child nudity?
melinda kanniman.. i assume she's 13-14? and she exposed herself on a Sweden:11 rated film?
isn't this banned in most countries? there arent even any other film with child nudity are they?
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MovieChat Forums > Mitt liv som hund (1987) Discussion > child nudity?
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The nudity here was very brief and in no way lewd. There was nothing to censor.
shareFirstly, there's a difference between a child and a pubescent teenager.
Also, there's a difference between nudity and pornography.
To compare this scene to child pornography could only be the result of a rather confused mind.
Bernardo Bertollucci's "The Last Emperor" has some "child nudity". There's nothing graphic about it. They were just giving a bath to the five year old emperor.
"My Life as a Dog" looks like a touching film. I'm gonna rent it this weekend.
As an American I have always been disappointed with the way my country considers nudity in general to be "wrong." As many people have mentioned on this thread, nudity itself is simply a natural part of life. I have seen this movie, among several others that include so-called "child nudity." I have yet to see anything wrong with any of those movies! There was nothing sexual about the girl exposing her chest in this movie. The issue was that she was pretending to be a boy in order to be on the soccer team and the development of her breasts was going to reveal she was really a girl, thus her elimination from the soccer team. The context of that scene dealt with that issue rather than having ANY kind of sexual meaning. It is actually art in pure form.
A great photographer named Jock Sturges spent his entire life taking pictures of young girls on nude beaches in France. He has published pictures of nude children for years as have many other well-known photographers. Photography is viewed as art, but why aren't movies considered artistic when they include nudity? What is the difference in a young girl nude on a public beach in France and a young girl nude in a movie? European movies never shy away from including nudity among young teens because they view nudity as it should be viewed: a natural, innocent part of life. The USA seems to think that nudity is only appropriate for a person who has reached the age of 18 and that a person under 18 cannot even see a nude person. In other words, they rate movies "R" for nudity because it is wrong to view a nude person if you are under 18.
Everyone should compare the ratings of other countries compared to the USA ratings. You'll find that Europe gives a liberal rating, maybe similar to what the USA calls "PG." Only the USA would try to restrict these movies to 18+ or even NC-17 (what used to be rated X.) The only reason "My Life As a Dog" was given a PG-13 rating is because the standards have been changed since the rating was given in 1986. Several American made movies included child nudity in the 1970s and 1980s. A classic example is "Pretty Baby." It shows a fully nude pre-teen Brooke Shields. Check that message board and you'll find the same arguments people are making on this thread! http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0078111/ There is nothing to argue about: these movies are perfectly legal and there is nothing at all wrong with the nude scenes. It is all art rather than pornography/sexual.
I agree with your sentiments. I just wanted to point out that I've read some interviews with Jock Sturges and he went through many years of legal harrassment over his work, mostly during the Reagan and Ed Meese years. He had much of his work confiscated as "evidence" and returned to him ruined (from water damage) when the legal proceedings came to an end.
Our Puritanical roots survive to this day unfortunately.....
I wish I was a headlight on a northbound train. I'd shine my light through the cool Colorado rain.
I just had to stop in and see how much traffic had been generated by a ... what? five second? ... scene in the film. Now understand that I'm an American, but I'm lucky enough to have been around the block a bit. There is some shame here, but it's in that we have taken something quite innocent and made it dirty. I remember when child nudity was cute; the Coppertone girl would never happen nowadays. What would happen if more of us saw Ronja Rövardotter? Not just child nudity but coed and full-frontal, and with an age 7 rating in Sweden. It's a family film, folks! Get it? Good thing we only watch films that we can get in English, isn't it? Come on America, the problem is with us, not with the movies. Start looking for your marbles, because they got lost somewhere along the line. Mitt liv som hund is a great film; take it for what it is.
shareCongratulations paedophile Larry! You've just exposed your immoral preferences to the rest of us. You see, to me, there is nothing wrong with a naked child in a film, because it doesn't carry the connotation of sex with a minor. It's really messed up to hear that you think this way, and that it is apparently the role of filmmakers to prevent you from getting perverted urges/thoughts rather than accepting the responsibility yourself. I understand that this preference is not wholly your fault, but you'd better stay the *beep* away from my kids.
If everybody thought like you we'd have to censor beaches for flip's sake.
An intresting discssion. This thread in many ways mirrors what has been happning with film over the last 30 years.
That is the "moral panic" over paedoplilla, child sex predotors etc that has played out in the news media has changed what is deemed acceptable in films.
It intresting to consider that in many ways film has become more conservative over the last few decades.
This film was made in the early to mid eighties where child nudity was still acceptable. then the moral panic set in and it became less so. Thats why we are surpirsed to see it now days.
A classic example of this change is the blue lagoon films. the first one was made in the early eightes with full child nutidy of both genders and no one batted an eye.
Fast forward to "Return to the Blue Lagoon" in the late eighties and all child nudity was cut.
A neo conservtism led prehaps by ronald regan and the 24 hour news cycle led to new conservatism in films.
whatever the case, that was the first time i, and alot of other people, have ever seen a 14 yr old's thingamajimmies.
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I just watched this movie today, and decided to look it up here. One of my favourite foreign movies. I hadn't seen it since it was released. I CAN'T BELIEVE we are even talking about this! Or that this topic stretches over TEN pages. I am absolutely astounded at this topic. A little girl shows her barely-there breasts. So what? If your little girl looks in the mirror, she will see the same thing. People. Please. Get. Over. It. I live in America. One of the most oversexed, overfed, spoiled, vulgar, violent, slovenly countries there is. We are bombarded with sex on TV 24/7. We have absolutely no moral ground to judge bits of random nudity in a twenty-six year old movie fimed in another country. Where children at an early age AREN'T taught to be ashamed of their bodies like American children are. Some of our kids right now are in their bathrooms, taking cellphone pics of themselves in the mirror to post God knows where. There are websites all over the Net full of them. Your eleven year old can log onto his unrestricted, unmonitored computer in his bedroom (with webcam) and find hardcore porn within five minutes. Or worse. Do you really think that a shot of a barely-pubescent girl's chest is going to make them uncomfortable? This is what breeds body-shame, guilt and a host of other unnecessary issues that plague many Americans. This country has made breasts into sexual organs. I've seen boys and men that have bigger boobs than she did. Get over it! We had seventh-graders in my town caugh having oral sex in the boy's school bathroom recently. Where did that idea come from? Parents: TEACH YOUR CHILDREN. Don't judge everyone else.
...Those who suspect vice in others are highly suspect themselves. -Guy Bennett
I agree that all the internet-controversy on this topic is ridiculous.
People need to just look at the context. This is a realistic slice-of-life movie that portrays kids growing up and trying to understand life. The whole point of this particular scene was to show how kids act; it was meant mostly to be awkward, not sexy for crying out loud. (Personally, I thought it was a cute and true-to-life portrayal of kids' innocent, vague grasp of the "facts of life.") But for some reason a bunch of people have to regard it as having a perverted intention.
This is one of many cases where the reaction says a lot more about the complainers than it does about the filmmakers.
I live in America. One of the most oversexed, overfed, spoiled, vulgar, violent, slovenly countries there is.
Like most Americans, you're probably just pulling that out of thin air, without giving it much thought. I guess you've been to Asia, Europe, Brazil and Africa to confirm that as true?
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Save for Brazil, (or South America) I have. I would agree.
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