Portrayed on Film/TV

[Jimmy Pierce]

Films involve many ideas both visually and narratively. A film like "A Clockwork Orange" historically, is famous for breaking the barrier of sex on screen with the famous "rape scene". The film "M" (if you haven't seen it, SEE IT), in some ways, at least from my viewing experience, broke the barrier of the portrayal of a criminal , and especially a criminal with child pedophiliac traits. The film "Saw", though I have no doubt grotesque violence and the boundaries of humanity were on screen long before the film, but perhaps in not such a theatrically popular way in such a short amount of time.

So my question is, what has NOT been portrayed on film or television successfully?

What CANNOT be portrayed on film or television? Not because of a rule, perhaps from the MPAA or another film or television board , because obviously these rules have been bent or broken several times and can still be broken.

As an extension of what CANNOT be portrayed, what CANNOT be portrayed on film or television because the content would perhaps not be taken seriously, whether it's comedic or dramatic, for example, a film composed of naked human beings head to toe on screen throughout the majority of the film.

The discussion will count out films such as exploitive, pornographic, nature study (of a native tribe or otherwise), any film that is not shown in a typical theatrical setting for the general public (I may have worded that wrong, but I hope you get the idea). Any film of any nationality.

 

[Jon Starr]

Not completely sure of what you're asking...

From what I can tell most everything has been put on the screen. Filmmakers have always been trying to push the boundaries, to be the rebels, fighting the man. It's been like that for a long time. Especially since they realized the raunchier and more grotesque it is, the more people come flooding.

This is especially true with R rated films. Even in the 70's, b-movie R rated films were huge, and they knew that their target audience was not those old enough to view the films, but those too young. It's interesting how R rated films are actually targeted to those under 18.

But what hasn't been done? I imagine not a whole lot. I would say something like castration, but I heard there's a scene like that in Hard Candy (though not sure if you 'see' anything, never watched it).

 

[Jimmy Pierce]

My question is regarding what hasn't been translated to film that reflects life. Things that have and have yet to occur in real life. Like my example of a film that involves a naked person (or persons) from head to toe throughout the majority of the story. From my own viewing experiences, I've never seen that. I don't know exactly what kind of reaction that would get from an audience, from whichever country. A lot of things are done off screen, rather than on screen. For instance, in "El laberinto del fauno" (Pan's Labyrinth), Ofella, the young girl, is shot and killed. The camera stays on a close up of her face, then cuts to the shooter's reaction. It isn;t until she falls and blood is dripping from her mouth do we fully accept her fate. Perhaps it was done that way out of decency. Could a child be shot and killed cinematically and in a revealing way and what kind of reaction would that have, depending on how it was done, and what led up to that moment? Horror? Disgust? A laugh from the audience?