Body Parts

For decades, the image that cinema gave us of sex shaped the prevailing view of sex in real life. "When Hollywood introduced the Hays Code in 1934 – a form of self-censorship – sex was no longer perceived as pleasant, but as evil", says academic Linda Williams at the start of Body Parts. Yet, director Kristy Guevara-Flanagan doesn't linger too long on the distant past. Instead, she looks at the consequences of the male gaze that was (and largely still is) dominant in Hollywood for so long. With a shocking testimony from Jane Fonda, among others, who tells us that not getting out of her clothes would have plummeted her career. Also the one-sided view of sex in blaxploitation is mercilessly analysed. In light of the #MeToo movement, Body Parts wants to look at the future as well: if women gain more power in the film industry, then change is possible.

“Exploring the female body in Hollywood by tracing the making of sex scenes, the toll it takes on those involved, and what it means for women in the real world. Body Parts unpacks both how we got to this patriarchal cinematic state and how those in the camera’s line of sight are now shooting back” - Modern Times Review