Westworld, HBO and Nudity

[Skanky Vamp]

That's easy to say if you haven't been waiting for the series for the last two years.

Exactly. It's not about nudity, violence, or even language, but it's when it becomes excessive and only for the sake of it. As much as I love Deadwood and find no wrong with it, but when college's started to have drinking parties and doing shots each time a character said c***sucker then you notice that character says it much more often after that trend started, it just makes you wonder.. and that distracts from the overall presentation.

 

[EVIL UU]

Well.. yeah. GoT, the books or the show, has just never, ever been my cup of tea. I've avoided it and all of its pop culture like leprosy. Just.. not for me.

I read the first book around the time it was released because I somewhat liked Martin's science-fiction ( it was terrible science-fiction with a blatant self-insert as a lead character, but hey, I was a teenager, had more tolerance for bullshit ) and my reaction was OK...what's the point? I never touched anything by the author again. Then GoT blew up and people started telling me to check it out. No, it's pulp-fantasy trash! B-but the books are better! Trash!

Honestly, you're not missing out on anything.

That's easy to say if you haven't been waiting for the series for the last two years.

I know, but that doesn't make it any less true, does it?

 

[Buffy Summers]

Overall I don't mind nudity, however there have been a few times when I did think that HBO was including as much nudity as possible just because they could. There is a point at which it distracts and takes away from the story....and HBO loves flirting with that line.

Agreed - it needs to makes sense in the context of the story. There were a couple times in True Blood where it completely took you out of the story and it was like, "What the hell is this?" lol

 

[Ethan Reigns]

I can visualize this conversation behind the scenes between a producer and a writer:

Writer: "I can't figure out how to add some character development for the heroine that will advance the plot and continue the story arc."

Producer: "Just put her in it naked and have her do some sexual stuff. Nobody's gonna notice the lack of plot development."

 

[thetopher]

There were a couple times in True Blood where it completely took you out of the story

For me it was everytime there was all that vampire-hissing, completely took me out of the moment it was so camp and unintentionally funny. What might works in Hammer Horror doesn't work on a television show.



I'm one of those people that thinks the GoT show is actually superior to the book in a lot of respects in terms of character motivation. There are some things added- like Rob Starks romance- that made me care more about some of the characters than I ever did when reading the series. I more 'tune out' the nudity/boinking, its not what I'm there to see but I'm sure others love the whole thing.

 

[Tome]

I think GoT gets too much crap about that. All in all, I would only consider the first season to really have over the top sexpository moments. (Littlefinger, really?!) 😉 I think they toned the pointless nudity in the last two seasons. The nude scenes usually make sense in context now. As for other HBO shows, I know The Wire also had quite a bit of nudity, but I can't really remember it ever being meaningless.

 

[GwenRaiden]

As for other HBO shows, I know The Wire also had quite a bit of nudity, but I can't really remember it ever being meaningless

Yuh. Same goes for Carnivale, and Six Feet Under. It all fitted into the story. As for HBO's Oz, the prison sex was portrayed in a way that was to shock, while being part of the plot, it was mostly shock value.

Man, Oz was mental. It has not aged well.

 

[Buffy Summers]

I don't recall seeing anything in GOT that I thought was pointless. But if it involved Jon Snow I might not have noticed 😉

 

[Tome]

I don't recall seeing anything in GOT that I thought was pointless. But if it involved Jon Snow I might not have noticed 😉

Well, I was specifically talking about that scene in the brothel when Littlefinger goes on explaining his motivation while two women are going at it in the background. That was kinda ridiculous, lol. There were other scenes too. Like when Dany's brother explain his plans while objectifying his own sister. Yea... 😵Those were all in season 1, though. And are you trying to say Jon Snow is good looking? YOU MUST BE CRAZY, D!

 

[JCoatsworth]

I know, but that doesn't make it any less true, does it?

Sure, but it's different if you want to watch it but they're screwing with it just to make a point or whatever it is they're trying to do.
Anyway, I'll watch it regardless of the nudity. It's very likely that those scenes make perfect sense in the context of the story. I'm just concerned that they're longer and more frequent than necessary and take up runtime that could have been used to explore more plot points.

