Television and film have been around for a very long time. Over the decades, the envelope has been pushed at a rapidly increasing pace.
In film, sex has always been present. My Visible School teacher, Paul Skidmore, brought into his class of approximately one(1) student(s) a DVD he had recently ordered for the purpose of using in his class. It was of video from some of the earliest known video recordings. He made the mistake of not having screened it before bringing it to class. We weren't 2 minutes into the first clip when a full shot of a nude woman standing in a field came up. This shot left only her hue to the imagination. Give a man a way to record images and he will find a way to get a woman naked in front of the recording device.Needless to say, the DVD was stopped very quickly and I never saw it again.
As film became more and more popular and available to the masses, sex was shown in less revealing ways, often times only hinting that any sexual act had taken place. Alfred Hitchcock was one of many film makers who began to really push the limits how much sexual content was present in films. His masterpiece, Psycho, became infamous for showing a woman taking a shower. Nothing was shown between her knees and the very tips of shoulders, but at the time this scene was extremely taboo. Hitchcock would also use sexual innuendo in his early works to avoid heavy criticism and the possibility of the films being dropped by the studios. As his career progressed, sex became more and more prominent in his films. In Frenzy, a character is raped and murdered. In Family Plot, one of the characters has a child out of wedlock.
Television was a medium were sex was very taboo, even to the point were Ricky and Lucy Ricardo of I Love Lucy didn't share a bed. Not only were the characters married to each other but the actors who portrayed them, Lucille Ball and Desi Arnaz, were married to each other as well. CBS even did everything they could to hide Lucy's pregnancy (condition) from the viewers and did not allow the word 'pregnant' to be uttered on the show.
Nudity is still not shown on broadcast or basic cable television but for a very few exceptions. In the 70's and 80's, many broadcast stations that were not affiliated with any of the major networks would often experiment showing nudity by airing unedited films. Eventually, the FCC started receiving complains about these low power stations and they were either forced to stop, shut down, or were bought up by one of the major networks.
This has not kept major networks from showing nudity and graphic, sexual content. ABC's NYPD Blue commonly showed full rear nudity, albeit in dimly lit environments. NYPD Blue also showed nudity during acts of sex.
PBS, Discovery, and other networks that commonly show documentary material will show nudity in journalistic context, which I suppose I don't have a huge problem with.
Today, nudity on television is unheard of, thanks to Justin Timberlake removing Janet Jackson's top during the Super Bowl XXXVIII halftime show. However, the medium hasn't abandoned sex. Though nothing is ever shown, Two and a Half Men involves dialogue which graphically describes Charlie Harper's sexual exploits. Descriptions of blow jobs, anal sex, and many other sexual acts are common. Many times these things are merely insinuated, but often times it's blatantly discussed. More recently, the 16 year old son of Alan Harper, Jake, has been the subject of these sexual conversations.
Film has become even more open in showing sexual images and nudity. It can be assumed today that if you go see an R rated comedy, you'll likely see plenty of female breasts. Even PG-13 rated films are littered with sexual conversations and depictions of teenagers engaged in sexual acts.
I do believe that sex and, to a lesser extent, nudity have a place in television and film. American Beauty is about one man's life spiraling out of control and into darkness. Throughout the film, Lester Burnham develops an infatuation with one of his daughter's high school friends, Angela Hayes. Burnham finds himself in his home late at night alone with the Hayes. He comes into the living room where she is, and she proceeds to remove her top, revealing her underage (character, not actress) breasts to Burnham and the camera lens. At that moment, Burnham realizes that he's making a huge mistake and, after having a lengthy conversation with Hayes about, leaves the room. I can honestly say that had the film hidden Hayes' nudity, the impact of darkness and disgust that is there would not have been as effective.
A married couple discussing their sex life isn't crass, it's a very beautiful thing that they are sharing. Many people want to throw a conversation that Marshall and Lilly from How I Met Your Mother have about the role that sex plays in their marriage into the same bag as they put Van Wilder going across campus and spreading his seed throughout the entire girl's dormitory. These things couldn't be more different. In fact, I think we need more example likes Marshall and Lilly in the media. There's nothing gross or sinful about two married people discussing the sex that they share.
Obviously, sex and nudity used the way that American Pie, National Lampoon, and so many other raunchy comedies use it is entirely inappropriate and vile. These films are essentially softcore porn. That doesn't that mean that we should shy away from sex in television and film entirely. A story is being told. A feeling and an emotion are being conveyed. There is a tasteful way to approach the subject of sex. Let's all just be adult about it.
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