Imagine any American movie. Regardless of which one you imagined, the probability is quite high that it contained at least one hot sex scene. But why? Most people have heard the saying “sex sells”. But does it sell to young people? A new American survey shows that almost half of young people between the ages of 13 and 24 believe that TV programs and films do not need sexual content. They would rather see people living ordinary lives, something they themselves can relate to. Anette Søholt, health nurse and specialist in sexological counseling at Sex og Samfunn, is critical of removing sex from films. – It is important to create scenes with sexual encounters, but that they should be done in a realistic way. I think young people miss that. Young people on the streets of Bodø think there are just enough sex scenes in the films they watch. Dina (24) – I think it’s an important part of the film, but I don’t think it’s portrayed quite realistically. – Everything seems so perfect, it’s not as clumsy as it really is. Advice to directors: – Directors should do the scenes more realistic and clumsy. Lukas (20) – It can bring some more realism, but I also think that it is not always necessary. – It does show a bit of the relationship between the characters. Advice to directors: – The scenes don’t have to be so pornographic. They don’t have to show the private. Ingeborg (21) – The film scenes are very straight to the point. Everything goes from zero to a hundred. It starts with a kiss, and then it’s straight in. It’s a bit unrealistic. – But, it creates a certain intimacy in the film. Advice to directors: – Make it more real. Gunnar (20) – I don’t know, maybe a little less sex scenes. Advice to directors: – Don’t have such rough sex scenes. Me (23) – I feel we should be open about it. It’s beautiful, natural and real. – If you don’t want to look at it, you can close your eyes. Advice to directors: – The director should make sure that everyone feels comfortable. – That the actors are not in scenes they don’t want to be in Guro (20) Sex is not the same on film and in reality. In reality, it’s more clumsy, sticky and small. – I wouldn’t say it’s that realistic. – Sex on film can quickly become small when it’s in family films. – Young people have seen enough of perfect bodies. It is important that the film industry takes the chance to produce films that show what sex can be. Søholt encourages the industry to show more diversity in bodies, posture and functional variations in the sex scenes. – The films could well stop showing the perfect bodies and an unrealistic image of what sex can be like, says Søholt. – Many young people see sex as an achievement. You must know different positions. You must hold on as long as possible, says Anette Søholt. Photo: Sex and society She thinks young people are trying to get a space free from sex, and that this may be the reason why they don’t want it in films and TV series. – Many young people see sex as an achievement. You must know different positions. You must hold on as long as possible. If you have seen a lot of porn beforehand, it gives the impression that sex can be scary or give rise to high expectations. Søholt encourages the film industry to seize the opportunity to give young people a natural image of sex. – In porn, we don’t see consent, communication, diversity of bodies and sexuality. So I think that the film industry has an opportunity to portray that in a good and natural way. – Sex scenes to show boobs Someone who has worked with multiple sex scenes is director Erika Calmeyer. Among other things, she has directed the series Tore and intimate scenes in the Netflix hit Young Royals. Both contain scenes that contain queer sex. – I have done more queer sex than heterosexual sex in what I have directed. It’s about the fact that those are the stories I’ve been interested in telling. Director Erika Calmeyer says that unnecessary sex has nothing to do in films and series. Photo: Torstein Bøe / news She says there is a lot of unnecessary sex that is only there to spice up the films. – Sex scenes just for the sake of sex, it’s uninteresting. It must be because you want to say something about the dynamic between the characters. A lot of human interaction takes place through sex and intimate situations. She believes that especially in the past it has only been about people being able to see the actors naked. – There has been a development. I feel where they put in sex scenes to show the tits of the female lead, it’s quite outdated, something you saw in the 90s. Now I think that a sex scene is rather uninteresting if it doesn’t have something to say. Calmeyer, on the other hand, boasts of Norwegian filmmakers. – I think Norwegian filmmakers are good at using sex scenes where they are needed, but don’t shove them in unnecessarily. Published 18.07.2024, at 22.03
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Sex no longer sells in films and series – news Nordland
