Nudity in a Modern Setting

In class this week we discussed a multitude of topics, but one that stood out the most to me was how women are represented in art. In the chapter from Practices of Looking that we read this week they stated that about 3-5% of all artists at the time were women, while approximately 80% of all art in a particular museum were depictions of women, and many times without clothing. I thought it would be interesting to take a look at this in a more modern media outlet, cinema.
While nudity in films does not necessarily take up 80% of all screen time, it still is something that is present in many R-rated films, and most often it is female nudity. Take for instance the critically acclaimed film Monster’s Ball, directed by Marc Foster, a man. In the film there is a controversial sex scene and while both actors Billy Bob Thorton and Halle Berry are nude during the scene, it is Halle Berry that exposes her breasts, buttox, and pubic region openly to the camera while Billy Bob Thorton’s backside is only shown briefly. Another controversial film is the critically bashed Showgirls directed by Paul Verhoeven, another man. The film was the first to ever be made with an intended NC-17 rating, and it is clear why. The women in the film are completely naked for almost the entire film, however, there is only one scene of male nudity and it is just from the backside again. And finally, a genre that is famous for diminishing women, the horror genre. In Rob Zombie’s 2007 remake of the classic film Halloween, about 3-4 women appear nude in the film, mostly during sex scenes with men, and not a single male is shown nude, not even from the back as most other films depict.
Overall, I think it is quite obvious that most films nowadays still hold many of the sexist themes that art held in many earlier days. What is unknown about this situation is whether it is the audience’s fault for wanting to see more female nudity and not asking for more males, or if it is because so many men are in high power positions in the media. I believe both are probably strong factors.