The Daily Show: Ears Edition - The Female Orgasm Onscreen | Beyond the Scenes

Episode Date: June 25, 2023

From the sex-shaming of early cinema legend Hedy Lamarr to trapping Jane Fonda in an exploding orgasm piano, Hollywood’s relationship to female sexuality is complicated, controlling and sometimes just plain weird. Roy is joined by correspondent Desi Lydic and Daily Show writer Kat Radley for a stimulating discussion about the depiction of female pleasure on-screen.Original Air Date: July 27, 2021Beyond the Scenes is a podcast from The Daily Show. Listen to new episodes every Tuesday wherever you get your podcasts, or watch at YouTube.com/TheDaily ShowSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

You're listening to Comedy Central. Hey, back in the day, they knew it wasn't just enough to slap Apollo 13 on a DVD. The people demanded more. They wanted to hear Ron Howard and Tom Hanks talking over the movie about how craft services was that day. Well, that's us, baby. The people demanded more. They wanted to hear Ron Howard and Tom Hanks talking over the movie about how craft services was that day.

Well, that's us, baby. We're your DVD special features, bringing you commentary, deleted scenes, and maybe some half-ass pixelated storyboards if we feel like it. Welcome to Beyond the Scenes. I'm your host Roywood Jr. And this is the podcast where we take a deeper dive into some of the most complex issues covered on the daily show with Trevor Noah. And speaking to Tom Hanks, today we're talking about female orgasms on screen.

A brief history. History? You get it? This is a piece that originally aired on the show back on March 23rd to 2021. You know what year it is. Played a clip. It's no secret that women's on-screen portrayals have evolved throughout history. We've gone from playing secretaries being saved by James Bond, all the way to nuclear scientists being saved by James Bond. But I want to focus on one specific

aspect of female depictions. The orgasm. It's when a woman is stimulated to the point of climax, causing a physical and neurological response that scientists refer to as bang-tastic. And over the years, depicting female pleasure on screen is something that's changed more than the batteries in your vibrator. So today with me I have Daily Show correspondent Desi Lydic and writer, Amy nominated writer, Cat Ratley to walk me through how the segment came together and then we're gonna go beyond because that's what we do it's in the damn title what's going on y'all how you do hi Roy I was like Roy don't assume people know what year it is that is up for

debate completely lost track fine is from 2021 in March of this year. So in this segment, you all went through, you dug in the crate and you found basically a track record of just showing the misrepresentation of women's sexuality on film and television. How did that all come to, Kat? One of our researchers in our deep dive department, Madeline Kunes, she came up with this idea just from kind of organically noticing how different the portrayal is of female versus male orgasms on screen and all that and she just kind of went down the rabbit hole of looking through film pretty much over the past hundred years and she just found so much great stuff that we were able to put it together for a segment. She went way down the rabbit hole and then back up the rabbit hole and then down again a little

bit deeper and then she found back up for air just the right spot and then she found the perfect spot. Yeah, and then it was assigned to me. Okay, I'm gonna let you all write with that. I'm not gonna join in. You know, I have jokes in my head that I could join in on that, but I just don't want to be the weird guy to guess. And then she stayed in that rabbit hole for three days.

Did I heard? I think I spend the the the the the the the get into the actual nuts and bolts of this Desi. As a correspondent, when someone brings you this piece, what was your first thought? I was so excited because I had this reaction, like, oh my god, why haven't we talked about this before? And I think on a subconscious level, it's always bothered me that I feel like I haven't seen that many representations of female

sexuality in like an honest, authentic, or even really funny way. But it didn't hit me the depths of it until I read the script. We're always, you know, trying to figure out what topics we want to dive into, and we look for things that are, that feel like they've been under-reported, or something we want to shine out what topics we want to dive into and we look for things that are that feel like they've been underreported or something we want to shine a spotlight on and they tend to be you know we we go deep with the information and we go through the history of something and and our the trap is that it would be something that can feel a little dry right well this one thi the thi the th th th th th th th th th th th th th is the the the the that the that the that that that the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the to to to to to to to to to to to to to the the. the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the th is th is the the the the the the the to to to to to to to to to to to to to the to the the the to the the. theeeeeeee. the toeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeee. toee. they. the is like, oh, that's fun to talk about. That's like, this one was very wet. This was very wet. This was the opposite of dry.

