HBO's ROME

[MaxKaladin]

Fairly bloody...one of the female leads (the scheming Atia, mother of Octavian) has a bull sacrificed above her and is drenched in the animal's blood as part of an augury.

That was more of a blood shower than a blood bath though...

 

[Fast Learner]

I can appreciate people's desire to not have nudity in a film.

Me, I enjoyed it, and found the nudity entertaining.

 

[Mystery Man]

I can appreciate people's desire to not have nudity in a film.

I can't. It says TV-MA. If you see that you should know there is going to be something in there that if you don't like it, you're going to have to see it. If you don't like it you don't have to watch it. If you watched knowing about the TV-MA disclaimer and saw something you didnt like you really have no business complaining.

Now, I would have a problem if this was going to be aired on say, a channel like Nickelodeon or TVLand. But this is HBO, it's where grown ups go to watch TV.

 

[Queen_Dopplepopolis]

I don't have a *problem* with the nudity, exactly (watching it on On Demand right now)... but the sex scene in the beginning seemed totally unnecessary in every way. But - I've always wondered why women are so much more likely to do scenes with full nudity. *shrug*

I don't mind it when it serves to establish something important, but it's not something that I plan to see when I tune into a television show...

 

[mmu1]

I don't have a *problem* with the nudity, exactly (watching it on On Demand right now)... but the sex scene in the beginning seemed totally unnecessary in every way. But - I've always wondered why women are so much more likely to do scenes with full nudity. *shrug*

I don't mind it when it serves to establish something important, but it's not something that I plan to see when I tune into a television show...

I don't think that women are more likely to do it per se, I just think lots of male full frontal nudity is probably not a very profitable approach given the target demographic of many shows and movies...

I also think another reasons for it are ratings and standards that used to / still do regulate just what you can show in movies and on TV and how it gets rated - with female "full frontal" nudity, you're arguably just showing pubic hair the great majority of the time. Uh... How the hell did the conversation get here?

 

[Queen_Dopplepopolis]

Uh... How the hell did the conversation get here?

*laughs* I'm not quite sure... but if there's one thing I love it's a good conversation about ... public hair. *rolls eyes*

 

[Mark CMG]

I don't mind it when it serves to establish something important,

It's meant to grab your attention but it's also meant to establish a very base, emotional connection between the audience and events that happened two millennia ago. Much in the same way that the violence of the battle sequence does at the beginning of Gladiator but at a much lower cost (and with a different rating since society has deemed extreme violence more acceptable to display in entertainment than sex, for whatever reasons). That base connection is meant to tear down the wall someone builds when they go to see a story that takes place in "history". I believe the "graffiti is speaking to us across time" opening credits sequence is also meant to take us back rather than just leave us as mere observers.

On another level, it is meant to inform us about her character. How she conducts herself through the sex act, and just afterward, is more important than any words she could speak. It tells us much more than if the writers would have given her narrative lines to emote during, say, a trip to the market or a conversation with a confidante in her villa.

Further, it sets a tone that the 12 hour series is going to challenge our sensibilities and put us in the middle of very intimate situations. It says to the audience, "If *this* is too much for you, get out now. We've only just started."

 

[Old One]

On another level, it is meant to inform us about her character. How she conducts herself through the sex act, and just afterward, is more important than any words she could speak. It tells us much more than if the writers would have given her narrative lines to emote during, say, a trip to the market or a conversation with a confidante in her villa.

Agreed. It sets her up as a major user and manipulator...the act is nothing more than release for her...part of doing business.

It will be interesting to see how she...um...develops !

~ OO

 

[Digital M@]

and the nudity seemed gratuitous and unnecessary (and also added obvious anachronisms, unless the Romans were big on bikini waxing and implants).

Nope, that is not historically accurate. i believe the first recorded popular use of plastic surgery was Jewish men having foreskin put back on their wankers. They wanted to fit in better while excercising in the nude and during public bathing.

 

[Fast Learner]

I can't. It says TV-MA. If you see that you should know there is going to be something in there that if you don't like it, you're going to have to see it. If you don't like it you don't have to watch it. If you watched knowing about the TV-MA disclaimer and saw something you didnt like you really have no business complaining.

So... you can't appreciate someone's desire to not have nudity in the film? I don't get it. I agree that complaining that this show has nudity doesn't make much sense, but you can't appreciate people not wanting a show to have nudity? How come?