Is Animated Nudity Immodest?

The new hit movie, Beowulf, has life-like animation, but although Angelina Jolie knew all along that the evil gold lizard character she portrays would be nude throughout most of the movie, she was embarrassed to see a naked computer-generated image of herself in her new film.

The 32-year-old actress plays the role of a "seductive villain" and told journalists that she blushed when she saw her animated body.

Jolie said: "I got a little shy. I was really surprised that I felt that exposed. There are certain moments where I felt actually shy – and called home, just to explain that the fun movie that I had done that was digital animation was, in fact, a little different than [what] we expected."

This movie was only rated PG-13, though. Thoughts?

Comments

[TalkinKamel]

I don't know, I haven't seen "Beowulf" yet; when I do, it's a sure bet I'm not going to take my son to see it. (Didn't take him to "The 300" either.)

I do know that the movie "Enchanted", which is being marketed as a happy, family-fun film, has a scene where the heroine runs around the hero's apartment, clad in nothing but a towel, only to be surprised by the hero's then-girlfriend, who accuses the hero of sleeping with her.

In another scene the heroine becomes passionately aroused by the sight of the hero's hairy chest. And, as I said, "Enchanted" (which isn't really a bad movie), is being marketed as a happy, feel-good family film, for little girls who love Disney princesses. It seems to me that the movie ratings system, when it comes to kids, is ratcheting down the standards of what's okay, and what isn't. PG-13 seems to include just about everything these days. Yet another reason why you really have to see the film yourself, or at least read a good detailed plot synopsis. The website, Rotten Tomatoes, is a pretty good place to look at some more-honest-than-usual reviews.

[TalkinKamel]

Oh, and the scene where the heroine runs around clad only in a towel, and the passionate hairy chest, are both live action, not animated.

[warren]

Can a computer generated image arouse a viewer's lust? Sure it can. But that doesn't make the voice-actress responsible for the artist's work. It's the artist who is responsible for his (or her) art. Wasn't it Jessica Rabbit, in "Who Framed Roger Rabbit", who famously quipped: "I can't help it, I'm just drawn this way!". :-)

Warren

[yiayiarocks]

Yes, animated nudity is still immodest.

[Naomi]

My husband and I saw (unfortunately) Beowulf around Thanksgiving. We were both surprised that it was PG-13 because of the very graphic violence, and the naked Angelina Jolie. I had my eyes closed through all the fight scenes, and was shocked that had what I term a "crotch shot" of Angelina Jolie. When we were discussing it later, we decided that it was rated PG-13 _because_ it was animated, so it's "not as bad" as if it was real. It most definately would have been "R" if it had been entirely live action. It saddens me to see that the people resposible for rating movies are willing to lower their standards so much just because a movie is not live action. And the worst part is that there will be plenty of parents who take their young children to see it because they assume since it's a "cartoon" based on a classic story, it can't be that bad, so there is no need to review it first. I am grateful that I saw it though, so that I know not to let my kids see it, even when they are 13.

[TalkinKamel]

OT---What with Japanese manga and anime becoming more and more popular in the US, might be a discussion (not necessarily on this thread) of the very great freedom given to depictions of nudity and sex/violence in many Japanese cartoons, and some of their very adult/oriented sci-fi, "yaoi" (boy/boy love) and out-and-out animated porn themes. (Which isn't to say there aren't many very fine, family oriented Japanese comics, and animated movies such as "Spirited Away.")

One thing---the Japanese rating system seem to be more honest, and scrupulous, then the American one at the moment; if they say it's "adults only" really, REALLY take them seriously, even if the characters look like the same doe-eyed, cutsie-pie types used in kids shows!

[Craig]

I must comment. I saw “The Golden Compass” yesterday. The content of the film, in the main, was not problematic. (I didn’t enjoy the film’s anti-Theism. I am told, however, that the novels are more biased; that the film, comparatively, is tame.)

I did find the previews deeply offensive, though.

One previewed the film “Definitely, Maybe.” The content was lewd and sexual. In one sequence, a father (Ryan Reynolds) accidentally, and embarrassingly, mentions “threesomes” to his young daughter. (She appears to be 12 or so.) She then inquires, “What are threesomes?” He responds, awkwardly, by lying.

