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why are sex scenes almost always weird

Imperfected

Member
Nov 9, 2017
11,737
Because showing sex scenes was taboo for so long, directors worked hard on dancing around the implications through clever dialogue delivery and suggestive cinematography. The result is that once they were actually allowed to do sex scenes, they'd built up this ridiculously huge, arcane bible of "how to shoot sex scenes and not get jailed for Communism" which basically precludes anything resembling actual human sexuality.

It's sort of like how explosions in Hollywood always have to involve huge fireballs and people flying through the air. The "cinematic" version has completely overtaken any sort of reasonable, natural depiction. The difference is that while most people don't see enough explosions to have a good instinct for what's wrong with a Hollywood explosion, most people have had enough clumsy, awkward sex to know what's wrong with a Hollywood sex scene.
 
CloudWolf

CloudWolf

Member
Oct 26, 2017
15,627
On the contrary, I think often the sex scenes are fine. I mean, sometimes you run into a completely pointless, overly gratuitous sex scene, but when you get a director who really knows what he's doing it's often fine. Sex scenes can be important moments of characterization.

Cleros said:
The only good sex scenes I feel like I've seen are in Blue is the Warmest Color. Tho tbf as a straight male-passing person I have no idea how actually accurate they are. But they certainly added value to the film, I don't think I've felt that about any other sex scenes in film/TV.
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Those sex scenes are way too long and porn-like. I love the rest of the movie, but the sex scenes could've easily been cut.

Also, knowing the actresses hated filming those scenes and how the director basically pushed them into doing stuff they didn't want to is... yeah, fuck the sex scenes in that film.
 
Patapuf

Patapuf

Member
Oct 26, 2017
6,417
I tend to prefer them in books since it's way easier to describe what the characters are thinking and feeling during them.

I think part of the problem for them in movies/tv shoes is that they can be kind of sanitised and "cold". The good scenes tend to be those that manage to also put some characterisation in there etc.
 
Night Hunter

Night Hunter

Member
Dec 5, 2017
2,797
The best thing about a lot of movie sex scenes is the fact that they don't require any foreplay, going down on the girl, etc. Then when it's all over, yeah, let's just lay there in our own juices. Who needs to clean up anyway. Goodnight, I hope you enjoy that wet spot on the sheets!
 
rudeboyoslo

rudeboyoslo

Member
Jan 5, 2018
1,033
I find sex scenes to be a waste of time, they're not arousing or interesting. If characters are fucking on screen I usually check my phone or whatever.

Except for Atomic Blonde
 
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julia crawford

julia crawford

Took the red AND the blue pills
Member
Oct 27, 2017
35,290
95% of the time they add nothing to the characters, are badly done with absolute zero interesting things or interactions of note, and could be traded for much better scenes.
 
cvxfreak

cvxfreak

DINO CRISIS SUX
Moderator
Oct 25, 2017
945
Tokyo
In hindsight, I can't believe my parents felt it appropriate to bring me to a screening of Thomas Crown Affair when I was like 12.

*shudders*
 
Fat4all

Fat4all

Woke up, got a money tag, swears a lot
Member
Oct 25, 2017
92,906
here
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Funky Papa

Funky Papa

Member
Oct 28, 2017
4,694
Mona said:
if you want to see sex directed by someone who is trying, check out Cronenberg's Crash

or if you want to see one that isn't weird check out the scene from Naked Lunch

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I was in high school when Crash came out.

I thought it'd a cool thriller from what I had heard (!), so I took a girl to it on our first date.

Yeah.
 
Nightfall

Nightfall

Member
Oct 27, 2017
3,963
Germany
What annoys me the most about sex scenes is that nobody has to clean up afterwards. Where does the jizz go? Where do the condoms go?
They just all lay around and do like it was just hot air. That's not realistic in any way. I wanna see that it actually caused a mess. Now that'd be hilarious.
 
Funky Papa

Funky Papa

Member
Oct 28, 2017
4,694
My personal pet peeve with sex scenes is that they are often used to form a bizarre bond between leads (we had teh sex, so we ride together) or as some kind of shoehorned goal that is often achieved between total strangers within the same evening.

There's a place for sex scenes in films, but more often than not feel as written by people edging themselves as they type.

Tovarishch Nix said:
Exactly this, while I understand not all actors wanting to do nude scenes (and/or age ratings) the mean reason it's so awkward is because they gonout of their way to obscure any nudity.
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Sex from a face to face sitting position not only requires a devil dong, but it's also really uncomfortable.

Who the hell fucks like that.

Writers, it is time to stop.
 
Agi

Agi

Member
Jun 26, 2020
407
Nightfall said:
What annoys me the most about sex scenes is that nobody has to clean up afterwards. Where does the jizz go? Where do the condoms go?
They just all lay around and do like it was just hot air.
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And then they kiss passionately the next morning with that fresh morning breath... ok.
 
Khanimus

Khanimus

Avenger
Oct 25, 2017
40,212
Greater Vancouver
Two actors who may or may not even like eachother trying to simulate sex, in a room full of people (even a closed set can be too much). Not even getting into the politics of actors put in scenes like this beyond their control because a producer or someone is pushing for it and you don't have the clout to refuse.
 
