How Does One Define Sensuality/Sexuality?
This question played around in my mind last night and throughout today. I was busy with other things, but my thoughts kept returning to this subject.
Last night I was watching "Men in Trees". I enjoy the show as it is light and breezy. There was a scene during last night's episode which reminded me of one of my favourite scenes from a movie. One which I have always considered to be very sensual.
In the movie, "Out of Africa", which, by the way, is one of my all-time favourites (I have the video and I make a point of watching it once a year), Robert Redford washes Meryl Streep's hair. Simple scene, but to me, I find it very sensual. In last night's "Men in Trees", the heroine had her hair washed by the hero. Again, the scene affected me. And again, it was simplicity personified but such tenderness and intimacy was displayed with no overt, unnecessary tearing off of clothes and leaping into bed. Both scenes are very touching and moving.
Another scene from another film that moves me this way is in "The Horse Whisperer", once again starring Robert Redford, when he and Kristin Scott-Thomas are dancing to the song, "A Soft Place To Fall". In the movie, as in the book, there are no sex scenes between the two protagonists. They are not required. My pulse races just from the pure sensuality between the man and the woman. The chemistry between the two leaps out from the screen. One's imagination is a wondrous tool. I have a whole tool shed full of imagination!
I have to mention....I can't help myself....Gregory Peck and Audrey Hepburn shared similar chemistry in "Roman Holiday", another of my favourite movies and one I have in my video library.
Sensuality, sexuality doesn't have to be two people writhing naked on the big screen to get the message across. I'm not a prude, please don't think I am, but sometimes the understated speaks more loudly than the over-stated.
PS...drawings are by me and they obviously have no bearing on this post, but I felt like posting them!
Lee, you are full of talent.
ReplyDeleteI'm glad you didn't say I was full of b/s, Steve! ;)
ReplyDeleteThanks...I'm not really...it's all done with mirrors!
Hi Lee, the drawings do in fact have something to do with your post, they convey sexiness without belting us on the head (or elsewhere) with SEX.
ReplyDeleteHiya Peter...is it hot enough for you up in Gympie? Let's hope some of that rain the north is getting moves further south. It's a shame seeing all that water going to waste...maybe the lows will force some of it down this way.
ReplyDeleteIt's the finger in the mouth bit that suggests sensuality I think. I agree with you; I am not quite comfortable with writhing nakedness - particularly if my children are in the room! On television, I hasten to add!!
ReplyDeleteA thought, a touch, a look are all much more powerful.
Hi Lee ~~ Good post and great drawings - you clever girl. I love Out of Africa too and Hope Floats.
ReplyDeleteHave both, also Roman Holiday, must watch them again soon.
Thanks for your comments, not sure if I ca post tonight. Can't comment on some or read some - so who knows?
Take care Lee, Love, Merle.
Finding a balance is important; we can appreciate all of the wondrous sights, smells, sounds, tastes and feelings that make up our sensual lives without the need to shock. I really enjoyed “Out of Africa”; it’s one of my favourite movies as it encapsulated so many feelings. I recall the beautiful scenery of mountains and valleys from the plane scenes with a wonderful soundtrack
ReplyDeleteSensuality is also an important aspect to music. Wagner lusted after power and pleasure and his glorious music reveals his flawed character. His music was an embodiment of indestructible power and pleasure. However no sense of power to day is conveyed to me as a result of the loud sounds emanating from an artillery of electrically amplified hard rock. J.S. Bach emotions can be felt from listening to his music, to transform and Verdi emotion is just as exciting to day as when first played.
In films I agree there is no need to set out to be distasteful, to shock for the sake of being shocking, be it sex or violence. Gregory Peck for me was a great actor and personality; I think his character was evident in his acting, always playing heroic parts, with the one exception, “Boys from Brazil.”
Tall and lean he was the ultimate sex symbol, but he also exemplified an idealism, a moral strength and sincerity. In fact in his youth he entertained the idea of becoming a priest. During his life he was great benefactor to the arts, particularly in Ireland,
Best wishes
Hi Lee, I see you are still up and about ... hmmm, Robert Redford eh?
ReplyDeleteI've always been uncomfortable with what they term 'sex scenes' - and I don't think I am a prude either, in fact probably the opposite, I just don't enjoy public displays.
You can try Jim's Boomer site link again, I think I've fixed it...
Your drawings are lovely, and yes I agree with Peter, you have definitely caught the sensuality...
Yes, Peck was special, Lindsay. I've said previously about watching a documentary on him put together a couple of years or so before he died, wherein he did a college tour in the US...he was magnificent. He had so much style and class even as an elderly gentleman. I thought he was a truly wonderful man. Thanks for your comment....I particularly love the part in "Out of Africa" when Von Blixen is relating a story over the dinner table...there are some absolutely wonderful moments in that movies, and as you say, the final scene after she learns of Finch-Hatten's death. I've read her books...and they are quite extraordinary.
ReplyDeleteI also agree regarding certain music. A discussion could commence here that could go on for hours, if not days. :)
Hi Liz and Merle...no need to have clarifed, Liz...I knew what you meant! ;) Thanks for your comments.
Hi Della, you snuck in while I was writing my comment.
ReplyDeleteI was having trouble getting my own blog to come up there for a while so I think it must have been blogger, but obviously, it's working again! ;)
I'm not one for public displays, either, Della. And, like you and like I said, I am far from being prudish! I'm a bit of a paradox maybe...as I did thoroughly enjoy the movie "9-1/2 Weeks" and have it on video. It was brilliant put together that movie. Like "Last Tango In Paris" it had much more going for it, underlying nuance and both were brilliantly filmed. Peter won't agree with me here on "Last Tango", as I've mentioned this before. Brando's acting was quite exceptional in that movie, particularly the monologue he gives over the body of his dead wife.
