Season 3 of ‘No Hard Feelings’ and ‘The Righteous Gemstones’ 2023 brings more on-screen fights.
BIG PICTURE
- Film and TV are increasingly featuring naked battle scenes between men and women, questioning vulnerability and sexualization.
- The combat sequences in Borat, The Righteous Gemstones, and No Hard Feelings use nudity as a metaphor of independence, emancipation, and empowerment.
- These scenes show how the entertainment business is broadening its body kinds and genders to eliminate body image taboo.
She emerges at night, naked and ready to fight. In short, she eats men.Jennifer Lawrence has made waves this summer with her performance in the comedy film No Hard Feelings. This week, Netflix released the film, and one sequence stands out. Lawrence fights naked youngsters on the beach and throws a powerful blow. Another sequence in Season 3 of HBO Max comedy, The Righteous Gemstones, led to audience laughter this year. One man is naked while two men struggle for her love. One must question how movies and television reached this degree of nude emancipation as they strangle and choke each other with butt cheeks out. Film disrobing used to signify something else. It symbolized rose petals and love declarations. Sexualizing bodies, especially women. It’s fight time in 2023. Bodies are now weapons used for comedy in the weirdest situations. The entertainment industry is dedicated to removing body image stigma through naked fights, which are thrilling to witness.
Go back to 2006. The film Borat was a tremendous hit. A memorable scene in Borat, starring Sacha Baron Cohen as a Kazakstahnian reporter touring America, is the nude battle between Borat and his producer, Azamat (Ken Davitian). The two fight fiercely, showing their nude bodies in every detail. Both males are comfortable in their bare bodies. Whether you felt it obscene or humorous, two men appearing naked on-screen did not conform to Hollywood male beauty standards.
‘Borat’ Influenced a Generation of Naked Fight Scenes
When Borat appeared, audiences were accustomed to seeing women naked on TV, so two naked guys were deemed excessive. In recent years, the naked fight scene in Borat has had a greater impact on film and television than anticipated. The Northman (2022), starring Alexander Skarsgård, was a critically acclaimed film that ended with a climatic confrontation on top of an exploding volcano. Skarsgård discovers freedom in discarding his clothes while fighting his chiseled nemesis, despite being nude and bleeding. Nudity is becoming a symbol of independence and emancipation in comedy and drama.
‘The Righteous Gemstones’ Stares Toxic Masculinity Right in the Face
In 2023, television presented likely the best battle scene of the year. A weak BJ (Tim Baltz) learns that his wife, Judy Gemstone (Edi Paterson), is cheating on him in The Righteous Gemstones. Instead of hiding, he tackles his issues. BJ breaks into the vulgar Stephen’s (Stephen Schneider) home and finds him naked, but the show must go on. Stephen beats BJ, forcing him to face his masculinity and male body. In Season 3, Episode 6, “For Out of the Heart Comes Evil Thoughts,” the conflict between the men resembles Borat, as they fight over their injured egos. As they fight over a lady, their toxic masculinity and pride may kill them, and Stephen’s nudity shows how delicate men’s egos are.
The fight sequence is both a flawless slapstick comedy and a breakthrough event. This is revolutionary: audiences are used to seeing naked men in vulnerable positions on film. In recent years, television has witnessed a rise in male nudity, notably Gen V and Euphoria, resulting in gender equality. No longer are women the only ones who undress, and males can be vulnerable without being seen as weak. The sequence in The Righteous Gemstones is a highlight of Season 3, adding to the expanding list of men who battle naked and find freedom in vulnerability. 2023 also wondered, why let men have all the fun? Females should liberate the nip.
‘No Hard Feelings’ Lets Women Fight Dirty Too
Jennifer Lawrence excels in No Hard Feelings. Lawrence has never felt more free on TV, portraying a deceitful and manipulative lady. Maddie discovers freedom in misbehaving after answering a Craiglist ad to date bashful 19-year-old Percy (Andrew Barth Feldman) at his parents’ permission. The freest scene in the film is when the pair skinny-dips in the ocean and a group of teens snatches their clothes as a joke. The joke is on them when Maddie runs naked out of the water. After throwing the first punch, the camera shows her bare body as she takes and gives punches. The camera doesn’t care about her nude body; it shows the conflict and erases gender oppression.
Films have had a straightforward connection with female bodies from their creation. Men on film and watching are expected to ogle them.Instead, No Hard Feelings suggests otherwise. The movie’s beach battle scene went viral after its Netflix launch this week, but it would have lost most of its punch if Maddie wasn’t naked. The usage of naked women on screen for something other than vulnerability is a wonder to audiences. Maddie uses her body to defend herself without shame. Her gender doesn’t matter. It doesn’t matter if she’s dressed. She is strong, fearless, and wins the fight easily. One of the best combat scenes in recent memory, including a 30-year-old woman fighting teenagers naked with slapstick hilarity.
Jennifer Lawrence Is the Naked Fighter We Deserve
Jennifer Lawrence has long spoken out against unjust beauty standards and her career challenges. She has said that studios have attempted to control her body and appearance since starring in The Hunger Games series. Her appearance has also been extensively covered by media for years. In No Hard Feelings, Lawrence controls her body, and the naked combat sequence is a highlight of the film. She’s a man-eater prowling the beach at night. No longer prey, she hunts. In movies, women should have equal opportunities to be as violent as men, and this scene highlights the necessity to eliminate the male gaze. The conflict revolves around her bare body. It is now a living, breathing combat machine that is hers and hers alone.
Nakedness implies frailty and hiding. In 2023, it signifies punching. I hope No Hard Feelings’ Netflix trend serves as a reminder that women can achieve anything males can. Increase the fights with angry, raging ladies in naked slapstick comedy. The films The Righteous Gemstones and No Hard Feelings demonstrate that the naked body can be used on cinema without sexualization. Men and women’s bodies are more than aesthetics. Weapons are weapons, regardless of appearance.
No Hard Feelings is streaming on Netflix in the U.S.