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Welcome back to a new month and a new series with WholeHeartEd. We are grateful that you have chosen to join us! Now, this month we were going to be sharing relationship advice for different stages of life. It was all going to be about how different seasons of life and maturity affect relationships and how to successfully navigate each season. That plan had to get put aside, however, as last week I was speaking in a high school and asked about the HBO series, Euphoria. Later on in the week, I was in another conversation about this show and how it depicts teen life in the U.S. Now that I’ve read numerous articles, watched interviews and scenes from the show, I definitely agree that this is something we need to talk about. So, this month we will be discussing Euphoria; what are the messages and over-arching themes and what we can learn about our culture and ourselves through this type of content. Now, I do want to be upfront, not only do we NOT endorse this show, we adamantly discourage anyone of any age from watching it. Saying that, we know that just like slapping a parental advisory warning on a record in the 80’s or an R rating on a movie, for many this will just make you want to watch it more. That’s the result of our fallen nature; we’re drawn to whatever is deemed taboo or salacious. Still, we know that millions of people are already watching and perhaps our little channel will give some of you a good reason to stay away.
For anyone who doesn’t know, on their own website HBO describes Euphoria by saying, “
Euphoria follows a group of high school students as they navigate love and friendships in a world of drugs, sex, trauma and social media.
Like we said, one of our first issues with Euphoria has to deal with its rampant depictions of sex and nudity throughout the series, all involving teen characters. While the characters are all played by adults, there is still a thin line between art and obscenity. According to section 1466A of Title 18, United State Code, it is illegal for any person to knowingly produce, distribute, receive, or possess with intent to transfer or distribute visual representations, such as drawings, cartoons, or paintings that appear to depict minors engaged in sexually explicit conduct and are deemed obscene. A first-time offender convicted under this statute faces fines and at least 5 years to a maximum of 20 years in prison. What protects the creators of Euphoria from facing these charges is that phrase, “deemed obscene.” Based off the subjective standards of artistic merit, what would have certainly passed as obscene just 20-30 years ago is now often mainstream. By this standard of measurement, it’s hard to imagine what will still be considered obscene in another 20-30 years from now. Perhaps, the best way to tell if the “art” in question is truly obscene, whether it is artistically necessary to tell the story the creators are trying to tell or if it is gratuitous and crossing the line is to hear it directly from the individuals creating the supposed “art.”
Jerrod – An article on Vulture.com titled “A Timeline of Euphoria Obsession and Sam Levinson Hatred,” has a fairly comprehensive list of events happening within episodes of Euphoria as well as some of the notable highlights and controversy surrounding the shows production. One of the consistent issues that was brought up by critics, viewers and the actors and actresses themselves, was how frequently the show unnecessarily pushes scenes into nudity and sexuality when they aren’t adding anything to the progression of the story. Here are just a couple of excerpts from the article.
“January 23, 2022: The Independent publishes a profile of Sydney Sweeney in which she says she has never felt uncomfortable with shooting topless scenes in Euphoria. “There are moments where Cassie was supposed to be shirtless, and I would tell Sam, ‘I don’t really think that’s necessary here,’” she shares. “He was like, ‘Okay, we don’t need it.’ I’ve never felt like Sam has pushed it on me or was trying to get a nude scene into an HBO show. When I didn’t want to do it, he didn’t make me.”
The fact that Sydney Sweeney felt comfortable enough to share her thoughts that the scenes in question didn’t require from her being nude was seen as a step forward in the path to women’s empowerment. So, for this actress in her scenes, she felt that she had the ability to decide what she wanted to do based off of her own perception of what was needed for the story. That seems like a good thing. On the other hand, that does mean that there were multiple times where she was being asked to undress in the script that she believed were not necessary or gratuitous.
“January 30, 2022: A week after Sweeney’s interview, Chloe Cherry, the former adult actress who plays heroin addict Faye, tells the Daily Beast that she was supposed to be naked for the scene in which she gets stuffed into a motel vent by her boyfriend, Custer (Tyler Chase). Notably, it was her first day on set. “It probably would’ve been more comfortable had we had a little more time to know each other,” she says. “Sam wanted to do the scene with me completely naked, and Tyler was like, ‘That’s a lot,’ so they decided not to. But I was covered in fake blood and just felt so good being on set.” In contrast to Sweeney, it was Cherry’s co-star who spoke up for her, raising concerns about actors on set who don’t necessarily feel like as though have the power to voice their discomfort.”
Now, we are seeing that it was not the singular actress who took issue with certain scenes that she felt uncomfortable with but others, as well. In this situation, however, the actress did not feel comfortable speaking up for herself and it was her male co-star who verbally objected. If he had not, she probably would have gone forward with it the way that it was scripted, in a scene that clearly was not artistically necessary for the story since they were able to shoot without the nudity and move forward.
“February 13, 2022: Martha Kelly, who plays deadpan drug dealer Laurie, reveals she was initially reluctant to shoot the disturbing scene in which she undresses Rue and injects her with morphine in an interview with Variety. According to Kelly, the scene on paper was “even creepier because Laurie is helping her undress and get in the tub, and it is approaching this gross pedophilia vibe.” After Kelly spoke with Levinson, the final scene was toned down with the sequence shot from a distance and out of focus.”
“February 14, 2022: Throughout the season, Maddy relaxes at a decadent cliffside mansion for her cushy babysitting gig and eventually finds a friend and mentor in the home’s owner, Samantha, played by Minka Kelly. But in an interview with Vanity Fair, Kelly reveals their scenes initially had a sexual edge to them until she spoke up. In the scene in which Maddy zips down her dress, Levinson suggested letting it fall to the ground. “That was my first day as a guest on this new show, and I just didn’t feel comfortable standing there naked,” Kelly said. Fans are sensing a pattern.”
We are sensing a pattern, as well. If time after time, actors and actresses are needing to voice their concerns about nudity and implied or even overt sexuality then it seems clear that the writer of the show, Sam Levinson, is not a good gauge for what is necessary and what is obscene. Multiple times, the actors on the show have publicly shared about times that they felt uncomfortable with what they were being asked to do, but as one of the excerpts from the Vulture article put it, what does that mean for the “actors on set who don’t necessarily feel like as though have the power to voice their discomfort.” If even one of the people creating this supposed art felt that what they were doing was gratuitous or unnecessary but did not have the confidence to speak up, then what was produced was, by definition, obscene according to Title 18 of the United States Code. But, again, obscenity is subjective and what one person considers art another sees as pornographic. So, Euphoria will continue to be made. As of February, it has been renewed by HBO for a 3rd season and we can only expect more of the same. The question is not about what is legal or illegal, what the rating is or what they will allow on cable television. The only question that really matters in all of this is, “Where will you draw your line?” Will you draw it at sex scenes in movies? Or sex scenes portrayed by adults pretending to be minors? If not there, what about 2 legal 18 year olds portraying minors? If your line is only based on what’s legal, then what if the laws changed? Afterall, is there really that much difference between 17 and 18? Are you uncomfortable yet? As individuals, we have to start by holding ourselves to a higher standard. The media culture wars have been raging for decades in the U.S. The only way they are going to stop producing obscene content is when there is no longer an audience for them to profit off of creating it.
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