ON NUDITY IN FILM
Recently a matter of conflict arose between a friend and me. It regarded watching a film with nudity, and sexuality. I stated how I didn’t wish to see the film due to its nudity, and he was “not gonna reject a film automatically because of… those
elements.”
He is a Christian and I am a Christian and so an ethical dilemma arises. Is one of us right? Or is this a non-issue? Are we just disagreeing over which is better vanilla or chocolate?
Or does the Bible speak about the matter? Is there a Biblical example to be found in scripture? Also, what philosophical insight can we bring to the subject?
I have to admit his ambivalence to the matter shocked me. The matter caused me stand back and reflect on my own views. Why do I believe this to be a definite ethical issue, and yet he finds it trivial? I didn’t sleep until I had resolved the matter in my mind, and it is here that I am going to try to express very briefly the conclusion I have come to and how I got there. I pray that this will be a blessing to others who have wrestled with this issue themselves.
Isn’t’ Nudity in film just “art”?
Now I think that the obvious rationalization is going to be that nudity is “art” therefore its okay. The masterworks of art have nudity and surely they are not a sin to view.
This presents a fundamental question “Is the nudity of ‘film’, the same as the nudity of ‘art’?”
The fundamental difference between the nudity in film and the nudity in art is very distinct.
First let me define by what I mean when I refer to art. Art for the sake of this argument is the artistic creation of something. To define it simply, paint and canvas.
Film, can be also tied with photography, since they are essentially the same thing (film is just 24 photographs per second).
The fundamental difference with art and film is that art is only a representation of reality, but film “IS” the reality. With film you are not viewing a representation, you are viewing the actual thing. So when you see a film with nudity, you are seeing a REAL PERSON unclothed. Not a representation.
What if your wife walked into your house with her friends, and you had a fully naked woman standing in your living room and you were just sitting there staring at her? What do you think she would say? How would your wife respond after you explained to her it was just art? Wouldn’t this constitute as adultery in your wife’s eyes?
What would you think if you went to church and right on the center stage you saw the pastor and some woman simulating sex? Would you tell your invited guest “its okay its just art.” What passage of the bible would you turn to, to explain the biblical coherence of the act?
You may object and say that is real life but film is different. Well then what if I asked you to gather the kids and sit in your living room as I pop in a videotape of your wife completely naked kissing, caressing, and simulating having sex with another man. What would you do? What if while you saw another man touching your naked wife I told you “she is only pretending don’t worry its just art.” would this appease your mind?
You think this is outrageous? But that is EXACTLY what is happening, these women on the screen are not fake, they are real people, with husbands, with families, and children. And that is why film is different than art. The paint doesn’t have emotions, the paint is not a person. But an actor is a person. And they don’t seize to be any less of a person when the camera rolls.
Is nudity in film Pornographic?
A sex scene in a film is more than just viewing an image. I think a sex scene in a film may be even more pornographic than the standard pornography, because they are not just communicating the act of sex, but they are also causing you to identify with the characters and psychologically participate in the act. In my mind there is no question that they are the same.
What then does the Bible say about nudity?
Nudity comes in two forms I believe. And they are categorized in their purpose or intent.
First, there is non-sexual nudity. Non-sexual nudity would include images like those of the holocaust, images that do no evoke a sexual response, or at least are not intended to.
The Bible has many examples of this, but the most pronounced is the one God commanded his Prophet Isaiah to walk around naked to prophesy how the children of Israel were to be taken captive and hauled to Babylon naked, and barefoot (ISA 20). There is also David who danced naked (2 Sam 6), Jesus was probably crucified naked, and there are many more.
So we can clearly see that non-sexual nudity is not considered a sin.
The second form of nudity is sexual nudity, or nudity with the inherent purpose of causing arousal.
Let me begin by stating that sexual nudity is okay, and was created by God. Sexuality is a sacred act between husband and wife, all other forms of sexuality outside of marriage are a sin.
In Leviticus 18, God commands not to look at the nakedness of all relatives, this has sexual overtones of course.
Ham saw Noah his father naked, and it was considered a great sin.
Also Jesus very clearly states:
“But I say to you that every one who looks at a woman lustfully has already committed adultery with her in his heart.” Mt 5:28
Lust refers to passion, covet, or desire.
Clearly then it can be stated the act of imagining sex, or desiring to have sex with, or lusting over a woman is a sin, whether clothed or not.
Therefore it can be said that if you watch a film and you are sexually aroused, or lust over the characters in the film, nudity or no nudity it is a sin. And since the purpose of sex and nudity in movies is to cause one to be sexually aroused, I believe this to be a sin.
You may argue that you are not being sexually aroused by watching a nude woman having sex, if that is the case then I supposed you will have no trouble convincing your wife to accompany you to the strip club, might as well bring the kids, since there is nothing “wrong” with it. Since you aren’t being “sexually aroused.” Tell them its an art project.
Even the world make’s a distinction regarding nudity, you don’t see porn rated G – for general audiences. You also can’t tell the judge that the nude photo’s of underage kids is art. As a matter of fact they may put you in jail longer for making a remark like that.
elements.”
