Why is it socially acceptable to watch someone be curb- stomped, or have their head torn off, but it is disgusting to show a butt or a boob?
For years, movies and video games have had a rating scale. As the rating goes up, the violence and sexual content increases. But the difference between “PG-13” and “R,” or Teen and Mature for video games, seems to be whether or not the entertainment in question contains nudity.
From this, and other observations I have made about our society, I have come to the conclusion that America as a whole accepts graphic violence and gore more than it accepts the human body, and I find this conclusion to be completely backwards.
The human body for centuries has been considered a work of art. The Greeks considered the human body to be a work of art, and many sculptors and painters used this idea to create the greatest works of art in history.
American society has turned what was once the biggest artistic inspiration into a piece of filth that should not be looked upon unless it is in the act of reproducing, and even that should be done in the dark.
What are we telling future generations? That sex and nudity are bad things, but in the right situations they are not, and are perfectly natural?
The majority of the world has come to terms with the thought of both public nudity and nudity in movies. In fact, the British have little to no censorship at all. This is not a bad thing.
All of the censorship, this un-rational fear of showing a butt or a boob is not helping future generations.
It’s slowly creating a world where no one is going to be comfortable taking their clothes off in any situation, whether it be on a wedding night, or even be comfortable in a bathing suit at the beach.
I’m also curious why most movie producers and game creators are much more willing to show full frontal female than male.
This is rather sexist and I want to know why, especially when the stereotype in this country is that if a female shows skin she’s “easy,” but if a male does he’s awesome.
This type of double standard, and fear of the human body can’t be doing as much good as we think it is.
But getting back to my original point, what is worse: violence or nudity?
More and more video games and movies are getting more and more of both. These aspects make for more interesting entertainment, but younger viewers are allowed to watch more violence than nudity.
There is a rating scale that is meant to keep children from watching violence in movies, but how well is that working?
My favorite Disney movie, The Lion King, involves a character murdering his own brother.
Episodes of Spongebob involve the characters driving off of a cliff.
Even a happy-go-lucky show like Dora the Explorer has a small form of violence, when Swiper tries to steal from her.
We may not realize it, but there is subtle violence all around; it’s not a big deal. With everything in moderation, a little violence won’t do much harm.
It’s the irrational fear of being naked that is the problem. Instead of ignoring sexuality, or worse, making it something disgusting, we should embrace it as something natural, beautiful, and educate younger people about it, rather than ostracize it.
Bottom line, we flock to death and pain, whereas we shy away from something that is perfectly natural.
