-29 I think sex scenes in movies have a purpose. And are often important for a story. amirite?

by Born_Quality_3802 11 months ago

I saw a movie recently where a woman's sink was giving her trouble, and she called a plumber, and then they just had sex in the kitchen, and he never even fixed the sink. It felt gratuitous.

by Anonymous 11 months ago

This particular scene has clearly a comedic purpose, often in B movies, B comedies or Indie Nordic films. You can also see it and analyse in Friends Season 2 Episode 4: The One With Phoebe's Husband or in Johnny Sins - Plumber gets Surprised from 2018.

by Born_Quality_3802 11 months ago

He was making a porn joke lol

by hughrobel 11 months ago

Whoosh

by carrolleuna 11 months ago

Whoooosh

by hughrobel 11 months ago

I did. I don't think you get it, but that's ok, not everyone has to

by hughrobel 11 months ago

Don't be fatuous, Jeffrey.

by Anonymous 11 months ago

Never recommend a plumber like that again. Fix the damn sink!

by Anonymous 11 months ago

But it's a way to promote people going into blue collar work and trades though. If they just showed this at every high school no one would want to be YouTubers/influencers/wealth gurus anymore.

by Anonymous 11 months ago

that's not the kind of movie OP is talking about...

by Anonymous 11 months ago

I saw a similar movie but it was a front load dryer that had a sock or something this lady was having a difficult time reaching. She reached in to get it and low and behold got stuck. She was yelling and yelling for help and finally a gentleman came to assist her. Instead if helping her get unstuck, he ended up fornicating with her instead. The movie ended before we got to find out if she ever retrieved the sock.

by Anonymous 11 months ago

"You take care of my pipes, ill take care of your pipe 😏😏" "... 🤨🤨Maam i do my own plumbing"

by Schusterterrill 11 months ago

Lol

by Anonymous 11 months ago

I mean that's literally what they are doing, though. And it is very poignantly called "sexposition". I won't disagree that the softcore porn backdrop isn't necessary, but it also doesn't waste any more time than if it took place in a different setting

by Anonymous 11 months ago

I'm not complaining at all...

by Anonymous 11 months ago

You are claiming it's happening all over Hollywood when in fact there's much less nudity and way fewer sex scenes these days. . . .except for HBO, whose brand has been graphic sex scenes in their shows for thirty years.

by Anonymous 11 months ago

Yes they can have a purpose, but the sex (most of the time) can be implied. Couple makes out, camera pans away, fades to black. Watching them have simulated sex almost never adds anything to the story.

by Anonymous 11 months ago

That's how most movies in the 90's and early 00's did it. The rise of streaming services that weren't limited by television censorship ended that.

by Anonymous 11 months ago

But can't that also be said for like when a person gets killed on screen? We don't need to see the bullet enter their head or the knife cut across their throat. They can just show the muzzle flash and cut or the knife about to cut across and cut to black and imply the murder. Seeing it wouldn't really add anything besides shock value, we know they're dead

by Chemical-Air-1569 11 months ago

The on screen death does 2 things Actually confirm death (if you don't see a body or someone die in front of you, never consider it real). And adds shock and surprise as it can come out of nowhere. Sex scenes have to be built up to, and you don't need to confirm sex has happened, people believe it when it's not shown on screen, and there really isn't any way or reason to fake sex in a movie or show.

by Anonymous 11 months ago

Tbf, sex scenes can also used to create atmosphere, like when Jason Statham/The Rock/John Wick clean the fifth room-full-of-goon, there are no surprise/shock, no need for confirmation, yet, barely anyone complaint about it

by Anonymous 11 months ago

Yeah there is. Tits n Ass.

by Anonymous 11 months ago

If someone needs that to enjoy your film, they're not really your audience

by Artistic_Spread_6643 11 months ago

Except the way the murderer kills a person in and of itself adds to the narrative. It's a show, don't tell, device. What am I going to learn about the 2 or more people having sex in a scene? That they love each other? That they're horny? That one is more experienced than the other? If it doesn't add to the story and/or spectacle, then cut it out. There's a reason that gratuitous violence is often called out in film.

