Hi everyone! This week I have an old eureka moment that came back to mind while I was sitting watching TV. I saw a commercial for a movie that I saw a while back called “The Watchmen.” I love watching sci-fi of any kind and I figured the Watchmen would be right up my alley. It is about superheroes and I thought it would be like “Spiderman” or “X-Men” type of movie. The movie was rated R and I am an adult so I had no problem with the rating. I assumed it would be for brief nudity and maybe some violence.
Once we started watching the movie it was a lot of nudity and a lot of violence. Actually I was still ok with this. What shocked me was that they continually showed a full frontal of the “Blue Man”….a lot. I am a big girl and I have seen the male anatomy a bit and truly didn’t mind watching it. However I thought it was a bit much and I found myself thinking this movie should be rated NC 17 or better. The more they showed it the more I was taken aback. I became overly preoccupied with how many times they showed his “willie.” People began to get up and leave the theatre that had children with them…and I honestly couldn’t blame them.
I remember thinking this movie was wrongly rated and they should not show a man’s private areas on an R rated movie. The odd thing is I recall seeing a lot of R rated features that showed full frontals of women and it never crossed my mind that the rating was wrong. I found an article that actually said the same thing. As I sat and thought about it I began to see the unfairness of it. Should it be taboo to show a man’s private areas but ok to show a woman’s private parts? There are lots of R rated features that show’s lots of female nudity and it is exceptable. What does this say about women? That are body are less important than a mans?
My question to everyone is do you feel that a movie that shows a man’s private area should receive a harsher rating than a movie that shows a woman's boobs? I found an article listed below about the movie.
http://blog.spout.com/2009/03/06/watchmen-penis-offends-conservative-critics-today-in-film-bloggery-030609/
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Response to Robin,
ReplyDeleteWhen I read your post the logical part of my brain says that it is definitely ok for a guy to watch children. If he was hired to perform this job he should be expected to do the same things as a woman attendant.
However I thought about it and wondered if I would feel better leaving my infant with a woman or a man and I am sad to say my first instinct is to say woman. I know what I am thinking is illogical but I think I would feel uncomfortable leaving my baby with a man …especially if he is a young man.
I think it is because I know that women tend to be a lot more maternal then a man would be, and I feel that infants need a lot of attention. Most of them are not potty trained and would need hands on help going to the bathroom, or their diapers changed and I don’t know if I would feel ok with a man doing that. Logically I know a woman is just as capable as a man of molesting a child but I think the stereotypes in my head have been reinforced by the men in my life and I wouldn’t be able to understand why a man would want to take care of little baby’s. The men in my family always say “They don’t do little babies.” My brother wouldn’t even pick up my son until he was two years old. Now they go out play ball and all kinds of things that boys do. So a man that wants to be around babies would probably put me on edge or make me suspicious.
Response to Taryn
ReplyDeleteI actually agree with a lot of your logic in this situation. However for mankind to continue on people must procreate. It is a way a life no one will ever be able to get away from. In most cases it is a choice. Yet it is a choice that most people tend to want to make, men and women. When a man decides to make a family there is no repercussions for him. However he is also making the decision to have a child as well. Why should the women have to suffer for making the same decision as a man? She has to carry the baby and have the baby. I am sure that many of the men that are running corporate America have children and families, and yet they were not in jeopardy at anytime from losing a job because of their decisions to have a baby. Those laws are put in place to give women the same opportunity as men who are able to have both the job and the family.
You have to look at the big picture as well. Not all families are planned. You also have a rise in young, single mothers who only have one income…who survive on one income. If they have a child and aren’t able to get paid for three months who knows what will happen to them. We as a society will end up with a lot more problems, like more kids in foster care or people living on the streets because they can’t support their families. I know from experience that it is very unwise to have a child if you are not in a good financial situation but no one is perfect and you have to be realistic.
You said that you felt that it was “a personal choice foisted upon Corporate America and I really don't think that's fair.” I think a lot of things aren’t fair. We pay taxes on a lot of things that don’t directly affect us, but we pay them anyway because it is good for the economy. Believe it or not a good economy is the best thing for Corporate America, so making sure mom’s are able to work and keep their jobs is also good for the economy which in turn is good for corporate America.
I remember when this movie came out, everyone was talking about this. I went to the movie expecting it to be vulgar, but honestly after the first few scenes I forgot about it. I think movies that show male or female anatomy should be rated the same way. We all have "bits and pieces" and by making movies that show them NC17 it sends a message to people that we should be ashamed of nudity. It's more the context of the scene or movie that I think should be judged. I think some movies rated r which show graphic sex scenes and extreme violence, like rape, should be rated NC 17.
ReplyDeleteThat kind of stuff bothers me. Not so much that the movie had a naked man in it. I think that it's annoying that a naked women is always shown on TV and movies, where as a naked man isn't. In no way am I saying that I am craving for a movie that reveals a naked man, but just the balance is ridiculous! I personally feel very uncomfortable when I am watching a movie and see naked women running around through sprinklers and kissing one another in some frat house, especially when I am with a guy, or even worse, one of my parents.
ReplyDeleteIt's understandable that you would have that initial reaction, unfortunately we are "use" to seeing women naked on TV or any type of entertainment. It's too bad that thats something thats become a regular occurrence.
-Taran
Response to Cecilia,
ReplyDeleteI don’t think you are being unreasonable. I don’t think there is anything wrong with being friends with an ex, if you are single and unattached. However I think it is in poor taste to do it when you are in a relationship. Don’t get me wrong I think it is ok to be cordial to your ex and say hi if you see them on the street or hold a brief conversation. I don’t think there is anything wrong with that. However I don’t think you should call that person or meet up to talk. If you had an intimate relationship with someone you are aware that there is already a sexual attraction and sexual tension that exist between the two of you, remaining friends will only give you opportunities to rekindle those flames. Keeping those types of relationships can be very damaging to a relationship.
I am curious did you ever ask him how he would feel if you maintained a close relationship with you ex? How would he feel about that?