Good Question!

Is Avatar's Sex Scene Oscar-Worthy?

John Hudson Mar 5, 2010
The critics agree: Avatar is a paragon of masterful visual effects, cinematography and film editing. But what about the understated sex scene? The Daily Beast's Asra Nomani is quite taken with it. She--or the Daily Beast editors--calls it "award-worthy." How come? She says James Cameron's depiction of tantric sex was spot on.
In Avatar, the sex scene took me back to the erotic Tantric sandstone temples I visited almost a decade ago in the northern Indian village of Khajuraho. Built by Hindu kings of the Chandel Empire from the 10th to the 12th centuries, the most notorious of the temples have images of divine, carnal acts carved around the highest points of their exterior walls. For Tantric scholars and historians, the iconography celebrates the highest possibility of sexual union, captured in the mating ritual in Avatar.
Does the scene deserve high praise, and perhaps even an award? The cast of SNL have their own take on the scene:

(Hat tip: Anup Kaphle)

Want to add to this story? Let us know in comments or send an email to the author at jhudson at theatlantic dot com. You can share ideas for stories on the Open Wire.

Topics:
Elsewhere on the Web

User Comments

Please type your comment and click Post. If you’re not already logged in you will be prompted to log in or register

  • The Atlantic Wire on Twitter
  • The Atlantic Wire RSS Feed
  • The Atlantic Wire iPhone App