He is a Christian and I am a Christian and so an ethical dilemma arises. Is one of us right? Or is this a non-issue? Are we just disagreeing over which is better vanilla or chocolate?
Or does the Bible speak about the matter? Is there a Biblical example to be found in scripture? Also, what philosophical insight can we bring to the subject?
I have to admit his ambivalence to the matter shocked me. The matter caused me stand back and reflect on my own views. Why do I believe this to be a definite ethical issue, and yet he finds it trivial? I didn’t sleep until I had resolved the matter in my mind, and it is here that I am going to try to express very briefly the conclusion I have come to and how I got there. I pray that this will be a blessing to others who have wrestled with this issue themselves.
Isn’t’ Nudity in film just “art”?
Now I think that the obvious rationalization is going to be that nudity is “art” therefore its okay. The masterworks of art have nudity and surely they are not a sin to view.
This presents a fundamental question “Is the nudity of ‘film’, the same as the nudity of ‘art’?”
The fundamental difference between the nudity in film and the nudity in art is very distinct.
First let me define by what I mean when I refer to art. Art for the sake of this argument is the artistic creation of something. To define it simply, paint and canvas.
Film, can be also tied with photography, since they are essentially the same thing (film is just 24 photographs per second).
The fundamental difference with art and film is that art is only a representation of reality, but film “IS” the reality. With film you are not viewing a representation, you are viewing the actual thing. So when you see a film with nudity, you are seeing a REAL PERSON unclothed. Not a representation.
What if your wife walked into your house with her friends, and you had a fully naked woman standing in your living room and you were just sitting there staring at her? What do you think she would say? How would your wife respond after you explained to her it was just art? Wouldn’t this constitute as adultery in your wife’s eyes?
What would you think if you went to church and right on the center stage you saw the pastor and some woman simulating sex? Would you tell your invited guest “its okay its just art.” What passage of the bible would you turn to, to explain the biblical coherence of the act?
You may object and say that is real life but film is different. Well then what if I asked you to gather the kids and sit in your living room as I pop in a videotape of your wife completely naked kissing, caressing, and simulating having sex with another man. What would you do? What if while you saw another man touching your naked wife I told you “she is only pretending don’t worry its just art.” would this appease your mind?
You think this is outrageous? But that is EXACTLY what is happening, these women on the screen are not fake, they are real people, with husbands, with families, and children. And that is why film is different than art. The paint doesn’t have emotions, the paint is not a person. But an actor is a person. And they don’t seize to be any less of a person when the camera rolls.
Is nudity in film Pornographic?
A sex scene in a film is more than just viewing an image. I think a sex scene in a film may be even more pornographic than the standard pornography, because they are not just communicating the act of sex, but they are also causing you to identify with the characters and psychologically participate in the act. In my mind there is no question that they are the same.
What then does the Bible say about nudity?
Nudity comes in two forms I believe. And they are categorized in their purpose or intent.
First, there is non-sexual nudity. Non-sexual nudity would include images like those of the holocaust, images that do no evoke a sexual response, or at least are not intended to.
The Bible has many examples of this, but the most pronounced is the one God commanded his Prophet Isaiah to walk around naked to prophesy how the children of Israel were to be taken captive and hauled to Babylon naked, and barefoot (ISA 20). There is also David who danced naked (2 Sam 6), Jesus was probably crucified naked, and there are many more.
So we can clearly see that non-sexual nudity is not considered a sin.
The second form of nudity is sexual nudity, or nudity with the inherent purpose of causing arousal.
Let me begin by stating that sexual nudity is okay, and was created by God. Sexuality is a sacred act between husband and wife, all other forms of sexuality outside of marriage are a sin.
In Leviticus 18, God commands not to look at the nakedness of all relatives, this has sexual overtones of course.
Ham saw Noah his father naked, and it was considered a great sin.
Also Jesus very clearly states:
“But I say to you that every one who looks at a woman lustfully has already committed adultery with her in his heart.” Mt 5:28
Lust refers to passion, covet, or desire.
Clearly then it can be stated the act of imagining sex, or desiring to have sex with, or lusting over a woman is a sin, whether clothed or not.
Therefore it can be said that if you watch a film and you are sexually aroused, or lust over the characters in the film, nudity or no nudity it is a sin. And since the purpose of sex and nudity in movies is to cause one to be sexually aroused, I believe this to be a sin.
You may argue that you are not being sexually aroused by watching a nude woman having sex, if that is the case then I supposed you will have no trouble convincing your wife to accompany you to the strip club, might as well bring the kids, since there is nothing “wrong” with it. Since you aren’t being “sexually aroused.” Tell them its an art project.
Even the world make’s a distinction regarding nudity, you don’t see porn rated G – for general audiences. You also can’t tell the judge that the nude photo’s of underage kids is art. As a matter of fact they may put you in jail longer for making a remark like that.
posted by Tim at 5:27 PM
1 comments
