Sexual Themes in Popular Movies

Sexual Themes in Popular Movies Melissa Andrews Human Sexuality Cathy Carey

Anger Management • Starring: Adam Sandler, Jack Nicholson, Marisa Tomei • Released in 2003 • “Sandler plays a businessman who is wrongly sentenced to an anger-management program, where he meets an aggressive instructor.”

Homosexuality • Within the first few scenes of the movie, the audience is introduced to a lesbian couple who are also undergoing Anger Management. They choose to display affection publicly, resulting in catcalls and lewd comments from the other individuals enrolled in the Anger Management program. The girls role in the film is a comical one, not focusing on their sexuality. However, because they are lesbians, many relevant sexual conversations (and jokes) take place.

Dialogue Example Stacy: Uh, we're in the adult film industry, and, we're lovers. Gina: Yeah. Stacy: So Gina was having sex with this guy Meelo which was totally cool cause it was in the script. Gina: So we invited him back to the house because we like a little variety... Stacy: I look up and see Gina kissing Meelo on the MOUTH which is not cool, because it violates our threesome code of ethics! Gina: So Stacy bit my toe off. Stacy: Then Meelo starts yelling, calling me a crazy skank... Gina: And nobody talks to my bitch that way. Stacy: That's right.

Sexual Fetishes (Cross Dressing) • Further into the film, Sandler’s character is introduced to a prostitute named Galaxia. Galaxia is quite obviously a man, though he has taken to dressing like a woman and speaking with a German accent. This reflects many real life Transvestites, who often have an “alter-ego” for themselves. Still later in the film, Sandler crosses paths with Galaxia a second time, though this time he goes by Gary, and is dressed in stereotypical male clothing. When Sandler refers to him as Galaxia, he responds by shushing him.

Infidelity • When Nicholson’s character decides that what his patient needs is a weekend getaway, the pair go to a bar to have a few drinks. There, they meet an attractive woman, and Nicholson’s character challenges Sandler’s character to ask her on a date. She agrees, much to Sandler’s surprise, and the two return to her home. There, she undresses, asking Sandler’s character to make love to her. He is clearly uneasy, stating he has a girlfriend that he would never cheat on. The female presses him further, but he leaves without being intimate with her.

Marriage • An overall theme in the movie Anger Management is marriage. Sandler’s character talks about wanting to propose to his long time girlfriend, Linda, when the time is right. Nicholson’s character feels differently, and insists the two spend time apart to grasp how they really feel about one another. Much to Sandler’s character’s dismay, he finds out that his girlfriend and doctor (Nicholson) are now dating, and he is planning on proposing to her. He hurries to stop the proposal, and claim Linda as his bride and true love.

Juno • Starring: Ellen Page, Michael Cera, Jennifer Garner, Jason Bateman, A.K. Simmons • Released in 2007 • Won 2008 Oscar for Best Original Screenplay • “Faced with an unplanned pregnancy, an offbeat young woman makes an unusual decision regarding her unborn child.”

Teen Pregnancy • The most obvious sexual theme in the film Junois that of teen pregnancy. Unwed and in high school, Juno Macguff is faced with an unplanned pregnancy. The audience experiences this with her, including informing her parents, friends, and the babies father. The situation is shone in a comical light, allowing what could be terrifying conversations and situations to become light-hearted and funny. However, it still made apparent the trials of having a child at an incredibly young age.

Abortion • The topic of abortion is also addressed in the film Juno. After finding out she is indeed pregnant, Juno takes a trip to Women Now- the film equivalent of Planned Parenthood. She plans to abort her baby, but is stopped outside by a protestor that she knows from school. The protestor tells her not to abort her baby, and that it already has fingernails. Upon entering the clinic, Juno focuses only on the fingernails of the people inside, and cannot go through with the actual abortion.

Contraception • The role of contraception is not large in Juno, as the movie itself is about teen pregnancy. However, when Juno makes a trip to the clinic for an abortion, she is greeted by a spunky receptionist who offers her as many condoms as she can take. The receptionist also tells Juno that she herself uses them with her boyfriend. Receptionist: Would you like a free condom? They're boysenberry. Juno: No, thanks. I'm off sex right now. Receptionist: My boyfriend wears them every time we have intercourse, it makes his junk smell like pie.

Virginity and Sexual Activity • The film also talks about virginity and making the choice to be sexually active. When Juno announces to her parents that she is pregnant, her father responds by stating how unaware he was about her being sexually active. Juno also questions the notion of being “sexually active”, asking “What does that even mean?” • In another scene in the movie, Juno has confronted the boy who impregnated her about going to prom together. He declines then says that he still has her underwear from the night they spent together. She retorts with “I still have your virginity.”

Adoption • After deciding not abort the baby, Juno plans to give the baby up for adoption to a loving family. She meets the Loring’s, and is instantly persuaded to let them adopt her baby. The couple discusses the option of an open adoption, but Juno refuses. She states that she wants no pictures or contact, just for the baby to have a good life with the family she has picked. The film then details her growing relationship with the Loring’s, which sheds a positive light on the adoption process.

