Entertainment

Kevin Bacon Calls For More Male Nudity In Film

by Lisa Fogarty

Every actress in Hollywood seems contractually obligated to, at some point or another in her career, reveal a breast or her full derriere, whether the scene is propelled forward by the sight of her naked body or not. Well, one actor isn't happy about it. Kevin Bacon created a mock PSA for Mashable in which he demands gender equality in La La Land — only his idea of equality involves forcing more male actors to show their junk whenever possible.

The two-minute video, which gave birth to the fantastically funny hashtag #Freethebacon, gives the 57-year-old Cop Car actor a platform from which he can finally address the enormous problem that is a severe penis drought in Hollywood movies and on TV. While everyone from Kate Winslet to Anne Hathaway has agreed to disrobe in front of the camera, sometimes for the sake of art and, other times, for reasons no one can explain, the same rules don't apply to men.

If ever there was a spokesman to promote male movie nudity, Bacon is it, because he doesn't just half-ass it with an occasional shot of his backside. (See what I did there?) He takes things all the way — full-frontal, baby — as he proved in the controversial '90s film Wild Things, which pretty much made it impossible to think of Bacon again without also thinking about his penis (thanks a lot, Kevin Bacon). The actor used his own bold nude career choices as evidence to prove why more actors and producers should get on board with this idea:

Game of Thrones. You've got three sex scenes an episode. How hard would it be to just show one or two wieners every couple of minutes? This is an issue of gender equality. Let me be on the show. Come on! I'll play a naked wizard or something. I've done it before. Have you seen Wild Things? I was super naked in that. It was awesome. Matt Dillon was there. He saw my wiener.

Here's his amazing public service announcement:

The big joke here is that it makes as little sense to show Tyrion's penis unless there is a really good reason as there is to give us 140 shots of Daenerys' breasts and butt simply because she's a stunning woman and men want to see her naked (though, to be fair, Game of Thrones is more equal opportunity nudity than most).

By throwing in a naked actress just for the hell of it, the power that a bit of meaningful nudity can have in a movie like Basic Instinct, where Sharon Stone, literally, used a quick flash of her vagina to get herself out of trouble with investigators who suspect her of committing a murder, disappears and is replaced with nudity for the sole purpose of the male gaze. It becomes boring and ineffective.

I'm not sure if Bacon had all of that in mind when he made this hilarious spoof, but he can be thanked for making folks think a little while they laugh.

Image: Giphy