1969: America Undressed

Kirkpatrick continues to explore the crazy events that sparked controversy during the infamous year 1969. In the chapter entitled, “America Undressed,” the author evaluates the rise in nudity in America. Nudity became popular in many different media forms including movies, books, and even in theatrical performances. The author begins the chapter by describing how the first film that explored homosexuality and even had nude sex scenes was considered to be X-rated. Eventually, the film was downgraded to an R rating.  It is uncanny to think about nudity and censorship today. If you ever flip through the channels on television, you will definitely see less censorship on television. In fact, many popular shows on television, like” Two and a Half Men,” practically revolve around sex and openly encourage promiscuous behavior.

The author describes different books and movies that started becoming popular during this year. Many people showed an interest in nudity and sexual pleasures, but the government wanted to censor this new openness towards sex.  Local governments in Ohio even removed the Two Virigins album cover to be inappropriate and had it removed from all store shelves. Despite a spike in people’s curiosity, the government wanted to police everyone’s behaviors. The government believed that they had a right to deem what was acceptable, and you still see this kind of attitude even today. In today's society, we constanly see censorship with movies and television shows. As a society, we are allowed to be more free about sexuality, but there are still laws that prevent us from being truly unconstrained.

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The show Hair was extensively discussed in this chapter. The author states, “ In truth, the soundtrack has the sound and feel of how Madison Avenue might have scored its vision of the hippie generation. Nevertheless, its pop melodies set to electric guitar, Hair was a far cry from the theatre of Oklahoma!, Kiss Me Kate, and Fiddler on the Roof. The shows’ music and nude actors explored the issues that faced the current generation: racial inequalities, the Vietnam War, pollution, drugs, and the ever so popular topic, sex.

During that same year, Jim Morrison gave a concert in Miami, a very conservative town during that time period. He started saying that everyone wants to love and implied that people want to seek sexual pleasure. He started shouting that many people came to the show to see him naked and began taking off his clothes. Additionally, he encouraged the audience to take off their clothes. Many women took off their clothes, and the police arrested Morrison. Ironically, he shouted that it was strange that he was being arrested for “indecent exposure,” while many actors were parading around naked in Hair every night. Morrison was pardon three years ago by Governor Charlie Crist for his acts that occurred almost 30 years ago.

The nudity that bombarded the end of the sixties was both controversial and progressive. Even though many people found the openness to nudity shocking, for others it was a freeing experience. More people could admit to their curiosity about sexuality and this movement helped shape future generations to come.

-Nidhi