In another scene, the daughter asks (I paraphrase): “What is the equivalent of ‘slut’ for boys?”

(Her father had confessed that he’d bedded many women not her mother. She is reacting to this revelation.)

The content I describe is obnoxious prima facie. Worse, it preceded a film, the audience for which, quite predictably, included many younger children. For example, I saw several 8- or 9-year olds!

“Definitely, Maybe” is rated PG-13. TalkinKamel is correct: “…the movie ratings system, when it comes to kids, is ratcheting down the standards of what's okay, and what isn't. PG-13 seems to include just about everything these days.”

The coup-de-grace, though, was the “Sex and the City” preview. Need I say more?

Craig

P.S.

Why do women wear strapless dresses they must adjust constantly? A young woman, who happened to sit next to me in the theatre, was wearing one. She pulled it down; she pulled it up; she pulled it sideways. Once she nearly flashed me!

Now, I appreciate beautiful breasts as much as anyone. But I must say, I was embarrassed. Very embarrassed indeed.

[Anna]

It is definitely still immodest. And I think it's interesting that Angelina felt surprised about how exposed it made her feel. Immodesty isn't natural, even when it's animated.

[Heather Carson]

I agree that animated nudity is still nudity.

By the way, the best website my husband and I have found for vetting film content is: kids-in-mind.com. They are very thorough.

[L.B.]

Are unclothed lizards immodest?

[TalkinKamel]

It's interesting to me, by the way (and again, a sign of the times), that the producers felt they had to "sex up" the epic of "Beowulf". As I recall, there are no nude scenes with Grendel's mother in the original and she doesn't try to seduce Beowulf; she's a monster, trying to avenge her monster son's death, pure and simple. (In fact, I don't recall there's much in the way of sex at all in "Beowulf.")

The movie's producers apparently thought the epic needed a little spicing up, if it was going to appeal to a contemporary audience.

[Katie]

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[Eliza Shevinsky]

Nudity is immodest. Animated, live, it doesn't matter. If we're looking at a naked Angelina Jolie, then that should be rated R for risque.

[TalkinKamel]

Yes, I'd have to agree; nudity, whether animated or live, is immodest.

Does anybody here recall, by the way, the furor when Ralph Bakshi came out with "Fritz the Cat" and "Heavy Traffic?" As I remember, there was supposed to be a great deal of nudity and sex in both of them (as well as unpleasant racial stereotypes); I never saw either film myself. I remember the critics kept pushing them as being some sort of marvelous breakthrough.

[Ken]

I'm more steamed as to how the movie really screwed over the original saga of Beowulf. They gave the saga an even bigger screw-job than that Sci-Fi Original Movie version. Professor Tolkien (who is responsible for popularizing Beowulf in the first place) never imagined something like THAT happening.

Grendel's Mother was NOT an A-Jo hottie, but a misshapen monster even worse than Grendel himself -- a great demon-spawn of a troll. In the original, after fighting and killing Grendel Beowulf then tracks down and nails the even bigger threat of Grendel's Mother, who is even tougher than Grendel. Which sets Beowulf up for his third, greatest feat -- the dragon several years later; the fight in which he dies, as befits the Greatest Deed of a Saxon hero. (Whose greatest deed and greatest courage in the entire Saga comes as he faces his doom and goes down fighting, from the Norse gods at Ragnarok to Theoden outside Minas Tirith.)

[TalkinKamel]

Yes, Ken, aside from any question of nudity/modesty, I'm appalled at the way they've tweaked the original Beowulf saga (which was quite entertaining to begin with, than you very much Hollywood!) to gratuitous "naughty bits", and, in general, dumb down the plot.

I think we are going to start seeing more and more of this sort of thing in animation, especially with the growing popularity of Japanese anime, and with these recent computer graphic enhancements in "Beowulf" and "The 300."

