Hollywood filmmakers learned how to convey intense sexual desire without actually showing or discussing sex during the restrictive Production Code era of the 1930s to the 1950s starting in the 1970s, American film became franker and more sexual, and in the 1990s, the erotic thriller reached its apex. Read more: Shows & Movies Like 'Bridgerton' To Watch After The Netflix Seriesīut there’s a rich history of erotic desire on film - one that should be celebrated, not rejected. That percentage is the lowest since the 1960s.” And it’s not just the caped crusaders who aren’t getting it on: Film researcher Kate Hagen told Playboy in 2019 that “Only 1.21% of the 148,012 feature-length films released since 2010 contain depictions of sex. It’s no big surprise that people are turning away from onscreen intimacy in an era dominated by a movie formula as sexless as the Marvel blockbuster - in recent superhero flicks, protagonists might get a kiss, if they’re lucky. If you spend any time reading about or discussing movies online, chances are that you’ve come across people arguing that movies shouldn’t have sex scenes.