Thank you, Kat. You're not gonna lure me in. No, nice try, motherfuu. We'll get him. We'll get him. Halfway through. I wrote it with Lauren another writer who is amazing. And the two of us have written a couple things for Desi,

and it seems like it's just, I mean, writing for Desi is super fun. And we kind of knew, like, all right, this can be like a touchy, difficult subject. And I mean, Desi totally nailed the performance. So I'm glad that she was as on board and excited about it as we were. Because writing it was fun to actually like, like, as he was saying for Women's History Month, sometimes we do like, all right, let's look at, you know, voting rights and the suffragette movement, which is important and great, but not as fun as talking about, you know, Barbella or Meg Ryan's orgasm in when he met Sally.......... th. th. th. th. th. th. th. th. th, th, th, th, th, th, th, thi, thi, thi, thi, thi, thi, thi, thi, to to to to to to to to to wo, to to wo, to wo, to wo, to wo, because to wo, because to wo, to wo, to wi, to wi, to wi, to wi, to wi, to wi, to we, to we, to we, to we, to we, to we, to we, to we, to we, you know, Barberilla or Meg Ryan's orgasm in when he met Sally.

Oh, oh, oh, God. Oh, yes. Yes. Yes. Yes. Oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, God. I'll have what she's having. We haven't really done a segment like this on the show before, so I feel like it was like a fun aspect of women's history that wasn't as serious and heavy as, you know, having our rights taken away. But it also, just the subject matter itself,

it was something that I sort of like subconsciously knew in my brain that I wasn't saying a lot of this out there, but I really it wasn't, it didn't hit me until I read everything in that discussion. Like, oh my god, yes, that is how women were represented that early on. I had no idea about the Hedy Lamar thing. The first known female orgasm on the silver screen was in the 1933 German film Ecstasy when Hedy Lamar took the Brought Worst Express all the way to Pleasure Berg. Turns out the world wasn't ready for this. Everyone denounced it from Hitler to the Pope and if you ask me the Pope has no place weighing in on sex scenes. He's

celibate. I mean when we need your opinion on the best stain removers for white fabrics then we'll call call you. I didn't realize that she was the first woman to have an orgasm on screen. And then not only that, but she was basically came up with the start of what is Wi-Fi now. So she was a genius. Like, I had no idea about all of that until I read it. But they low-key sex shamed her the rest of her career for daring to be that open on camera. Do you all think that men being in control of the narrative of sex in the entertainment industry, I mean, less so now, but definitely still more so than women, how much did that play into it?

When you look at over the decades and decades of just the way women have been portrayed to just you are the male, the man controls you and it's never really connected to what a woman really wants in the bedroom or properly portraying what a woman wants in a bedroom. The Hattie Lamar thing went back to like the 1930s. That's like kind of where this started, 1930s wants in the bedroom. The Hedy Lamar thing went back to like the 1930s. So that's like kind of where this started, 1930s films up till now. And yeah, when you think about it,

it was mostly and still is mostly men writing and directing and producing these movies. So they're the ones who are determining, you know, what a female orgasm should or shouldn't look like on screen. Because it didn't make you wonder, like, okay, well, why is this? And you're like, oh yeah, because men control everything for all of the beginning of time. So I do think that has a lot to do with it, just like who's writing these stories, who's telling these women and directing them how to act on screen. Okay, so now, in this next take you're gonna really erupt with pleasure I want you to just scream and bang the headboard so that everyone can all right

and action. Meanwhile it's like 10 seconds in and nothing has happened and you're like oh that is that all it okay well I guess that's how it works it's just that simple huh? It's like almost like sound like you're getting murdered but not quite there's like almost like sound like you're getting murdered, but not quite. There's like a fine line between the two. Feed the ego of the man so he knows he's killing it, preferably. Yeah. Yeah.

