I recently led a discussion on banned and censored films in the United States. During the discussion the topic of nudity came up. It struck me that the United States has a taboo around nudity. And that is shown very clearly in films. What is typically shown is the illusion of nudity. The “naked” person is covered by a sheet or hidden behind camera angles.
Whenever actual nudity is shown it tends to shock the audience. Which is weird right? People are reacting in shock to seeing a human body.
It seems to me even when direct nudity is shown there tends to be a hierarchy of which body part is acceptable to be shown on screen. For example, butts are the rare exception for nudity. Shots containing butts are usually played for shock and laughter. Those shots are actually pretty common and may be shown in all age rated films. Then there are the chests scenes. Men go topless all the time. Topless women are usually only seen in R rated movies. And finally film scenes containing genitalia are essentially unicorns. You have to go looking for them, myths and legends surround them, and there is generally massive controversy whenever one is spotted.
Yet, in a dark twist, brutal violence is shown frequently in films. For example, consider PG-13 rated Doctor Strange. (Spoiler ahead for Doctor Strange!) Even for a Marvel movie the Ancient One’s death was very graphic. She was clearly shown being stabbed in the stomach. Then she was shoved through a portal, falling to her death with no cut away shots. We see her go through a glass cover before slamming into the sidewalk with a thud.
Now this taboo would make sense if actors and actresses were unwilling to be filmed naked and shown to the nation. I strongly believe people should never be forced or shamed into personal uncomfortable situations. However this taboo holds even when people are willing. In 2005, The Island was released. Scarlett Johansson had issues with wearing a bra she considered ugly after a love scene. Instead, she wanted to go topless during the scene. Director Michael Bay directly stated no. Why? The movie’s rating was PG-13.
To me, it is strange how seeing the whole human body is so shocking. Yet the destruction of said body is simply ordinary.
Unruly Bodies 
I love the topic you chose! As someone who loves watching indie movies, I still get surprised when I see full frontal genitalia in a movie, specifically a man’s penis. I have gotten used to all other forms of nudity, but I do still feel that shock factor fairly often. Personally, I hate watching the parts of movies that are overly gory or show a death. However, I still watch them because I love the action behind it. I like your last sentence saying we are okay watching “destruction of the body” but not the natural body itself. That is a great way to think about it because it made me stop and think “huh.” Maybe we need to rework how we think about the body and what we are comfortable seeing happen to it. Another interesting perspective that I have had with nudity in movies, is that a lot of people just compare it to porn. Even if it is artistic, romantic, or literally someone getting changed, we think it is “out there.” Maybe because when we watch porn we are seeking out the nudity, so when we see it in that rare movie, we are shocked since we were not expecting it.
What I find interesting is they only show male genitalia. They go out of the way to hide female genitalia even making them wear merkins.