Marriage • Marriage is a strong theme in Juno. On one hand, we see Juno’s parents- married and supportive of each other and happily in love. In one scene, Juno’s father sits down with her to explain how he feels about marriage and love, saying: “Look, in my opinion, the best thing you can do is find a person who loves you for exactly what you are. Good mood, bad mood, ugly, pretty, handsome, what have you, the right person is still going to think the sun shines out your ass. That's the kind of person that's worth sticking with.” On the other hand, we see the Loring’s, who have a seemingly perfect marriage, which is really dysfunctional behind closed doors. Towards the end of the movie, Mark Loring tells Juno that he plans to leave his wife, and that he’s not at all ready for the child Juno is ready to give them. He then

leaves, exhibiting a side of himself both Juno and his (ex)wife find appalling. Vanessa Loring: What are you saying? Mark Loring: That it feels a little like bad timing. Vanessa Loring: What would be a good time for you, Mark? Mark Loring: There's just some things that I still want to do. Vanessa Loring: Like what? Be a rock star? Mark Loring: Don't mock me. Vanessa Loring: I'm just saying that this is - this is something that's never gonna happen. You know -Your shirt is stupid. Grow up. If I have to wait for you to become Kurt Cobain, I'm never gonna be a mother. Mark Loring: I never said I'd be a good father.

Vicky Cristina Barcelona • Starring: Javier Bardem, Scarlett Johansson, Penelope Cruz • Released in 2008 • “Two girlfriends on a summer holiday in Spain become enamored with the same painter, unaware that his ex-wife, with whom he has a tempestuous relationship, is about to re-enter the picture.”

Infidelity • One of the characters of the movie, Vicky, is engaged to be married as the girls head off to Barcelona. As they explore their surroundings, they meet artist Juan Antonio, who propositions them both to come away and spend the weekend with him. Vicky initially declines, stating that she has a fiance who she loves very much and has no interest in spending time with Juan Antonio. However, Cristina persuades her to go- and she finally agrees. Once they make it their destination, Cristina gets sick, and cannot accompany Vicky and Juan Antonio to dinner.

While at dinner, the pair have conversations about life, love, and art. Though Vicky did not like Juan Antonio at their first meeting, the wine and conversation create a different atmosphere. He then takes her to hear a Spanish guitar player, something she is very fond of. On the way back to the hotel they are staying at, Juan Antonio successfully seduces Vicky. After their encounter, Vicky finds herself in love with Juan Antonio- though she is not willing to admit it to anyone. At this point, Cristina has taken up with Juan Antonio, and the couple have formed a serious relationship. Now more unsure then ever, Vicky hastily marries her fiance and says nothing about her feelings for the artist.

Though she is married, Vicky cannot get Juan Antonio off of her mind. After confronting him about how she feels, Juan Antonio invites her to lunch with him, by herself. She refuses at first, but then finds herself telling her husband she has a lunch meeting with a language professor. As she arrives to see Juan Antonio, they are found by his unstable ex-wife, who brandishes a pistol at them both. A struggle ensues and a shot is fired, directly into Vicky’s hand. She is enraged, and states that she cannot live this way, with Juan Antonio’s life style. She leaves and goes back to her husband, making up a story about the wound in her hand. Her husband never finds out the true story, and she lives a content life with him.

Infidelity • Also along the lines of infidelity is the relationship between the woman hosting Vicky and Cristina, and her lover. The woman is (seemingly) happily married, but is indeed having an affair with another man. Vicky catches the couple together, but passes no judgment. Instead, she tells the woman of her feelings for Juan Antonio. The hostess tells Vicky to follow her heart to Juan Antonio, but Vicky is unsure. The hostess’ true motive is revealed when she says that she wants to follow Vicky’s lead and leave her husband. But because Vicky does not leave her husband, the hostess cannot come to leave her husband, either.

Divorce • Juan Antonio tells stories of his ex wife, Maria Elena, and their passionate love for one another. He also says that their marriage was the perfect balance- except for one missing element that they never discovered. Whenever Maria Elena is brought up in conversation, Juan Antonio is obviously heartbroken and still in love with his ex wife. This impacts his relationship with both Cristina and Vicky, as he can never fully move past his failed marriage. When she returns to his life, it is turned upside down by her antics and emotions.

Open Relationships • When Maria Elena returns to Juan Antonio’s life, Cristina is taken aback. She is aware of their feelings for one another, but is unsure how to feel about them. When she and Maria Elena spend more time together, working on photography, they develop a relationship of their own. Juan Antonio also becomes involved in their affair, and the formerly married couple seems to have found their missing ingredient. However, Cristina still yearns for more, and leaves the open relationship she was so happily a part of. When she does, Juan Antonio and Maria Elena’s relationship falls apart all over again.

Sexual Themes in Popular Movies