tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-29175306.post116252904372652518..comments2023-05-04T04:20:10.423-04:00Comments on Dave's Theater Blog: The Secret of Mme. Bonnard's BathDave Thttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01554650648344826824noreply@blogger.comBlogger3125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-29175306.post-76484831854456832972006-11-24T21:38:00.000-05:002006-11-24T21:38:00.000-05:00I think discussion is great but you all, are in th...I think discussion is great but you all, are in this case, wasting our time. You missed the point. See the play. Then discuss it.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-29175306.post-1163086018635033992006-11-09T10:26:00.000-05:002006-11-09T10:26:00.000-05:00Some of the same illusion-breaking thoughts have g...Some of the same illusion-breaking thoughts have gone through my mind which is why I think nudity is very tricky. Among the reasons I would stop short of saying nudity never works for me are: a) the previously-mentioned "Misfits" where Marilyn Monroe being naked works on so many levels with her character in the play (i.e., objectified, vulnerable, seductive, etc.), and b) I think there's an American cultural bias built-in (After spending several weeks in Europe in the summertime where seeing naked people hanging out in a park or on a beach is a matter of course, I remember my "hey, there's a naked person!" reactions mellowing quite a bit. And that was back when my system still had a modicum of testosterone to speak of...) So, in an attempt to be "objective" -- never really possible for a critic -- I try to think "How would a person who hadn't been both subconsciously and overtly told to be ashamed of their body since birth react to this?"<BR/><BR/>Thanks for chiming in, Andrew! I'm glad to know I'm not the only person who thinks about naked people...Dave Thttps://www.blogger.com/profile/01554650648344826824noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-29175306.post-1163080392127424202006-11-09T08:53:00.000-05:002006-11-09T08:53:00.000-05:00For me, nudity onstage never works. Ever. It alway...For me, nudity onstage never works. Ever. It always instantly snaps me out of the theatrical illusion. Regardless of how tastefully or artfully it's done, suddenly there's a naked person in front of me. He or she stops being the character and immediately becomes a naked person.<BR/><BR/>It's not like in film because it's an actual, honest-to-goodness naked person in the room with me, and there's just something suddenly very real and not theatrical about it for me. Plus, I instantly start thinking, "Is she aware of all these people looking at her body? Is she cold? Is she more prone to forget her lines when she's naked? I bet the other actors are. What was it like in rehearsal the first time she had to be naked?"<BR/><BR/>Maybe I just like naked girls too much. That's possible.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.com