[Ken]

Actually, 300 I can accept (in the words of the producer) as "Opera, not Documentary". Most of the events were accurate to the Battle of Thermopalye, just the visuals were surreal. (With a wonderful justification in that this was an as-told-to account of the battle, where history was already becoming myth.)

But surreal in a way derived from actual Greek attitudes. Ancient Greek arts were into "perfection of the (male) human form". The Spartans in 300 were dressed, not as historical Spartans of the period, but MYTHIC Greek Warrior Heroes (with the addition of the speedos for contemporary American audiences).

The Persians, with all their surreal deformities, are The Barbarian (in its original meaning of "Not Greek"), as different in their piercings, kinky atmosphere, and deformity of the (male) human form as the Spartans were in their exaltation of it. The Other, exaggerated for maximum contrast.

[Blakeney]

I agree. Nudity is immodest, be it live or illustrated (at least as far as the media version of it - Venus de Milo it ain't).

What gets me steamed in particular is nudity in comics or animation. They can put any rating they want to on them - anytime you have some kind of cartooney figures involved in a story, there are going to be kids that want to see it. And there will be adults who think that they're underage impressionalbe kid can "handle it" (whether they can or not).

It's all a part of a culture that increasingly marginalizes children - nowadays even children's movies have to have jokes the adults will enjoy - why?

There are plenty of things in this world that are geared to the entertainment of adults (and I'm not necessarily talking about "adult" content). Why can't children have something just for them?

Digression: I occassionally check out a weblog caled About Face that discusses how women are portrayed in the media. I was infuriated yesterday when they reported that Mattel and Bonnie Bell are now marketing make-up kits for the 6-8yr old crowd, and that Bratz is now marketing padded bras - yes bras - for 6 year olds. Here is the link: http://about-face.org/blog/page/2/

Steam is coming out of my ears. Let kids be kids!

[Mandi S.]

The scenes with Jolie were DEFINITELY inappropriate.

The animation of the movie is supposed to look as real as possible, and Jolie's basically nude body does look very real. It was quite embarrassing.

Not to mention the fact that it was one of the most violent movies I've ever seen. I avoid seeing R rated movies, and I was angry after seeing Beowulf that it was not rated R. It clearly should have been.

[Mandi]

Also, I feel really sorry for Jolie! I'm glad she spoke out about her embarrassment, because some people wouldn't do that for fear of looking like they're not liberated or something.

[TalkinKamel]

Blankeny, yes, I have noticed that, as adults get more and more childish, kids are more and more maginalized. For instance, while more and more adults are going out for Halloween, and dressing up in sexy costumes for it, kids are sternly forbidden from doing anything for Halloween at their schools, and sternly warned about the dangers of trick-or-treating. There are the "collectible" toys for adults only, the comic book stores, for adults only, and movies, ostensibly for kids, now having to appeal to adults as well.

I mentioned earlier the two rather inappropriate scenes in "Enchanted", which is being marketed, rather weirdly, as both a sweet princess movie for little girls, and a satirical comedy for adults. Also, the evil step-witchmother in "Enchanted" displays quite a bit of cleavage in cartoon (not live form)---something you never would have seen with Malificent, or the wicked queen in Disney's "Snow White". Again, you have to wonder if that was a bit of eye candy to get dads to come to the show.

[Mary]

I would never go see this cartoon, but if you all want a movie that is basically good for kids go see National Treasure II after seeing the first one they are both FANTASTIC!
Thanks for the Enchanted review we will wait till it comes out so we can skip that part.

We should start a movie review section.

[pvtbuddie]

"Wasn't it Jessica Rabbit, in "Who Framed Roger Rabbit", who famously quipped: "I can't help it, I'm just drawn this way!". :-)

Warren"

So, why did she talk that way?

[Tammie]

Great site you have here..Im currently doing a final paper on how animated movies with crude visual and audio content affect kids today.This helped in my reseaching..thanks..p.s. a comment as far as BEOWOLF:i took my 11 year old and 8 friends to see 3-D BEOWOLF for his B-day and boy was i embarrased, not only for myself but for the feedback i was looking to recieve over the next 2 weeks from the parents that trusted ME to have a fun safe clean kids b-day party..oh my..lol