[HPFGU-Movie] Re: POV: Dan and Dakotta, and Morality

[Shaun Hately]

On 17 Aug 2006 at 21:54, Leeann McCullough wrote:

> I don't want to start a thread of just what our problems are because 
> that would get us nowhere. I just wanted to express my feelings 
> about his decision to do this role. If he were my son, in the US 
> still a minor by the way, I would hope he would pass on this one. I 
> can't believe there aren't other fabulous scripts just waiting for 
> him.

The thing is... you are in the US, Leeann. Daniel Radcliffe isn't - and I think that does make a 
real difference here.

I'm trying to avoid the risk of upsetting anyone, but American attitudes to nudity, and 
particularly to childhood nudity are considerably different from those of many other places in 
the world. In general, most English speaking countries are reasonably prudish on nudity 
compared to many other countries, and the US is probably the most prudish of all of them.

Let me say, I don't think there's anything wrong with that, within a persons own culture. It'd be 
none of my business if Americans were all puritans in big hats - but when you look across 
cultures, even between cultures that are very similar in many ways, it is relevant.

Now, I'm not British - I'm Australian - so I'm looking at Dan's cultural background as an 
outsider as well - although I think Australians are still a bit closer to Britain culturally than the 
US is.

I really don't think nudity is as big a deal in the UK as it is in the US - and this includes the 
nudity of children. It's not exactly common to see nude children in British films or television - 
but it's also not that uncommon.

I mentioned Kes recently - it's one of my favourite films and it is a classic of British cinema. 
And it contains fairly graphic nudity of a boy in his early teens. It's there for a reason - and 
that's important. We're not talking about sexualised nudity, or nudity for the sake of nudity - 
but a scene where a person is naked for a good reason within the context of the story.

Growing up in the 1980s I can recall seeing children's TV shows on Australian TV that 
contained nude scenes involving children - a series called Saturdee which was set in a 
country town in the 1920s - the children swam nude in that show, because that is what kids in 
country towns did in the 1920s. Again in the context of the story, that made sense, and so in 
our culture it was OK. I'm not saying it should be fine in the US (although thinking about it - I 
do seem to recall the 1960s Disney film, Pollyanna opening with a scene of boys 
skinnydipping, so maybe it was fine in the US then) - but in our cultural context here in 
Australia, at the time that show was made, it was fine.

For that matter - and this does embarrass me to mention - I appeared nude in a film myself 
when I was 15. Again, in context, it made sense.

I guess my point is that what would concern me is if people started trying to impose the views 
from their culture on other cultures. Many other countries aren't as worried about nude 
children as the US is - and why should they be? There may be nothing wrong with America 
being that way - but that doesn't make it automatically right for anywhere else. Just as the 
fact, it's OK in some countries, doesn't make it right for America.

Different cultures have different views.

And in the UK, there's certainly nothing illegal about a 17 year old boy appearing nude on 
stage - on in a film, or on TV. As long as the context is right - it can certainly be illegal if the 
context is one that is intended to exploit the child.

But it's not exploitative, it's not illegal. And if it's not's exploitable is it really a problem?

Within that cultural context.

Somebody, I think, said the other day, that photos of nude children are illegal nearly 
everywhere. That's actually nowhere near true. Child pornography is illegal nearly 
everywhere, but in most places, a nude photo of a child would not automatically be 
pornographic. Again it depends on the context and the precise form of the photo - I've just 
taken a bunch of schoolkids to the Melbourne Museum on an excursion - in one exhibit there 
on the development of the human body, there's life size nude photos of a boy and girl of 
about 12 or 13. There are films out there with nude children in them - Kes is one, I've 
mentioned, but there's others.

Context is what counts. And that includes the cultural context.

Yours Without Wax, Dreadnought
Shaun Hately | www.alphalink.com.au/~drednort/thelab.html
(ISTJ)       | drednort at alphalink.com.au | ICQ: 6898200 
"You know the very powerful and the very stupid have one
thing in common. They don't alter their views to fit the 
facts. They alter the facts to fit the views. Which can be 
uncomfortable if you happen to be one of the facts that 
need altering." The Doctor - Doctor Who: The Face of Evil
Where am I: Frankston, Victoria, Australia