10 Intimate Scenes That Needed Intervention

      Movie sex scenes serve as a reflection of our changing standards regarding relationships and consent. Here are 10 instances where these scenes crossed into troubling territory.

      **Last Tango in Paris (1972)**

      United Artists – Credit: C/O

      This film is a prime example of poor direction in sex scenes. Director Bernardo Bertolucci, then 30, and 48-year-old star Marlon Brando decided on the day of the film's most notorious scene to use butter, without informing the 19-year-old lead actress Maria Schneider until they started filming.

      “I wanted her reaction as a girl, not as an actress,” Bertolucci, who passed away in 2018, later stated. “I wanted her to feel humiliated.” Schneider, who died in 2007, expressed that she felt violated by the scene.

      When the scene was reexamined in 2016, Bertolucci explained that while Schneider was aware the scene would be violent and it was scripted, the “only novelty was the idea of the butter, which, as I learned years later, offended Maria. Not the violence she experienced in the scene, which was written in the screenplay.” He also clarified that the sexual acts in the film were simulated.

      **Pretty Baby (1978)**

      Paramount Pictures – Credit: C/O

      The recent Hulu documentary Brooke Shields: Pretty Baby details numerous ways Hollywood sought to sexualize Shields at a young age. The film's title derives from Pretty Baby, directed by Louis Malle, which revolves around the true story of a 12-year-old girl raised in a brothel and exploited by her mother.

      While the film aims to sympathize with Shields' character, Violet, it raised alarm due to scenes showing her undressed. Even by 1978 standards, it was considered highly controversial, resulting in extensive debate regarding its appropriateness, and the British Board of Film Classification deliberated on its legality.

      One particularly troubling scene features an 11-year-old Shields kissing 28-year-old colleague David Carradine; however, Shields has recently stated on The Drew Barrymore Show that Carradine was “gracious” and “protective” on set.

      **Revenge of the Nerds (1984)**

      20th Century Fox – Credit: C/O

      There are many issues in Revenge of the Nerds, with one pivotal problem being a scene where nerds use hidden cameras to spy on sorority women as they undress. That’s illegal, nerds.

      **Revenge of the Nerds, Again (1984)**

      20th Century Fox – Credit: C/O

      The most concerning aspect of Revenge of the Nerds occurs when lead nerd Lewis (Robert Carradine), who is meant to be the film's hero, dons a mask to deceive another student into believing he is her boyfriend. After their encounter, she expresses pleasure at the experience, which the movie uses to rationalize this unethical deception. Poor messages all around.

      Screenwriter Steve Zacharias has expressed regret over both the mask and hidden camera scenes, choosing to omit them when crafting a musical adaptation of the film.

      **Sixteen Candles (1984)**

      Universal Pictures – Credit: C/O

      Sixteen Candles features a character whose deplorable behavior is made worse by the film's expectation that we admire him. Jake Ryan (Michael Schoeffling) is portrayed as the ideal partner for protagonist Samantha (Molly Ringwald), yet he offloads his unconscious girlfriend, Caroline (Haviland Morris), to another guy, Ted.

      Jake tells Ted, “Have fun,” and the following day, Caroline and Ted conclude that they had sex. When he inquires whether she enjoyed it, she responds, “You know, I have this weird feeling I did,” which the film employs to excuse the guys’ actions.

      **Basic Instinct (1992)**

      TriStar Pictures – Credit: C/O

      Sharon Stone recounted in her memoir The Beauty of Living Twice that a crew member deceived her into performing the film's most revealing scene, claiming her underwear was “reflecting the light.”

      Stone was reportedly so horrified by the final cut that she slapped director Paul Verhoeven and contacted her lawyer immediately, yet later consented to the scene's release. Verhoeven claimed that Stone was a willing participant and “knew exactly what we were doing,” a point she contests.

      During a Table for Two podcast earlier this year, Stone mentioned losing custody of her child in a 2004 court case due to her involvement in the film.

      “I lost custody of my child,” she stated. “When the judge asked my son — my tiny little boy — ‘Do you know your mother makes sex movies?'”

      She lamented the systemic abuse that led to her being judged for her role in the film.

      **Poison Ivy (1992)**

      New Line Cinema – Credit: C/O

      Depictions of poor behavior