Boy! I've gotten wound up, haven't I? ;)
my goodness, you mention some stars not everyone is old enough to remember lol. ..I would not be one of those, heh.
ReplyDeleteYou hit some good scenes.. I thought that Alan Rickmen showed this sort of 'sexyness"in Sense and Sensibility... and that couldn't have been easy afer being a meanie (and Professor Snape in Harry Pottery) in so many movies.. I managed to fall for him quite easily in that movie lol...
I must say the drawings are impressive and I'd love to be able to do that. I went so far as to buy some equipment for that but haven't tried.
ReplyDeleteIf I weren't married, and were going to date you...I'd bring a poster of Rober R and put it on the wall...and some shampoo.
BTW,I've heard Dr Laura say many times that your biggest sex organ is between your ears.
Deslily, I'm a bit of a movie buff...always have been, from the old to the new and all in between. Rickman certainly is an interesting character. I'll have to watch 'Sense and Sensibility' again to see if I pick up on what you saw in him in that movie. He is capable of many emotions, I think.
ReplyDeleteCliff...don't just sit there looking at your drawing or painting equipment...start doing...you will surprise yourself. If I can do it, anyone can. It's fun...don't put it off.
Dr. Laura might just have something there...a meeting of the minds is most important in a relationship.
'morning Lee ... guess what? Last night I did dream, I dreamt that somebody I knew died in a plane crash, amazing the power of suggestion... it wasn't somebody I like much, but that's a whole other story...
ReplyDeleteI agree the mind as a sexual organ, no doubt about it!
I had another Cecil B. DeMille production, Della...with a cast of thousands. Some of the location was set in Toowong Brisbane.
ReplyDeleteAnd as for the largest sexual organ being between one's ears, what happens to those who have little or nothing between their ears?
ReplyDeleteMental intercourse is most important in a relationship and sometimes has to suffice when one is apart from one's lover.
Lee, I am in total agreement with you. I really hate seeing two people writhe and grind about in bed in a movie. There is nothing sensual or sexy about that to me but leave it to the imagination. Now that's where it's at. I love the pictures. I think they go right along with the theme of the post.
ReplyDeleteI also think no one was greater than Audrey Hepburn. I loved her. She was Romance herself.
I think you should title this thread "Shiela Cinema*," Lee. Why not a single guy flick? ;)
ReplyDelete*Aussie equivalent of the US "Chick Flicks."
Haha, Don...nothing wrong with a little romance in one's life...I can never understand why you guys don't like a little tenderness and romance in a movie! ;)
ReplyDeleteNow...there were even sensual moments in 'The Deer Hunter" and that sure isn't a 'Sheila Flick'...what about Superman...he looks pretty sexy in those blue tights! ;)
I agree, Corn Dog...Hepburn was unique and will stay that way forever, I think. She certainly had a special quality.
Hi Lee,
ReplyDeleteActually, I think your drawings are sensual...there's a hint in the sultry gaze of the first girl and the finger in the mouth in the second drawing. They are just wonderful.
I agree with everyone else...a hint is far more sensual than gratuitous sex.
Hi Lee ~~ Did you get all that rain?
ReplyDeleteOr not? Or are you too far south?
Thanks for your comments. I
am OK again, just a slight hiccup.
I think Blogger is driving us all to drink lately. It is impossible to comment on some blogs, including Peters. Take care, Love, Merle.
lee,
ReplyDeleteNow this post is worth getting into.
First, I like your sketches., the first one most. Both would be better if you used a pencil instead of a mirror, but they are good for mirror drawings.
I don't see anything wrong with writhing naked. i do however think a goodly amount of slow sensual mental intercourse is a necessary prelude to any physical gymnastics. The way a woman reveals and conceals her figure with clothing is much more appealing to me. Tender touching, hair caressing with fingers, cheek and nose is highly erotic. Intimacy is always preferable to pornography.
I'm the man the Pointer Sisters dream about. lol ;-)
Music and feelings? That's fodder for another post.
rel
Hey there Robyn, I'll have to stop that girl from sucking her thumb or biting her nails!
ReplyDeleteHi Merle...the rain is up north..very little has come down this far, unfortunately. The dams in the south-east are still very thirsty. We're fine up here on Mount Tamborine as we're not reliant on the dams. It's a shame all that water in North Queensland can't be captured and piped to the southern areas of the state, a plan that was knocked on the head many, many years ago, and again when Jo Belkje-Peterson wanted to do similar.
Now I come to Rel of the Slow Hands...I might leave it at that!
I will, however, shoot out to the store today and purchase myself some pencils! Has to be easier than using mirrors!
Wonderful post and wonderful drawings, Lee. I agree with you on sensuality and sexuality. Have you read Maya Angelou on this? "Roman Holiday" is a dream of a film, isn't it?
ReplyDeleteNo, I haven't, Welsh, but I will keep my eye out for the book...my glass one, that is...I need my other one for reading! ;)
ReplyDelete"Roman Holiday' just never ages and I doubt that it ever will. It's just a classic of a movie and no matter how many times I view it, I still cry at the ending! I'm hopeless. On reflection, perhaps it was 'Roman Holiday" with the help of Hepburn and, of course, it almost goes without saying, Peck that perked my interest in Italy!
The drawings are beautiful!
ReplyDeleteWhat about the cene in Ghosts and THAT pottery wheel? That was very sensual between Demi and Patrick ;). Whewn I write my 'reflections' stories I keep away from the actual act of sex/love making and concentrate on what 'leads up' to it. I find it more pleasing that way :)
Hi there Scorpy...yes, that was a sensual scene between those two...but I don't think it affected me as it did many others. Maybe I need to see the movie again.
ReplyDeleteYep...leaving the rest to one's imagination is the best, I think.