Unsimulated Sex

In the film industry, unsimulated sex is the presentation of sex scenes in which actors genuinely perform the depicted sex acts, rather than simulating them. Although it is ubiquitous in films intended as pornographic, it is very uncommon in other films. At one time in the United States, such scenes were restricted by law and self-imposed industry standards such as the Motion Picture Production Code. Films showing explicit sexual activity were confined to privately distributed underground films, such as stag films or "porn loops". In the 1960s, social attitudes about sex began to shift, and sexually explicit films were decriminalized in many countries.

With movies such as ''Blue Movie'' by Andy Warhol, mainstream movies began pushing boundaries in terms of what was presented on screen. Notable examples include two of the eight ''Bedside''-films and the six ''Zodiac''-films from the 1970s, all of which were produced in Denmark and had many pornographic sex scenes, but were nevertheless considered mainstream films, all having mainstream casts and crews, and premiering in mainstream cinemas. The last of these films, ''Agent 69 Jensen i Skyttens tegn'', was made in 1978. From the end of the 1970s until the late 1990s it was rare to see hardcore scenes in mainstream cinema, but this changed with the success of Lars von Trier's ''The Idiots'' (1998), which heralded a wave of art-house films with explicit content, such as ''Romance'' (1999), ''Baise-moi'' (2000), ''Intimacy'' (2001), Vincent Gallo's ''The Brown Bunny'' (2003), and Michael Winterbottom's ''9 Songs'' (2004). Some simulated sex scenes are sufficiently realistic that critics mistakenly believe that they are real, such as the cunnilingus scene in the 2006 film ''Red Road''.

Rationales

In an interview after the release of his film ''Love'' (2015), when asked why audiences want to see realistic portrayals of sex, Gaspar Noé suggested it's really about power structures: "In most societies whether they're western or not, people want to control the sexual behaviour or to organise it in a precise context. Sex is like a danger zone. Sometimes class barriers fall down and it scares a lot of people. It's about states controlling their systems, like religion."

James Franco has cited "aesthetics and personal reasons" for why he worked on ''Interior. Leather Bar.'' (2013):

Production issues

A few directors have openly discussed or written about the technical problems inherent in filming of actual sexual acts, particularly with actors or actresses who have never performed such acts on film. In an interview with ''BlackBook'', Gaspar Noé acknowledges that it is difficult for several reasons: an actor may not be able to get or maintain an erection in the presence of even a small crew, or on camera; either of the participants may have a current partner. "So I've decided that the best way to show real sex is to cast two single people who used to be a couple."

Pornographic films re-edited for mainstream release

Prior to the advent of home video, a number of hardcore pornography films were released to mainstream cinemas. In most cases, scenes of penetration were either cut out or replaced with alternate shots. One exception to this was '' Deep Throat'', which was released uncensored.

Examples of this type of hybrid release include ''Café Flesh'' (1982)—the R-rated version of this science fiction porn film was released to mainstream cinemas; ''Stocks and Blondes'' (1984), originally available as ''Wanda Whips Wall Street'';What Blockbuster Didn't Bust Blockbuster's inconsistent ratings policy -- The video rental store cracks down on X and NC-17 rated films, but ignores racier unrated fare like ''Wild Orchid''
, Ty Burr, ''Entertainment Weekly'', 29 March 1991. and '' Droid'' (1988), originally released as ''Cabaret Sin'' in 1987.

In films

The following mainstream films have scenes with verified real sexual activity, meaning actors or actresses are filmed engaging in actual coitus or performing related sexual acts such as fellatio and cunnilingus. This list does not include documentaries about pornography, which may contain unsimulated sexual activity.

In music videos

See Also

* Exploitation film
* Art house film
* Film censorship in the United States

References

General references

* Villadsen, Ebbe (2005): ''Danish Erotic Film Classics''.
* Williams, Linda Ruth (2005): ''The Erotic Thriller in Contemporary Cinema''. Indiana University Press. .

Inline citations

{{reflist

Lists of films by common content
Sexuality in popular culture
Sexuality-related lists
Sexuality in fiction