So when we do race stories on the show, the question is always who's the intended audience, right? Because black people to a degree kind of already know some of the stuff we're talking about. So in a way you're having to present new information to half of the audience that already knows this topic while also presenting it, like with CP time. It's stuff that black people may or may not have already known, but here's a couple of jokes and we go a little deeper on the issue. And if you are not black, then this is a whole wealth of new information. Because I'll be honest, as a man, this is something I've never paid attention to. So who was the, when you think about the intended audience, was it to serve a dual purpose,

or was it to educate meatheads like myself? I mean, I think it's always like, in my opinion, it's always about kind of starting a conversation across the board, right? And the feeling that I felt when I read it for the first time was what I would hope that other women felt when they saw it and that they felt heard and seen, like, oh, I've been feeling this way too. I've been missing this in TV and film, and we do have some more work to do. And then also to maybe perhaps educate a few viewers who maybe did not know some of this

or thought about it in that way. And yeah, start a conversation about it. I remember growing up watching a lot of movies and stuff. And this is how, like watching this segment, it, I, p p p p p p p th, th, th, the the th, the th, th, th, th, th, th, th, th, th, th, th, th, thi, and I, thi, and I, thi, and I thi, and I tho, and I, and I thi, thi, and I tho, and then, and, and, to, and, to, and, to, to, to, to, to, to, to, to, to, to, to, to, to, to, to, to, to, the the th. And, th. And, th. And, th. And, th. And, th. And, th. And, th. And, th. And, th. And, th. And, th. And, th. And, th. And, the, the, the, the, the. And, the. And, the. And, to, to, to, to, to, to, to, the. And, this is how like watching this segment it I Peem to my brain and I started thinking back there's a scene in waiting to exhale. Oh shit oh this is good yeah yeah it's good yeah he he can we say or I'll say orgasm this is beyond the scenes and we're a very taste for show yes so he bused way before the the tho the the the woman the the the woman did it's the same. the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the. This is beyond the scenes. We're a very tasteful show. Yes. So he bused way before. The woman did. Does he think he just did something here? Shit. I could have had a V8.

I could have had a V8 was the line. It's a legendary line. It's a legendary line. But women not getting an orgasm is almost seen as ha ha ha. I'm. I'll say it. I'll say it. I'll say. I. I. I. I the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the I'll. I'll. I'll. I'll the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the th. th. I'll. I'll. I'll. I'll. I'll. I'll. I'll. I'll. I'll. I'll. I'll. I'll. I'll. I'll. I'll. I'll. I'll. I'll. I'll. I'll. I'll. I'll. I'll. I was the line. It's a legendary, it's a legendary line. But women not getting an orgasm is almost seen as, ha ha, you didn't get any pleasure. Growing up, what was you all's personal experience and seeing female pleasure depicted on screen? Can I ask that? Let me ask that in a more HR way. As you all were matriculating as young women. No, how much did it see women in sexual?

It's menstrating. What's the month? As you ministrated to adulthood. But, you know, what was your experience seeing the way sex was depicted on screen? I think, like you said, too, that it's funny that it was so often used as a punchline and I feel like that's kind of something that became ingrained without me realizing because it is, you know, it's either funny that she doesn't get pleasure or like two of the movies we do is like a Catherine Hegel scene and a Jennifer Anisonstein's scene from Bruce Almighty where like their pleasures like so over the top and exaggerated that it's like it's the comedy,

it's the butt of the Joe. In the years that followed, female pleasure became more and more common on screen. But they were still often treated as punchlines, like Jennifer Aniston getting unexpected magic climaxes in Bruce Almighty, or Catherine Hegel accidentally orgasming at dinner when a little boy grabbed her remote-controlled vibrating underwear.

Okay, there is so much wrong with this. It's non-consensual. It's a kid doing it and it perpetuates the dangerous myth that vibrating underwear gives you anything but a five-alarm electrical burn. I was like, oh, okay, like, it's, it's, it's, the way we do it is funny, or like, we're kind of used as a punchline, as opposed to like, taken seriously.

And I don't really know how that affected me, because I feel like we were just kind of getting messages like that from all over, so I'm kind of like, it is different. I'm still learning to learn. That scene in particular I have so many mixed feelings about. I feel like that because as like an actor doing comedy, you, when you get a scene as a woman, like you want to have the joke, you want to get to do like the big performative joke in this set piece. And so, and men get to joke about their orgasms all the time. Like it's all over the place, literally.

And how many are we at now? Three, four? Do we? Still early. But, but, like, there were so many problems in that scene itself. Like Kat said, we were kind of like punching at the wrong thing. The punchline was aimed. It seemed in the wrong direction. And also, just like, there was really no consent. It was kind of against their will.

