EYES WIDE OPEN Analysis: Stanley Kubrick Pornographer and Propagandist part 1

the same arguments could be made about your documentary film here.

I am always wary of crossing the line between "describing the act" and "committing the act". We all pride ourselves by thinking that "we know it when we see it", but can we really present cinema that is free of voyeurism and sexual titillation without hard and fast rules? (e.g. rules governing: how much and what body parts to expose, language, sexual acts depicted, etc...)

In the old days, Hollywood had a code that allowed a certain freedom of expression without pornography taking over the film industry. For years people had love affairs on the screen with no nudity. We knew when people had sex because the vocabulary suggested it. And really, if we need more than a suggestion, we have to ask ourselves why we need more than a suggestion.

Nowadays, when people fall in love in the movies, they tear off their clothes and we see them naked, in intimate poses with suggestive movements. The only thing of which we are deprived is the view of actual intercourse.

(They say the male actor wears a "sock" or something like that, and so there is no actual intercourse. But back in high school I would have been ecstatic to go "that far" on a date, even with the sock. If I was married and my wife was an actress, there is no way I would let her do one of those scenes.)

Without the code, there are no limits except for the actor's own morals and strength to say "no" to a director. We are witnessing a race to the bottom. (A race to the bottom! Ho ho. A pornographic pun!)

If a director wants to make a movie about the evils of pornography, its difficult not to make something that could be called pornographic. IMHO, any depiction/description of pornography risks becoming pornographic. The more explicit you become, the closer you get to pornography.

I don't think Kubrick was a pornographer. I think the movie dealt with how pornography and sex are used as tools of dominance and evil. I didn't see the European version, but I felt the substance/function of the movie, (the message showing the evil use of sex) outweighed its style/form (sexy women doing sexy things.)

The rating and the reviews should not have left anyone surprised when they found themselves gazing on acres of naked flesh. So I don't think Kubrick "tricked" anyone.

If merely gazing on a beautiful naked woman is pornographic, then it was pornographic, as was your documentary. But I don't think Kubrick's intent was to make pornography. (LAV intent, I'm not so sure about. ho ho.) As you note, the man is left unsatisfied by all of his escapades, and instead he is exposed to the seamier side of illicit sex: the dangers of STD (AIDS), Child Prostitution, drug abuse, murder and demonic worship.

It's hard not to be titillated by some of the scenes in the movie, but I can't imagine someone leaving that movie craving porno. The pornographic images leave the viewer with a bitter aftertaste.

The monologue given by Sidney Pollack at the end is a nice summation of the situation. Pollack gives a reasonable defense for all that Cruise has witnessed, and thereby dismisses Cruise's conviction that he has stumbled onto some evil murder scheme. But that monologue is the defense of the devil. We went along with Cruise and we saw what he saw. We know it was evil- all of it.

There are three types of people depicted in "Eyes Wide Shut": the evil manipulators, the weak manipulated whores, and the "innocent". We go along with the innocent one and witness the dark side, as if an angel has guided us on a trip to hell.

I can't imagine that anyone watches the movie and then desires to become something other than the innocent one. The other choices promise only misery. It would be difficult to argue that Kubrick's movie promotes those evil behaviors.

-----------------------

"Stop judging by appearances, but judge justly."

I don't know if I'm that decent. But if we are going to start a mutual admiration society, let me say that you are very insightful.

Also, I like your voice and I encourage you to keep making documentaries.

I would never honestly accuse you of being a promoter of smut. The fact that you are willing to take on this topic shows that your heart is in the right place.

We are constantly being bombarded by porn in this society. It is a valid topic and I appreciate your analysis.

-----------------------

"Stop judging by appearances, but judge justly."