 

[Buffy Summers]

Well, I was specifically talking about that scene in the brothel when Littlefinger goes on explaining his motivation while two women are going at it in the background. That was kinda ridiculous, lol. There were other scenes too. Like when Dany's brother explain his plans while objectifying his own sister. Yea... 😵Those were all in season 1, though. And are you trying to say Jon Snow is good looking? YOU MUST BE CRAZY, D!

You know nothing, Tome 😛

Well, I feel like both those scenes show what creepy scumbags Littlefinger and Viserys are lol

 

[Skanky Vamp]

I think they toned the pointless nudity in the last two seasons.

How much of it do you think was in regards to what Emilia Clarke said about the shows nudity? First Oona Chaplin complained- not really a big deal, but then when one of your main stars calls all the nudity creepy it makes you wonder if that was a catalyst for lesser seasons. (freudian slip! I meant later but lesser works also!!)

 

[The Bronze]

I always wondered if the requirements for the cast to do nude scenes were kept secret from them before they agreed to the role. Assuming this wasn't a secret I think it's a bit rich to accept a role that requires nudity, then complain about nudity in the show and then refuse to do nude scenes once you've made a name for yourself off the back of the show.

 

[Skanky Vamp]

I think it's a bit rich to accept a role that requires nudity, then complain about nudity in the show and then refuse to do nude scenes once you've made a name for yourself off the back of the show.

I don't think, in the instances above, they were complaining about the nude scenes in general but specifically the gratuitous nature of the nude scenes in regards to sexposition.

 

[Tome]

You know nothing, Tome 😛

Well, I feel like both those scenes show what creepy scumbags Littlefinger and Viserys are lol

Well, Jon and I have that in common then. 😉 Poor guy has every woman in his life telling him that. He still takes it with stride.

And Littlefinger is awesome! He's a scumbag who's outsmarting the lesser scumbags. 🙂
 

How much of it do you think was in regards to what Emilia Clarke said about the shows nudity? First Oona Chaplin complained- not really a big deal, but then when one of your main stars calls all the nudity creepy it makes you wonder if that was a catalyst for lesser seasons. (freudian slip! I meant later but lesser works also!!)

Maybe that was a factor, but mostly for her own scenes. I think that they used to have more nude scenes because they were trying to shock. Now that they have constructed a huge and loyal fanbase, they don't need to use that anymore. I mean, you can always count on Melisandre to lose her dress once a season, but no one is complaining about that. 😉 *cough*

Last season wasn't as good as the previous ones, but it was still great, imo. Plus, having read the books, I think they did well with the material they had. The upcoming seasons - and books - should be packed with greatness. I can't wait!

 

[Fuffy]

The exaggerated nudity and sex is the reason I don't usually watch HBO-like stuff.
I'm perfectly find with nudity and sex, as long as it's in context of the storyline (like the sex scenes on BtVS and AtS were).

Well.. yeah. GoT, the books or the show, has just never, ever been my cup of tea. I've avoided it and all of its pop culture like leprosy. Just.. not for me.

While GoT isn't my 'thing' either (never watched it and probably won't anytime soon), I discovered that it's one of those things that you can't completely avoid even if you live under 17+ rocks, like selfies 😛

I always wondered if the requirements for the cast to do nude scenes were kept secret from them before they agreed to the role

If they weren't kept secret, I don't think that ED would have agreed to be on Banshee in the first place...

 

[Blaze]

The problem with a show like GoT is that the sex scenes will never really be out of context. In the book so many scenes are happening in brothel, and half of the plot of based on incest. You can't really expect a show without sex. So to me it's almost like if anyone complains about the sex, than they just aren't watching the right show. A GoT without sex and violence is not GoT. Maybe it's only me, but s1 didn't really have sex scenes that didn't fit in the story, I found they all had their place. (Littlefinger to show his ownership of brothels, Dany and Viserys to show the type of lineage the Targaryen family has, Theon to emphasize the importance of what happens to his character later etc).