It was happening to them and they were participating in it, which felt kind of weird. And I think those movies were, when Lauren and I were writing it, we were like, wait, what year was this? I want to say it was like 2009. Like, it was 10 to 15 years ago when like consent was not like a term people were thinking about or throwing around in probably like movie sets at all. And I'm like, oh yeah, like you are like giving Catherine Hagel this orgasm in a restaurant and it's funny and I'm just like, ooh man, that, they didn't even have the sea word anywhere in their brain like at this point in time. So I was like, I was like, there's so,

there's so much wrong with this. And it was a kid, right? It was like a kid. Eight-year-old kid toy with it. You're like like no, stop! Yeah, there's a lot of problematic old-school sex scenes that you can go back and watch now and be like, yeah. I can remember, I just recently rediscovered the movie Young Frankenstein, which I is like a classic, Mel Brooks and Gene Wilder

and so many funny performances in that movie, Terry Gar and Madeline Kahn are comedic geniuses. And I remember seeing that scene of Madeline Kahn with the monster when he comes in to like take her and he drops his pants and then suddenly she's like very into it. And they have this whole sex scene. Oh, oh, you can't be serious. I'm a, I, oh my God. Woof.

I'm, I'm engaged and one thing he took but I didn't it was never all the Oh my oh my oh Oh Oh! Oh sweet mystery of life but last I found you It is like a tour divorce in her comedic performance it's's hilarious. She should have won all the awards for this scene. And then it cuts to them sitting their side by side and they're smoking a cigarette. But in watching it in recent years, you go back and you're like, wait, he took her against her will.

Wait, there was no, he was kidnapping her. It was so problematic on so many levels. Is the implication that so Frankenstein, they, they, th. th. th. th. th. th. thian, thian, thine, thine, thi, thi, thi, thi, thi, thi, thi, thi, thi, thi, thi, thi, thi, it's, thi, it's, thin, it's thi, it's thi, it's thi, it's thi, it's thi, thi, thi, thi, thi, and thi, and thi, and thi, and thi, and thi, and th. And th. And th. th. th. th. th. th. th. thi, it's, it's, it's, it's, it's, it's thi, it's thi, it's thi. thi. thin. thin. thin. theeeeee. thin. theeeeee. theeat thee. the. thi. thi. the. thi. the Is the implication that so Frankenstein has a big dick, like that's what the implication was? Yeah. I mean, I guess that would make sense. If you're able to like piece together a human, you're like, I guess I'll give them the biggest, going all out. Biggest dead dick I can find.

If young boys get weird science, we can at least have us that. I remember the thing that I remember most about sexuality as a man growing up and just watching films like just you know we're talking from that middle school through high school years was just how animalistic sex was and a lot of black romantic. Like you got to just get it and dominate the woman. Like I remember Jason's lyric was one, I won't detail the scene, but they were banging in an alley like it was just it was consensual but it was just the dude just ravaging the woman and then it was the

same thing in belly with DMX and whoever he had the sex scene with. Like that type of stuff was what informed me. The thing that really made it awkward though was being in the movies and this the the th th th th th th th th th th th th th th th th th th th th th th th th th th th th th th th th th th thi th th type the thy the the the thi thi the the of the the the the the the the the s the s the s the s the s the s the s the s the s the s the s the s the s the s the s the s the s the s the s the s the s the s the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the ty ty ty. ty. type type of type of ty. type of type of ty. type of teateateateateateateateateate. the. the. the. the type of stuff was what informed me. The thing that really made it awkward though was being in the movies and this type of stuff coming up with our parents. And I don't want to say that my parents failed me. But in those awkward sexual moments in cinema, I kind of wouldn't know knowing what I know now, it would have been dope for my mom or my dad to put me into his the side and go, just so you know, that's not how sex, you don't do that. Women don't like being taken next to a dumpster just in case that something. Well, this woman did, she was with it. And you wonder why do you try you at

