Nudity in American television
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Nudity in American television is a controversial topic. Aside from a few exceptions, nudity in the United States has traditionally not been shown on terrestrial television. On the other hand, cable television has been much less constrained as far as nudity is concerned.
History
In 1969, MGM Television filmed a scene for the pilot of the TV show Then Came Bronson where Bonnie Bedelia (who later appeared in Die Hard) appears topless. NBC aired the pilot with the nude scene cut, but a complete version was released to theaters in 1970.[1]
In May 1973, twenty-four PBS stations broadcast their self-produced TV movie Steambath (based on the play of the same name) with Valerie Perrine appearing naked.[2] In 1974, PBS's KERA-TV began broadcasting the British sketch comedy show Monty Python's Flying Circus[3] with actress Sheila Sands appearing topless in the 6th episode.[4]
In 1974, Columbia Pictures Television filmed a nude scene of Connie Stevens for a TV movie called The Sex Symbol.[5] It aired on ABC in September with the nude scene cut, but was marketed overseas in an uncensored version.
In 1975
In 1976, the CBS show All in the Family aired an episode in which Archie Bunker was babysitting his 3-week-old grandson, Joey Stivic. In a scene when Archie changed the baby's diaper, the boy's genitals were briefly shown. Reruns of the show did not show the nudity.
In November 1977, PBS's Masterpiece Theatre broadcast BBC's I, Claudius series with its nude scenes intact. The next year Tim Harvey won an Emmy for his production design work on the original series.
The special-event miniseries, Roots on ABC, featured some partial nudity of its cast, usually fleetingly, but more so than other commercial network programming in the United States in the 1970s.
In 1985, the two-night adaptation of Ken Follett's The Key to Rebecca, shown on WPIX Channel 11 in New York City on April 29 and May 9, had non-pixelated toplessness from both of its female stars, Season Hubley and Lina Raymond.
The
Throughout the United States, many metropolitan areas had
From the early 1990s until the early 2000s, some prime time series (such as ABC's NYPD Blue and Once and Again,[8] CBS's CSI: Crime Scene Investigation and Chicago Hope [9] and Fox's John Doe) experimented with nudity. NYPD Blue is noteworthy for featuring nudity in the context of people engaging in sexual activity. While fully exposed female breasts were never shown, the show often depicted full back nudity of men and women.
In 1997,
In 2013, Buying Naked premiered on TLC that the real estate agent Jackie Youngblood shows homes in clothing optional communities to house-hunting nudists.[11]
In 2014,
Recent
This section needs additional citations for verification. (March 2024) |
After Justin Timberlake exposed Janet Jackson's breast during a live performance at the 2004 Super Bowl halftime show the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) tightened its indecency rules due to public pressure.
As a consequence of the public and media reaction to the incident, major networks edited some of their shows.
Cable television, on the other hand, is not bound by FCC rules and can show whatever material their executives consider suitable. With some exceptions, while cable channels that rely on advertising still do not show nudity during prime time, nudity is often shown on
In recent years, a number of cable stations in the United States have begun to air R-rated movies uncensored. They include Deadpool and The Wolf of Wall Street airing on FX.
On March 10, 2024, John Cena appeared nude at the Academy Awards ceremony, covered only by a card with the nominees for best costume design. He presented the award to Holly Waddington for Poor Things.
See also
- Depictions of nudity
- Nudity and sexuality
- Nudity in film
- Nudity in music videos
- Sex in advertising
- Sex in film
- Sex and sexuality in speculative fiction
- Super Bowl XXXVIII halftime show controversy
- Wardrobe malfunction
References
- ^ https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0065087/?ref_=ttep_ep0
- ^ https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0167415/
- ^ https://web.archive.org/web/20140519004645/http://www.dallasnews.com/entertainment/columnists/alan-peppard/20110825-alan-peppard-bob-wilson-hailed-in-kera-documentary.ece
- ^ https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0650980/?ref_=ttep_ep6
- ^ https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0072143/?ref_=ttls_li_tt
- ^ The Incredible Machine, in archive.org
- ^ ""National Geographic Specials" The Incredible Machine". IMDb. Retrieved 8 November 2016.
- ^ "NYPD Blue (TV Series 1993–2005)". IMDb. Retrieved 23 May 2016.
- ^ "Chicago Hope (TV Series 1994–2000)". IMDb. Retrieved 23 May 2016.
- ^ "After rebuke, congressman apologizes for 'Schindler's List' remarks", CNN.com, February 26, 1997. Accessed April 05, 2008.
- Fox News. Retrieved December 30, 2015.
- ^ Black, Elizabeth (September 14, 2015). "Dating Naked Gets The Greenlight For Season Three!". VH1. Archived from the original on June 5, 2023. Retrieved September 14, 2015.
- ^ "American TV pushes nudity off the schedule", Taipei Times, February 16, 2004
- ^ Bonin, Liane (May 28, 2013). "Discovery reveals even more with bare pairs on 'Naked & Afraid'". HitFix. Retrieved July 6, 2013.
- ^ Bibel, Sara (May 28, 2013). "'Naked & Afraid' to Premiere Sunday, June 23 on Discovery". TV by the Numbers. Archived from the original on June 9, 2013. Retrieved July 6, 2013.
- ^ Kurp, Josh (April 7, 2013). "'Naked And Afraid' Star Explains How She Caught Fish With Her 'Private Parts'". UPROXX. Retrieved July 6, 2013.
- Daily News. Retrieved July 6, 2013.
External links
- "American TV pushes nudity off the schedule", Taipei Times, February 16, 2004
- Nudity on television (TV Acres)
- "Nudity on Broadcast Television"
- Randy Cassingham's This is True: "Super Bowl Bodice Ripper"