film, sexual content devoid of story value is pornography. It is meant to titillate and serves no other useful function in cinema.

Now, some folks that I know would balk at the idea of including anything of a sexual nature within a film. In most cases, this desire comes from a good place as these people seek to maintain innocence — both for those viewing the film as well as for those acting in it. While I certainly have no intention of encouraging individuals to go against their consciences here, we must recognize that to show the human body or a sexual activity on screen is not always wrong insofar as it advances the story. Let me state, however, that just because a film contains such material does not oblige a person to watch it. Thanks to the internet, we can now find useful information about film content before we step into the theater or rent the movie (I recommend www.pluggedinonline.com as one helpful site).

I’ll even go one step further by claiming that it is a parent or guardian’s responsibility to help children and young people maneuver through the sexual content minefield to arrive at appropriate film viewing choices. We must do research on movies before we rent them and maintain open lines of communication with the young people in our charge so that we can know where to draw appropriate lines.

Yes, it would be easier if pornography or sexually exploitive films didn’t exist, and, no, we can’t forever “guard” our children, but we can help them by making appropriate choices when they’re young and encouraging within them a strong moral understanding from which they can make their own decisions in these matters as they mature.

Still, we must be vigilant here to not throw out the baby with the bathwater. Just because some filmmakers misuse sex in their films does not mean that sexual content should be absent in cinema. We may have to do more work to guard ourselves and those we love from these inappropriate, insincere, and subhuman portrayals of sexuality, but we must not let these exploitive films dampen our view of the wonderful gift of sex. Instead, we should buy more tickets to those films which couch sex appropriately in the middle of the human experience and not as a one-off to cover for a lacking storyline.