a dumpster? It's because, because, because, because, because, because, because, because, because, because, because, because, because, because, because, the, th, th, th, th, th, th, th, th, th, th, th, th, th, th, thi, thi, thi, thi, thi, thi, thi, thi, to, to, to, to, to, to, to, the to, the the the the the the the the the the the the the, you, you, you, the, the, the, the, the, the, the, the, the, the, the, the, the, the, the, the, the, the, the, the, the, the, the, the thi. thi. thi. thi. ty. tha. te. te. te. te. te. tha. tha. tha. too. too. too. too, tha, tha. treach. Well, this has been great. What do you say I take you out back behind the dumpster? After the break, I want to talk with you all a little bit about some of the potholes in a story like this. Because, you know, as we do with the Daily Show, we juggle a little bit of dynamite. And so I want to talk a little bit about some of the things things that you w w w w w w w w w w w w w w w w w w w w w w w w w you you you you you you you you wish you wish you wish you had had space to add to the story. This is beyond the scenes. We'll be right back. When you all were researching the story, what were some of the biggest things that you didn't know before the research? We got like a giant file that has like all the research in it that our research department

could find so more than what you saw in the segment, like plenty was left out because there was no way to do all of it. The one thing I was most surprised at was the stuff from like the mid-20s, like so the Hedy Lamar movie, which was like 1930s, the fact that there was even a female, a female orgasm portrayal back then, just shocked me. I was like, well, they let this shit happen happen in to do to do to do to do their their their their their their their their their their their their their their their their their their their their their, their, their, their, their, their, their, th. their, thi. thi. th. th. th. th. their, their, their, their, their, their, their, their, their, their, their, their, their, their, their, their, their, their, their, their, their, their, their, their, their, their, their, their, thi. the. the. thee. theateeatea. theauuiii. thea. thea. the. theooooooomorrow. the. the. me. I was like, wait, they let this shit happen in the 30s and then the stuff that was from the 60s and 70s that wasn't technically porn, and some of it was porn with like deep throat, but just how graphic it was in the 60s and 70s, I feel like I was like, wow I can't believe they actually like did this. It's weird because there's such a stark contrast because around that same time in sitcoms they wouldn't even let the mom and dad be in the

same bit. That's one thing we talked about the Hayes Code which we mentioned briefly but it was the you know censorship guidelines that they used which kind of came in place after the 30s and 40s. This was a set of censorship guidelines that ban movies from explicitly showing or discussing sex. Even married couples had to be shown in separate beds, or as it's now called, the reverse chocolate factory. With a four-you bedridden for the past 20 years, it takes a lot of work to keep this family going.

No one was getting off. Didn't they call it like one foot on the floor? Like you always had to have one foot on the floor at all times if there was a scene in the bedroom that married couples couldn't even, you couldn't even show them sleeping in the same bed. Sometimes one foot on the floor is even better too. I mean, truly to be able to really get some level ability. Yeah, the- I'm not gonna join in on that. But I have those positions, yes. From the 30s, like they use a pearl necklace to like, they show a pearl necklace being

dropped on the floor that we assume is meant to symbolize the orgasm. And then the, there were a couple other, like a lot of symbolic things of like lots of like cigarette smoking, like the things they would do to try to get around it, trains going through tunnels, like, there was a lot of innuendo in these, like anytime you see a train film,

like it, it's sex in the 50s in the 50s and 60s, like. So just the dumb things they would do to try to work around it. We went from a pearl necklace falling on the ground to Cameron Diaz having a literal pearl necklace in her hair. Yeah. And something about Mary. Yeah. So just the start contrast was like how we kind of boomeranged back the other way. But the Barbella scene, I mean,

we have to talk about that. It's my favorite. America was embarking on a sexual revolution. So female pleasure came back on screen. Unfortunately, it was often treated as a novelty that existed for men's amusement. So you got scenes like the one in 1968's Barbarella. Where evil doctor eyebrows over here traps Jane Fonda in a then a that's that's then. then. then. thine. thoe thoe thoe thoe thoe thoe thoe thoe the tho-a the one in 1968's Barberella. Where evil doctor eyebrows over here traps Jane Fonda in a machine

that's supposed to give her orgasms until she dies, except that she climaxes so hard she breaks the machine. My goodness. At the time, it was considered a campy, sexy thing, but looking at it now, it's a violation. Remember, everyone, if you'reto put a woman in a machine that orgasms her to death, you need consent first. We watched that clip like we had it in our research file and I watched it being like, what the fuck is this? Like, how did people, like how was this made and who is this for? But it like, and Jane Fonda really sold it too. I was like, that woman committed, like she is a professional. How do you audition for th. th. th. th. th. th. th. th. th. th. th. th. th. th. th. th. th. th. th. th. th. th. th. th. th. th. th. th. th. th. th. th. thi, thi, the the the the the th. the the the the the the the the the the the th. We, the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the th. We, th. We, th. th. th. th. th. th. th. th. th. th. th. thi. to, thi. to ti. toda. today, today, today, today, today, today, that thi. We, thi. We, thi. We, that woman committed, like, she is a professional. How do you audition for that role? You're in a giant pipe organ and you're being pleasured to death,

