Did Marvel Ruin Sex in Movies?
by Peter Clarke
Marvel movies have ruined cinema. No one can handle nudity anymore.
This was a comment during a Vaush video about the current sex-in-movies discourse. “I genuinely agree with this,” Vaush responds.
He goes on to bash people who criticize sex scenes as “literally just anti-art.” He specifically calls out Gen Z, who seem most strongly opposed to sex in movies. “I think it’s because they’re babies,” he says. “Because they’re inexperienced and emotionally regressed and have the emotional intelligence of babies. I think this is the closest I’ve ever seen to the unironic endorsement of the conservative, like, ‘They’re all snowflakes; they want trigger warnings over everything’ kind of thing.”
Marvel movies do famously have a lack of intimacy between characters. Apparently there was a sex scene in the Marvel movie Eternals, but audiences hated it and Esquire described it as “dysfunctional” rather than sexy. Notably, many superhero movies and shows do have sex scenes, just not big Marvel movies.
But there’s another relevant fact to get on the table: only 9% of Gen Zers consider themselves to be Marvel fans. The vast majority of Marvel fans are Millennials (40%), followed by Baby Boomers (26%) and G Xers (25%).
So while it might be true that Marvel movies shy away from sex and intimacy, it doesn’t seem to be the case that they’re doing this to appease an audience of “emotionally regressed” Gen Zers.
Regardless of who exactly makes up the demographics of the Marvel audience, Marvel movies are made to appeal to a wide audience (which is why they in fact pull in so much money). Having graphic or challenging content of any kind would turn off some viewers, so it makes sense that Marvel would steer clear of scenes that contain sex, gore, or overly strong language.
There’s also the question of whether anyone actually enjoys sex scenes in mainstream movies. This is debated endlessly on online forums. A lot of comments tend to start by saying something like, “I’m not a prude, but…” followed by a list of grievances: it’s awkward; it’s unnecessary; it’s boring; it feels voyeuristic; etc.
But then again, what about the most famous of all truisms, which is that sex sells? Sex scenes might be awkward, but maybe they’re still worth putting into movies because they have the power to draw audiences out in the first place? To this point, when movies do have sex scenes, they tend to make an appearance in the movie trailer. So maybe Marvel movies are missing out?
In fact, “sex sells” isn’t as straightforward as it sounds. The phrase “sex sells” is shorthand for saying, “attractive people catch audiences’s attention.” You don’t need to show actual sex to capitalize on “sex sells.” You just need Scarlett Johansson in a tight-fitting outfit. Also, “sex sells” is meant to apply to advertising purposes, not necessarily to filmmaking. And it only works for certain products or businesses. According to Business News Daily, if sexual imagery is used without the correct strategy, it can hurt a product’s appeal. As a further caveat, a meta-analysis of advertising studies has shown that sexual imagery makes ads more memorable, but it doesn’t help people recall specific brands or products, so it may not actually help to boost sales when compared to ads that don’t use sexual imagery.
Will movie studios follow Marvel’s lead and move away from sex scenes, thereby making it entirely true that “Marvel ruined sex in movies”? And are audiences right to lean into their prudish instincts and be “emotionally regressed” babies?
I’m going to agree with Vaush on this. No and no.
This goes to Vaush’s point that people who take a hard line against sex in movies are “literally just anti-art.” To the extent that movies, as art, aspire to depict life’s most extreme (most memorable and cinematic) moments, it makes total sense to include sex scenes. To walk in a character’s shoes, audiences ideally want to see what they see, feel what they feel. This is how you get the most out of any work of narrative art—whether it’s a movie, a novel, or a play. This is how art works its magic of expanding your view of reality: it truly gives you new experiences, as awkward and disconcerting as they sometimes might be.
And to all the emotionally regressed prudes out there, it’s worth remembering Larry Flynt’s infamous slogan: Relax, it’s just sex.
Peter Clarke is the editor-in-chief of Jokes Review. Read his Substack newsletter The Decadence Project and follow him on Twitter @heypeterclarke.
Fascinating. It would appear that we have reached a very strange point indeed, then: the general culture is offended by sex in movies, but oddly enough, the Christians—the "regressed prudes"—are having less and less of a problem with it. Here's a fascinating piece by Cap Stewart on the difference between Christian vs. secular attitudes toward Chazelle's "Babylon", illustrating the difference: https://capstewart.substack.com/p/christian-faithfulness-in-an-age
Personally, I don't like sex in movies because (1) quite often what is actually happening in front of the camera is psychologically damaging to the actors and (2) sex feels like it ought to be a more private, intimate thing. I believe sex is just one aspect of the human experience yet our culture has blown it up all out of proportion, using it as a key to understanding practically everything. I don't have a problem with sex in movies per se, though—if they are appropriate to the scene and make sense in the context of the story. There's a lot that don't—or that are more fan service than anything else. I'm an older millennial (1984) and I don't like the marvel movies at all, so you can sort me any way you want I guess.