by Sufficient_Debate600 11 months ago

IMO, not every scenes needed to add some extra information, like after 10 fight scenes, nothing else you could learn form the 11st gunfu scene where action man destroy another wave of goons, yet it still serve it purpose as build up atmosphere and pleasing to the eyes

by Anonymous 11 months ago

I'm not sure if you're aware... but most people don't like seeing others murdered. Many people do like to see nudity though. I don't really _want_ to see bullets enter peoples heads, but I'd love to see some T&A sometimes. Sorry, I'm weird that way. I think a sex scene can create a mood. Implying the sex can work too if that's what you want to convey. Movies are about a lot more than just plot, or character development. Movies has atmosphere and feel to them. Beautiful images. Incredible costumes.

by Anonymous 11 months ago

Read a book

by Anonymous 11 months ago

This

by Anonymous 11 months ago

I need tna you communist Gen Z /s

by Anonymous 11 months ago

I'm actually 41 🤷‍♂️

by Anonymous 11 months ago

I get it now. You don't like sex scenes because they remind you that you can't get it up anymore. That's one hell of a midlife crisis, man. You don't need to blame sex scenes for your lack of performance. 🤣

by Anonymous 11 months ago

Crime, penetration, crime, penetration. You need to mix it up.

by No_Razzmatazz 11 months ago

And then the movie just sorta ends….

by Consistent-Tie-3452 11 months ago

My guy, you can just say you like watching people have sex.

by Anonymous 11 months ago

I mean sex is exciting. Everyone says you can just show them making out and then cut to black. You can do the same with an action sequence by cutting all of it and have the gunman or whatever walk out sweaty and covered in blood, but that's boring. Boobs are exciting. Y'all are a bunch of squares

by Available_Zone6791 11 months ago

I mean, porn exists though lol

by Anonymous 11 months ago

I mean, ufc exists though, lol

by Available_Zone6791 11 months ago

You really think that's a good analogy? Lol You watch porn for boobs. You don't watch ufc for plot..

by Anonymous 11 months ago

It's not and either is yours that's why I made it. I watch movies for entertainment, boobs are part of that entertainment at times. I don't watch a movie to cum lol

by Available_Zone6791 11 months ago

I generally agree with this, but I can see why younger people would be apposed to sex scenes. They would've grown up hearing about #MeToo and all the exploitation which goes on in Hollywood and associate sex in movies with stuff like that and naturally be apposed to it. That's my theory anyway.

by stephan17 11 months ago

I like seeing it in movies/books or any type of stories. At times it feels out of place, but if it fits the themes, setting, character, and story being told it's never out of place. I've been watching Black Sails, a pirate show, and it's very important to the story.

by rhayes 11 months ago

I'm more interested in the plot. I fast forward through or skip most sex scenes in movies and books. Often they aren't that good anyways.

by Anonymous 11 months ago

I hate this opinion so much I couldn't disagree more lol

by Emilie81 11 months ago

Love to hear that :D

by Born_Quality_3802 11 months ago

I agree with this, actually. I think people put super high arbitrary standards for sex scenes having importance, while often misunderstanding what many sex scenes represent. People don't ever apply the same standards to things like violence.

by Anonymous 11 months ago

So what do they represent

by Elvis91 11 months ago

In a show like Game of Thrones it adds another layer to the power dynamics and there are obvious reasons to include sex scenes, because important things happen during many of them, whether to the two characters having sex, or a third character happening upon them, for example.

by Anonymous 11 months ago

Depend on what scene, sometime is for the plot where the 3rd character sneak up on the couple, sometime it represent something else like how Daenerys gain power and love form Drogo, etc etc

by Anonymous 11 months ago

Tits and ass!

by Anonymous 11 months ago

Passionate kiss then fade to black is all you need to imply what happened. Unless something happens during the sex that changes the plot or character then it's literally just soft-core pornography.

by Ok_Background 11 months ago

Implying something happened isn't always the intent of a director. A movie often wants you to engage from the perspective of the character, and showing how a scene plays out and our characters reactions, tells us a lot more about the relationships and feelings of those characters. I watch so few movies now where I feel the intent of a sex scene is completely pointless.