but you don't want to die, but you do want to be played. There's a lot of conflict, internal conflict in the face. She played that scene very well, I have to say. And it was just the face, too, from the waist down or the neck down so it was just her face like that was the only indication it was her face and then like you know shitty graphics of like sparks and smoke coming out of the machine. It's also really misleading for young women to watch that and to assume that you can only climax if there are sparks and smoke.

How hard is it to find the right tone because you don't want to diminish the topic.. th. th. the to the the to to to the to to the to the to to the to to the to to to the to the to the to the to the the to the to to the the the the the the to the the the the to to the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the to. the to. to. the toe. to. of. of. to. to. to. to.o. to.o.o.o.o.e.o. to.e. to.e.e. to. the.e. they. the the the the the the the the are sparks and smoke. How hard is it to find the right tone? Because you don't want to diminish the topic. But we are on Comedy Central, which means we have to have some fucking comedy in there sometimes. What were some of the landmines that you all wanted to avoid? There are so many great representations of female pleasure or sexuality or something that might feel very authentic and truthful and honest in a performance, but it might not be something that feels like it's

appropriate to make jokes about. You want to feel like whatever we talk about is kind of fair game to make laughs about a second later. One thing that we also like fully acknowledged too, as we were writing it, it's like a lot of the kind of the mainstream big touchstone moments in the film too, tended to be white women, cis women, heterosexual relationships. So we, like, don't have the representation we'd like ideally in this segment overall. But we like same with Desi, we noticed like, okay, if this is going to open up a bigger conversation about how does this vary based on race, how does this vary based on gender, how does this

vary based on sexual orientation, and that was something we were like, we could write, we could make this a 30-minute piece, or we could do like, you know, like, you, like, like, like, like, like, like, like, like, like, like, like, like, like, like, like, like, like, like, like, like, like, like, like, like, like, like, like, like, this, this, this, this, this, this, this, this, this, this, this, this, this, this, this this, this this this this this this this this this this this this this this this this this this, this, this, this, this, this, this, this, this, this, this, this, this this this this this this this this this this this this this this this this this this this this this th, th, th, th? And that was something we were like, we could write, we could make this a 30-minute piece or we could do like, you know, a five-part thing. But we were like, okay, this is one segment. So we're like, we're just gonna kind of touch on the mainstream, you know, big moments like the, when Harry met Sally, the Barberella. But we fully acknowledge when we were writing it, we were like, we know that this isn't fully inclusive of every aspect of these portrayals, but we want to make sure that, you know, we aren't making light of something that is a more serious scene or

a more serious film. We also talked about two making jokes about the movies that are comedies, whereas like, you know, most of these, like when Harry met Sally, Bruce Almighty, like, like, like, like, like, like, like, like, like, like, like, like, like, like, like, like, like, like, like, like, like, like, like, like, like, like, like, like, like, like, like, like, like, like, like, the the the the the the the the the the the the the their their, the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the th, every thi, every thi, every thi, every thiau.eau.ea.ea.ea.ea, every thea.ea.ea, every thea. Every thea, every thi, every comedies, whereas like, you know, most of these, like when Harry met Sally, Bruce Almighty, like those are big comedies. So we're like, okay, well, we don't want to write jokes about jokes, but we could like make fun of the fact that it's used as a joke. Because it feels weird sometimes to write comedy about something that is meant to be comedy. That makes perfect sense. So then to that point about the portrayal of nudity in comedy,

why is it man naked, funny, woman naked? Oh, or hmm. It's never, it's rarely hilarious. Like, I, The only thing that I even think comes close to a joke that would play the same for a woman as a guy in a comedy is Melissa McCarthy shitting her pants and bride's tools. No, no, Megan, no, look away. Oh, God, me. The knees are toilets?

