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The Last Picture Show was considered vulgar for its time, with its explicit depiction of teenage sexuality and nudity. The book already had a reputation of being lewd, which made the movie a struggle to cast and complete. It shows a gritty, raw depiction of a cast of teenagers being introduced into the world of sexuality. This movie includes scenes of nudity and sex. Not in a romanticised or secretive way, but in a way that encapsulates the awkwardness and unromanticised reality of navigating sex at a young age. Through these depictions, the movie explores youth, censorship, and sexual conservativism. While at the time, it was considered highly inappropriate, it is deemed more acceptable in the modern day. However, we are seeing a shift in public perspective in what can be considered appropriate to show on television. Audiences sometimes struggle with the line between artistic and meaningful nudity and pornography. 

A very modern example of this struggle is singer and artist Ethel Cain’s recent post on Instagram. For trans visibility day, the trans artist posted an artistic photo of her nude body. This post was entirely nonsexual, on an age restricted account, and posted with meaningful and artistic intent. However, there was outrage and disgust upon audiences viewing a transgender body. People failed to look behind the curtain and understand intent, and many people were not used to seeing the body of a transgender woman, despite her being open about it her whole career. Rather than appreciating the message behind the action and appreciating artistic nudity, people insisted that this image was disgusting or shameful. It shows that despite making progress since the making of this movie, we still have a long way to go to recognize that the human body is nothing inherently pornographical. 

This movie displays a theme that is not common in any media. It shows that sex is not always this romanticised, polished action. Oftentimes, it is quite the opposite, especially for young people. We have to make a decision on what type of sexual media is healthy for adolescents and young adults to consume: pornography or meaningful, realistic content. Pornography tends to be violent or inaccurate to real life, leading to objectification and harm against women. It also promotes unrealistic bodies, situations, and sexual activities. The Last Picture Show, however, displays an accurate and lifelike depiction. People, regardless of laws and censorship, are going to consume sexual content. It’s in our nature to be curious and often voyeuristic in our interest of sex. Preventing consumption of healthy and artistic sexual content opens the doors for illegal, more harmful depictions. It also restricts conversation and critical analysis of our behavior and how we express emotions.

The black and white style of the film makes this film appear more aged, while still displaying modern ideas. It gives the audience this sensation that we are not so different from people of the past, and these behaviors have always been inherent to our nature. The 1950s were not entirely this polished, prudish time in human history. People have always had sex, and felt the societal pressures of sexual expectation. We can see this in the way Jacy is so desperate to have sexual experiences, regardless of who she is with. She seeks validation from peers and exploration of her sexual desires. 

Movies like this are incredibly important now, as we see an increase in censorship and conservatism in the media. It’s almost as if we forget that we are all human, that we all have bodies and experience biological desires. Sex is a human action that almost everyone participates in, why is it so taboo? We allow for polished and perfected imitations of the human body and activity because it disconnects us from the complicated parts, it is only perceived as artistic when it is explicitly romanticised. A movie like this, something crass and uncomfortable, is exactly the type of sexuality we need in movies. Something that accurately depicts human experience and is only uncomfortable for those who refuse to accept and acknowledge the common human experience of awkwardness. 19