by Anonymous 11 months ago

People say this all the time but I challange you to list one example where any of that happened lol

by Anonymous 11 months ago

I'm hip

by Anonymous 11 months ago

I'm not disagreeing that most sex scenes that depict actual sex are unnecessary, but it is absolutely not always "just soft-core pornography"

by Anonymous 11 months ago

Oh no, the horror!!! Let's find a pearl necklace to clutch

by Anonymous 11 months ago

Porn is cool, I watch it sometimes. But everything in a movie should have purpose and drive something forward. A scene where nothing affects the plot and nothing affects the characters is dumb, sex or not.

by Ok_Background 11 months ago

If we took out every scene in every movie that served a purpose, most movies will probably be cut down by 30 minutes. At least.

by Anonymous 11 months ago

Every scene has a purpose be it for the characters, scenery, plot etc. Shooting a movie costs money so every shot in the end is carefully planned and wouldn't be used if it didn't had a purpose for the people behind the camera. It may not be for a big purpose but the small ones still count.

by Anonymous 11 months ago

I know that. And you know that. But Slawth_x doesn't know that.

by Anonymous 11 months ago

That's beyond ridiculous lmao

by Anonymous 11 months ago

I know. I was trying to make a point to Slawth_x.

by Anonymous 11 months ago

Hyperbole that bad defeats the purpose, just saying

by Anonymous 11 months ago

no.

by TemperatureMother526 11 months ago

Are you capable of explaining how a sex scene that does nothing for the plot and nothing for the characters is actually important?

by Ok_Background 11 months ago

It can deepen the relationship between two characters without developing them or the plot. Very rarely happens this way, but it is absolutely possible.

by Anonymous 11 months ago

Can you list one example?

by Anonymous 11 months ago

Movies aren't just about plot and character development. My God, please read a book. Any book

by Anonymous 11 months ago

I like stories that actually, you know, tell a story. If there's no character arc and no plot and it's just an 'artsy' movie then it's utterly pointless. Creative masturbation.

by Ok_Background 11 months ago

Are you eleven years old?

by Anonymous 11 months ago

Yep I'm 11 and I've never read a book, you see right through me. Care to explain the importance of a story that says nothing and goes nowhere?

by Ok_Background 11 months ago

This conversation is going nowhere

by Anonymous 11 months ago

It would benefit you in the future to be willing to explain your position if you want to be taken seriously. This is the first step to debate. And really conversations in general.

by Anonymous 11 months ago

It's important to me

by Anonymous 11 months ago

They should and can have purpose. But they almost always dont.

by brody75 11 months ago

As a writer / author, they have a purpose... the problem for me is not the sex, it's the gratuity and nudity. Movies used to show these things in deeply romantic / sexual ways without needing to see "all of that..." Arguably some of the greatest movies ever made had no nudity flying around left and right. It gets exhausting. Some people say, "it's just a body, get over it..." I get it, and I agree... to an EXTENT... in some contexts, it is "just a body..." - for example- I don't really have a problem with the nudity where a prison or historical situation is being presented- because you're not supposed to be oggling that... The entire point of showing the nudity during the sex scenes IS to tantalize the audience, - so we're not "supposed" to see it as "just a body get over it..." (Trust me on this one, I was in and out of hollywood a good chunk of my younger life... this is the reason for the nudity.) It's unnecessary in most of these sequences, and sort of thrusts the audience into a place where now they have to make a decision- watch breasts, butt and privates flying everywhere and be uncomfortable due to the context of the situation (especially if watching it with someone - family, their children - adult children, not little kids- etc...) or "skip over it..." Just make the sex scenes less full of skin. It was done in the past, it can be done now. No one complained. Scenes are also getting so much worse. We used to get a glimpse of a butt, or a breast... now it's just getting out of control... and sadly I think it'll get worse if we don't put a foot down and say, "please no more of this..." When we don't focus on the nudity, we have to be more creative to make it sexy / uncomfortable, etc. I think it's lazy, personally.

by Anonymous 11 months ago

Great answer!!

