On the occasion of Women's Rights Day, OCS will broadcast Hollywood: No sex please!, a one-hour documentary on the place of sex in the United States and more particularly in Hollywood. A little history lesson needed.
Sex is an important part of our lives. In our beds, on our screens, in the newspapers, we hear about it in all its forms. In 2018, we know our desires and those of others, we know what is forbidden and what is dangerous. With 120 beats per minute, we relive the struggle of homosexuals for access to AIDS care and prevention. With the Harvey Weinstein case, we (re)discover the abuse of power and sexual harassment that plagues Hollywood. On March 8 on OCS, you will be able to discover the documentary that traces the ambiguous relationship between cinema and sex. Julia and Clara Kuperberg have made a film of captivating clarity. The three experts who follow one another talk about sex, its representations, its place in society without ever being vulgar or awkward. Their words are illustrated by archival footage of American society and by many films that have gradually formed the image we can have of sex today.
Flashback
Hollywood: No sex please! sheds light on the tortuous relationship between the United States and cinema. Founded by Puritans, the country has long ignored everything related directly or indirectly to sexual intercourse. The liberation of bodies and speech awaited the 1960s and pacifist demonstrations. Cinema, reflecting the concerns of its time, also began to show more naked bodies. A liberation that was quickly muzzled by the Puritans as well as the social and economic crises that hit the USA. The Americans felt attacked and transcribed this violence into their art. Sex is then linked to violence, a couple that is still difficult to get rid of today. The emotions of American society are intimately connected to their representation of sex and romantic relationships. Step by step, couples are diversifying. New combinations are tested: lovers of different colors, the same sex, very different ages… But for every advance, religious groups come forward and set even stricter codes. Film historian Craig Detweiler sums it up:
"Americans have always been more comfortable with violence than with sex. »
What about women?
In all this tumult, women are both desired and repudiated. They are at the center of this cinema that translates the fantasies and frustrations of its audience. They are powerful and abused. Their desires are revered or punished violently. Their bodies are overexposed or ridiculously hidden. Nothing new, then. The documentary Hollywood: No sex please! is all the more interesting because it is broadcast in the middle of an important period for women working in cinema. The #metoo movement frees the voice of victims of sexual harassment and assault. In Hollywood, women try year after year to alert the general public to the abuse they face. Our news echoes the words of the documentary: we link sex again to the dangers it can generate.
Hollywood: No sex please! is an important documentary to show in this period of controversy. It serves as a reminder of the long years of struggle that citizens have waged to be able to freely dispose of their bodies. Some events, however, insist that these struggles are still ongoing. The documentary will be available on OCS on March 8.
