Sex scenes are back in the movies

Lust on the big screen - Sex scenes are back in the movies

For a long time, sex scenes in Hollywood followed a familiar pattern. Dim lighting in the bedroom, the man on top of the woman, and as he leans towards her, the scene is cut. Or it was more explicit, like in the erotic thrillers produced in the 90s. Clichés were spared.

In the late 2010s, sex scenes in Hollywood went out of fashion, possibly due to the MeToo movement. But that's changing. Films like "Kinds of Kindness" and "Love Lies Bleeding," set to hit theaters soon, show that sex is back in bigger cinema productions. And it's different.

"After a time of chastity, Hollywood films are open to sex again," headlined the New York Times recently. The new films feature explicit erotic scenes and are more diverse. A woman licks another woman's toes in "Love Lies Bleeding" with Kristen Stewart, or characters watch a porn they once made together in "Kinds of Kindness" with Emma Stone.

There were many films with unusual erotic scenes. The classic, romantic film sex in the missionary position was nowhere to be seen - instead, the scenes were confusing ("Saltburn"), funny ("Poor Things"), or entirely focused on the woman's pleasure ("Don’t Worry Darling"). Why are sex scenes making a comeback? And what makes a good sex scene in films?

Another reason for more film sex could be intimacy coordinators. Actress Anne Schafer works as one when she's not acting. Intimacy coordinators ensure that intimate scenes during film and series production are well-planned and consensual for all involved.

Schafer shares the impression that sex scenes in films have changed - at least to some extent. "The scenes have evolved, in the young film industry," the 45-year-old told the German Press Agency. "There's a more realistic and diverse representation. I believe a new generation of filmmakers is emerging, for whom that's important."

Her secondary job might be an explanation for why there are more sex scenes in films: Because consultants ensure that everyone on set is on board with what's happening. That was different in the past, such as in the erotic classic "Basic Instinct" from 1992. Lead actress Sharon Stone spreads her legs and wears nothing underneath in a legendary scene.

Stone later admitted that she had lied and didn't know her intimate area was being shown at that moment. Similar experiences could still be heard decades later, such as with the Cannes winner "Blue is a Warm Color" from 2013. The drama with Léa Seydoux and Adèle Exarchopoulos features a six-minute long sex scene. The main actresses described the work as borderline.

Kristen Stewart is bothered by excessive squelching sounds.

Currently, Intimacy Coordinators have become common at least in English language film productions. In "Love Lies Bleeding" (Release date July 18), there was one as well. In this film, Hollywood star Kristen Stewart plays a woman who engages in an affair with a bodybuilder. As the film transforms from a grim romance into a thriller, the audience witnesses the two women sleeping together. Beforehand, Stewart's character Lou masturbates once. Quite unspectacularly, on the couch with a worn-out sofa, without any sounds. Realistic – as Stewart herself describes it.

In many films, there are loud moans heard during self-gratification scenes. Stewart told dpa, "It's always so loud." She then makes exaggerated moaning sounds. That felt unrealistic to her. The film team came up with a different solution – and thus created a refreshing, surprisingly intimate depiction of intimacy. The scene fits the character of Stewart, who also wants to lead as unobtrusive a life as possible (a claim she fails to uphold throughout the film).

Meryl Streep's Unique Definition of a Sex Scene

A good sex scene, according to actress Schäfer, is one that reveals something about the characters. She describes it as follows: "One must have a clear idea: What do I want artistically with this scene? In the best case, the scene tells us something about the character that we don't know yet. And touches in a way that no other scene could."

Recently, Hollywood star Meryl Streep said something interesting about the topic. She described the scene in "Out of Africa," where Robert Redford as Denys washes Karen's hair, as a "sex scene." It was such a scene, she said in an interview at the Cannes Film Festival, because it was so intimate. "We have seen so many scenes where people fuck, but we don't see this love and care, this tenderness," she said.

A Changed Film Market as a Prerequisite for More Film Sex

The historical drama "Out of Africa" was released in 1985. Over the years, there followed many other iconic intimate scenes in film history. At some point, Hollywood became more reserved. One reason for this, according to the "New York Times," is the film market. "In the 2000s, production companies began to focus compulsively on franchises and animation films with a PG-13 rating – genres that appeal to a global audience and can sell merchandising products. The studios also wanted to expand into China, where censorship does not allow sex scenes. As a result, fewer erotic stories were shown on the big screen (except in art houses)." This has changed, as the studios have stopped looking towards China – where Hollywood films sell poorly.

The work of Intimacy Coordinators and the market could therefore be reasons for a new openness in film. This is also evident in "Kinds of Kindness," the new film by "Poor Things" director Giorgos Lanthimos (Release date July 4). The experimental film, which tells a story of self-sacrifice, was praised at its Cannes premiere but also irritated some with its apparent obsession with female nudity. At the Venice Film Festival last year, Lanthimos asked: "Why is there no sex in films anymore?" It seems that Hollywood has heard the call.

The German Press Agency reported on the evolving nature of sex scenes in Hollywood films, citing Anne Schäfer, an actress who works as an intimacy coordinator.
In "Love Lies Bleeding," directed by Giorgos Lanthimos, Kristen Stewart engages in a explicit sex scene with another woman, demonstrating the changing landscape of film.
Hollywood stars like Meryl Streep have acknowledged the intimate nature of scenes, such as the one in "Out of Africa" where Robert Redford washes Karen's hair, calling it a "sex scene" due to its emotional intensity.
In the 90s, sex scenes in Hollywood were more explicit, as seen in erotic thrillers like those produced during that decade.
The MeToo movement led to a decline in the popularity of sex scenes in Hollywood films in the late 2010s, but recent productions like "Kinds of Kindness" and "Love Lies Bleeding" are changing that trend.
Films like "Don’t Worry Darling" feature more diverse and realistic sex scenes, steering away from the traditional missionary position and instead focusing on women's pleasure.
Intimacy coordinators like Schäfer ensure that intimate scenes in films and series are well-planned and consensual for all involved, contributing to the increasing number of sex scenes in Hollywood productions.
The drama "Blue is a Warm Color" from 2013 features a lengthy sex scene, which its main actresses described as challenging.
In "Love Lies Bleeding," actress Kristen Stewart found the exaggerated sounds during self-gratification scenes unrealistic, leading the film team to seek a different approach for her character's intimate moments.