The climate of the United States and the World is different from what it was in 1978. Pretty Baby would never be made today with out an almighty controvesy. No way.
Pedophilia has become much more demonized (and with good reason,) and as a result the public can no longer make a distinction between art and child porn.
This brings up many interesting points:
There is an album cover of a band (can't remember the name) where there is a 13 year old girl topless on the cover holding a model airplane. Now that sounds wrong just from the explanation, but it's really not. There is nothing pornagraphic about it whatsoever. Bare breasts, full frontal nudity? It all comes down to context in the end. Are babies playing nude on the beach pornagraphic? No, that's ridiculous. When does that line cross over?
Nudity is NOT pornagraphic. Therefore nude children does not = child porn.
The USA are old fashioned with nudity in many ways. Sure, we will allow gore and violence of the most sadistic nature but a nipple will have us running for the hills.
What did you say? That nipple belongs to a twelve year old girl!!?
LETS FLOG OURSELVES!
It's a neurosis. We are so scared of pedophiles that fathers can no longer bathe their baby daughters in the bath with out coming under suspision. I find THAT sick.
Sure, pedophiles that perpertrate crimes against children are terrible people of the first order. Without getting into semantics over whether they can help themselves or not they can help themselves kidnapping and raping children and all the other nasty things that happen to children we all wish we could stop. But that's not the whole world. I refuse to get tied into yet another taboo that is insane in not it's ideology but it's application.
Must I automatically find a girl attractive ONLY when she turns 18?
A girl who has not gone through puberty is not attractive to me since she is still a child and has a childs body. But a 15 year old girl with breasts and hips can be attractive. I thik I have made this point on more than one occasion. Then again, I'm not about to break the law.
Where do you draw the line between artistic expression? If it serves the story then I don't see a problem with it but it all comes down to context. The world is insane, that's all you need know.
Nudity is not a crime.
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