The beauty of the “naked” truth

As the Nekes film progressed, I became increasingly more aware of the degree to which nudity was featured in the images (; let’s face it, we all were). It occurred to me that early technical inventors were perhaps drawn to techniques which so perfectly capture human experience for similar motivations as the artists who depicted nude female figures. In a codified, Victorian era where modesty and propriety were praised by society as the highest morals, it seems only natural for the individual to desire the removal of the façade, the stripping of the metaphorical corset and crinolines. Certainly, one can argue that the fun is in the imagination, but one cannot deny the fascination that comes with seeing the beauty in life which might have been concealed, but was in fact radiating all along. On the same note, I find it interesting that avant-garde cinema came into prominence again at a completely opposite age of exuberance and self-discovery, when sexuality was no longer considered something to be repressed and personal liberties claimed their priority. Within about seventy years, our world changed from one that was innocently surprised to view anything that reflected the human in its natural state, to one comprised of an emotional generation that actively sought out a more natural way of living. Now that present-day society has evolved into a “happy medium” of these two eras, growing ever more accustomed to such natural truths and sights as nudity, I wonder if we still possess a sufficient ability to either shock or be shocked enough to actually resuscitate avant-garde cinema.