Aldo

Aldo

Member
Mar 19, 2019
1,723
I find it funny when some shows have a sex scene at the same place in almost every episode. Some HBO series are guilty of this, even Dark recently. It's like "oh right here's the obligatory sex scene" and it kinda pulls me out of the story. I know some people who enjoy them though, makes the show more "mature" I guess?
 
TheBaldwin

TheBaldwin

Member
Feb 25, 2018
8,285
I hate sec scenes.

they are just always awkward and just break the moment of 'oh these two actors had to just pretend to thrust at each other and do awkward dialogue that could have been donein a different scene'
 
Wackamole

Wackamole

Member
Oct 27, 2017
16,936
They're weird when you watch them with certain people.
Some are weird because of how stupid they're filmed / acted.
 
Croc Man

Croc Man

Member
Oct 27, 2017
2,546
Manu said:
I swear Magnus and Franziska in Dark existed only to fuck on camera. And they're supposed to be teenagers too.

They have two separate sex scenes on the first episode of Season 3!
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That was so weird especially given...

They were at it like rabbits but were pretty much the only ones not to have kids. One of them must have had fertility issues. As a result they didn't really serve much point to the overall story. As you say their main purpose seemed to be sex scenes.
 
Midgarian

Midgarian

Alt Account
Banned
Apr 16, 2020
2,619
Midgar
In most films it comes across as forcing a sex scene in because "that's what a mature film has to have". It's too rote, it feels like it is ticking off a checklist. Like the generic busywork sidequests in an Open World game.

The Chosen One said:
I think some of the better sex scenes in mainstream movies are usually the ones where it's basically the progression from "sexual tension" to "explosive passion" or when it's primarily the "foreplay" segment rounding to "second base" of sex and then fades to black. You see and feel the characters taking things to a new level of intimacy without getting too raunchy/porn-like or just simply weird looking sex.
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100% agree. I recently watched a Turkish film called "One-Way to Tomorrow" (it's on Netflix with English subtitles, highly recommended) that nails this aspect perfectly.

The film is about 2 people who meet on a train, they get talking, flirt etc. it turns out they are both going to the same wedding and then it turns out they are both going to the wedding of their exes to try and stop wedding. They share their "getting cheated on" pain with each other, there are tears, things build and build and build and eventually they fuck in the train cabin.

The whole film felt like it was a building of sexual tension between them, as well as the added layer of sexual jealously built up from the betrayal of their past relationships.

It's a sex scene that actually made sense and had context.
 
Aya

Aya

Member
Sep 7, 2018
1,262
an obscure body in the S-K system
Most are just either boring or just straight up take you out of the movie because of how unnecessary or poorly conceived they are. Like I'd prefer getting a snack meanwhile instead of getting annoyed with a crappy made, boring ass scene.

But then again, some are thoughtfully and extremely well done and add to the story and the overall visual experience. However they're not usually found in mainstream cinema.

I wonder how Basic Instinct would look and feel without the sex scenes 🤔🤔🤔
 
808s & Villainy

808s & Villainy

Banned
Oct 27, 2017
42,700
Because filming sex like people actually have sex would look like homemade amateur porn, which is already partially made for the cameras. There's no way to make it not look explicit yet they keep trying to
 
Unaha-Closp

Unaha-Closp

Member
Oct 25, 2017
6,727
Scotland
I've no problem with sex scenes if they reinforce the narrative or the character growth of the protagonists. Most of the time, at least in the past, it was simple titillation. Blue is the Warmest Colour sex scenes absolutely told you how besotted and passionate they were with each other but they went on far too long - where I felt like a voyeur peeping tom which felt grubby and pulled me out of the scene. How women feel about it I don't know. So pointless titillation - naff as fuck. Character or plot-driving fucking - I am all for. Like in Oldboy - the sex scene, far as I remember, it's not pretty or poetic but it reinforces the plot and the revelations that come later. They can be done well. Watch better movies is my advice if you think they are weird :D
 
Biske

Biske

Member
Nov 11, 2017
8,273
Sex is just weird itself, as much as we can portray it as some wild passionate act, its most often a sweaty awkward tiring mess, lets be real.

So filming it varies wildly on how it comes across, some sex scenes really great and actually go with the plot and makes sense and others seem slapped in there.

Very contextual and hard to nail down.
 

viskod

Member
Nov 9, 2017
4,396
If you're going to have one you just need to commit and let the actors fuck. If they don't want to do that, then don't have the scene.
 
Snake Eater

Snake Eater

Attempted to circumvent ban with alt account
Banned
Oct 27, 2017
11,385
Have you been on my set when there was a sex scene? There are literally 50 people watching them while it's happening
 
Chopchop

Chopchop

Member
Oct 25, 2017
14,171
Probably because most of the time, sex scenes are there purely so that the audience gets a chance to see the characters taking their clothes off. They usually have nothing to do with the plot, and look shoehorned in because they are.

The only plot-related sex scene I can think of off the top of my head is from terminator 1.
 
Atlas_XIX

Atlas_XIX

Member
Oct 29, 2017
1,061
I stopped caring about sex scenes in movies the second I got access to the internet, I prefer when it's fade to black/implied.
 
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