by Odd-Satisfaction2952 11 months ago

case in point

by melisa12 11 months ago

Ah irreversible how you've traumatized me

by Beginning_Rhubarb_45 11 months ago

In one of my favorite movies Fried Green Tomatoes, their food fight scene was said (by the director) to be the closest to an intimate scene they'd get for the movie due to the "times". Though in the book it is based off of the two main protagonists are outwardly in love and are intimate with each other.

by Kgoyette 11 months ago

Everything needed for storytelling can be achieved through implication. Actual sex scenes are always 100% unnecessary for plot. That doesn't mean you aren't allowed to enjoy them for what they are. But nobody is buying the deflection its important for the plot lmao

by Anonymous 11 months ago

Yeah no.

by Anonymous 11 months ago

I dont see how an imitation of sex has any more purpose than the implication of it

by Anonymous 11 months ago

Sex is important to the plot, sex scenes aren't

by Anonymous 11 months ago

Movies have to be extremely efficient with time as telling a whole story in 2-3 hours can be difficult if the story is complex. A 30 second sex scene is a much easier way to show romantic passion between two characters that 5-10 minutes of cheesy flirting. If romance is important to the plot but not the main story they are going to want to write the easiest way to make you believe the characters are in love without taking time away from the central plot. Theres a lot of other reasons to show sex scenes such as showing a characters descent into degeneracy if they say strike it rich and blow it all on hookers and cocaine. Or the classic honeypot move which is pretty common in spy movies. The only reason to hate a sex scene is if you believe it wasnt nessecary and the movie could have been pg-13 without it.

by Koeppabelardo 11 months ago

Yeah. The sex scene in A History of Violence told us a lot about the main characters. Poor Thins was half about how sec can be a learning experience. (Also might have had a little too much sex but it did win an Oscar). I don't think this is unpopular since the phrase gratuitous sex scenes is so common

by Boscorhett 11 months ago

Please give me 1 crucial sex scene which actually mattered and was really necessary to move the plot forward

by Anonymous 11 months ago

The Shape of Water (2 of them, which demonstrated very different things)

by Anonymous 11 months ago

I would just like to point how incredibly stupid this "sex scenes should move the plot" is. Romantic scenes are character beats and not plot beats nineteen times out of twenty. Also, outside of the first Terminator, the only sex scenes I can think of that "move the plot along" are the sexposition scenes in Game of Thrones where two girls make out in the foreground while Littlefibger or whoever plots betrayals. But everyone bitches about those too. So do you want plot based sex scenes or not?

by Anonymous 11 months ago

Basic instinct (1992) all sex scenes. Fight Club (1999) Requiem for a dream (2000) American Beauty (1999)

by Born_Quality_3802 11 months ago

All of which could have very easily been implied and the movies would have lost absolutely nothing

by Anonymous 11 months ago

Taking Lives Killing Me Softly Sliver Crash(not the BP winner) Poor Things Oppenheimer Unfaithful Havoc Brokeback Mountain Monsters Ball

by Anonymous 11 months ago

A History of Violence

by Anonymous 11 months ago

Sometimes you have to go deeper to figure out the purpose

by Anonymous 11 months ago

Depends a lot on the movie/TV shows. Some are needless and others are overly explicit for no good reason Early seasons of GOT are prime examples of this, like I don't need to watch two prostitutes hook up in the center of the screen while another character gives an unrelated important monologue

by Anonymous 11 months ago

Can you elaborate and explain why/how? or give an example?? I actually think sex scenes rarely have any purpose or add to the story. It screams lazy to me & It's usually extremely uncomfortable to watch too, especially with family, kids, etc. The sex scenes that do actually have purpose can be done in a mild/tasteful way.. Showing me a fully nude sex scene for 2 minutes is totally unnecessary when you can just have two people start kissing in bed and if you're not 5 you understand... Example of a good use of sex scenes- Breaking Bad - probably one of the most highly rated & awarded shows of all time and they very rarely include sex. The few times they did include it was to show where Walter was at in his transformation, as well as him and Skylar's relationship.(Vanilla to exciting to tragic) It had purpose outside of showing they were a couple. It was also typically a quick scene with things suggested and not shown and the show thrived.

by Odd-Satisfaction2952 11 months ago

It's the long drawn out ones that are ridiculous. Let us know what happened and then move on, we don't need an extended play by play.

by Anonymous 11 months ago

They mainly play a role in profitability. PG movies do well, R movies do well, PG-13 don't do as well. So, if you have a movie that is going to be rated PG-13, throwing in a random sex scene will get you the R rating, and thus a better chance at bigger box office sales.

by Anonymous 11 months ago

Is this in response to the trend that GenZers are claiming that sex scenes are nonconsensual for viewers?

by Anonymous 11 months ago

Sex in films is about as purposeful as it often is in real life... Most of the time I have to disagree.. it doesn't serve any meaningful aspect of the story. That said, it does get people watching, which is the goal because movies aren't art or exploring human meaning anymore. They are products to extract dollars in a market. Products for the LCD. FWIW.

by Anonymous 11 months ago

I don't mind seeing some booba on screen but some scenes take it a bit far

by Anonymous 11 months ago

Depending on the type of sex they have the duration and where it takes place will tell you a lot about the relationship dynamics

by Anonymous 11 months ago

You probably never seen "The Room"

by Anonymous 11 months ago

I understand what you mean. But I am not freaked out by a sex scene, but by that sex scene I was.

by Anonymous 11 months ago

I DID NOOOOOOOOOTTTTTTTTT! (ok that's a lie, I did, lol)

by Anonymous 11 months ago

You haven't watched Caligula lol

by Anonymous 11 months ago

Thanks for giving absolutely zero examples to back up your claim.

by Bulky-Storage 11 months ago

They're purposeless to the story when it's not a romantic movie.

by Reingerorlo 11 months ago

found the kind of dude that gets upset when the characters don't piss or poop or eat enough throughout a fictional movie

by Anonymous 11 months ago

I feel like a lot of people don't seem to understand that often when a sex scene is shown, it's because the director intended it. "Necesssity" should never be part of the conversation when it comes to art. If you want a product engineered by a board room there is plenty of Disneyfied benign crap you can go watch that doesn't have sex scenes in it. If the only thing you care about is the plot, then just read the Wikipedia page and save yourself the cost of a film ticket, or the time.

by Shot-War 11 months ago

Agreed. They certainly have as much of a purpose as violent scenes and there are plenty of those.

by Schillerdayana 11 months ago

Thier purpose is to make you feel awkward while watching the movie with your patents or someone you don't know very well, like a first date.

by Mobile_Jellyfish_765 11 months ago

Or having to watch Oppenheimer with your 85 year old mom...

by Anonymous 11 months ago

my phone autocorrected parents to patents...jesus. Yes, exactly that

by Mobile_Jellyfish_765 11 months ago

Yes. Because Florence's breasts are just so terrible aren't they?

by Anonymous 11 months ago

They're lovely, but I don't need to see them. I don't find seeing seeing some stranger's boobs all that exciting. I'm not in middle school.

by Anonymous 11 months ago

But you are a snob apparently

by Anonymous 11 months ago

I guess so.

by Anonymous 11 months ago

People like watching sex...what a surprise. People having sex as well...wow..who would expect that. They do have a purpose , I agree.

by Anonymous 11 months ago

Tell me you're a porn addict without telling me your a porn addict:

by casperjillian 11 months ago

Tell us you're projecting without telling us YOU'RE projecting.

by Anonymous 11 months ago

Still I believe that they are unnecessary. There is another type of film for that, and I argue that this has its own space.

by baumbachgeorgia 11 months ago

Yes traditionally no one has ever seen a romantic scene outside of pornography and before porn was made legal in the US in the early 1970s there were just no romantic scenes anywhere. Right?

by Anonymous 11 months ago

That's a very broad generalisation. There's nothing wrong with porn. Thing is, you don't usually go watch a normal movie to jack off, so an unnecessarily long sex scene just doesn't really add anything to what you're there to watch the movie for.

by Anonymous 11 months ago

Or Gen Z

by Anonymous 11 months ago

I love sex scenes. If I'm watching a movie with my wife and there is a sex scene, she will start getting restless. 100% guaranteed I'm getting some that night. The other day, I turned the Mia Goth movie X on for us to watch. Great night.

by Heavy-Imagination 11 months ago