No. No, Megan. No, look away. Look away! Look away! Megan, no! Look away! Oh! Oh! Oh! Such a double standard, and it's not, it really isn't fair that, you know, it seems like

when men are naked in a comedy, it's hilarious and it's maximized for comedy, but if a woman shows up naked in a comedy, it's, we're objectifying her, or it's, it becomes about sex instead of the laugh. I don't know if you guys remember Ila Fisher's performance in the wedding crashers. I'm not wearing any pennies. Oh. That's right. Yeah, oh, yeah. You're okay. That's fun. Hilarious, total breakout role for her. She was genius in it.

She maximized every second that she was on camera. And I believe she talked about this, and forgive me if I get it wrong, but she talked about there being a discussion, there was a sex scene in that movie, and there was a discussion about whether she was gonna be topless and how much they were going to show. And I think they wanted her to be completely topless and to see it all.

And she basically was like, look, if you see my nipples, I lose my laugh. And I'm going to protect my laugh. So you got to shoot it in a certain way, because I want to get the comedy. I don't want this to be about objectifying. What I think the problem is, I am not being adventurous enough for you. Gloria, I'm pretty sure that it's not what I've been saying to you. Shhh.

Baby, I'm going to make all your fantasies come true. And it's like, you know, Will Farrell probably would not have had to have that conversation. Right. His nipples are hilarious. His nipples are, yeah, very funny. To the point where nudity enhances the scene, Ken Jong talk talks about this. He's talked about it on the record here and there, but he told me an another comedian friend of mine, the story of him coming out the trunk naked in the original hangover movie.

In that original the scene as it was written he had clothes on and Ken went to the director and said, hey I should be naked. And they were like, what? Yeah, my character, he should come out the trunk naked. I think it'll be more of a bubbbubbah ba ba, uh, uh, uh, uh, uh, and. And they were like. And, the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the th, the th-uh, th-uh, the the th-in, th- th- th- th- th- th-uh, th-uh, to to to to to to to to to to to to to to, to, th, th, th, the th, th, th, th, th, th, th, th, th, th, th, th, th, th, th, th, th-he a th-he a th-he a th-he a the, the, the the te, true, the, the, the the the the the the the, the, the, the, the, my character, he should come out the trunk naked. I think it'll be more of a bab, bab, bab. And to his credit, he was right. Him coming out that trunk naked literally catapulted. He stole that film. It held up the shoot for two hours because they had to get the clearances and the lawyers and whatever the hell else. I don't th th th th th th th th th th th th th th th th th th th th th th th th th th th th th th th th th the the the the the the the theaton the. Yeah thi theaton theaton theaton tho- th. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. th. th. th. the. the. the. the. the. the. the. He the. He the. He the. He the. He the. He the. He the. He the. He the. He the. He the. He's the. He's the. He's the. He's the. He's the. He's thea. He's thea. He's thean. He's thean. He's to get the clearances and the lawyers and whatever the hell else. I don't know what happens when Dicks come out on set but apparently it's a lot

of paperwork. We talk about women's breasts too. I was thinking of like there's so much in, there's something about Mary, but isn't his neighbor, like the old lady who's like always tanning? Oh yeah. They show her boobs but they're you know like old wrinkly ski slopes and it's like and that is funny because they can mean they made her look as you know unsexy as possible in order to do it and I you know I give a lot of credit to that woman for you know for bearing it all for that. But I mean, that was funny.

Like, that was like one instance where women's boobs were funny, but they made them look as little boob like as possible. Like, they were almost unidentifiable. They just have to keep sending her back to the makeup trailer. Nope, sorry, still a little more schro-dum-like. too sexy. They still kind of look like this. Yeah, there we go, that's perfect. Now we can do it. As much as I would love to continue talking about breast and nudity and all of that stuff, we have to see where we're going towards the future. This is beyond the scenes, we'll be right back. Ken Jung, if I wasn't supposed to tell that story, it's too late. It's such a good story. It's been. It's been. It's been. It's been. It's been. It's been. It's been. It's been. It's been. It's been. It's been. It's been. It's been. It's been. It's been. It's been. It's been 20. It's been 20. It's been 20. It's been 20. It's been 20. It's been 20. It's been 20. It's been 20. It's been 20. It's 20. It's 20. It's 20. It's 20. It's 20. It's 20. It's 20. It's 20. It's 20. It's 20. It's 20. It's. It's. It's. It's. It's. It's. It's. It's. It's. It's. It's. It's. It's. It's. It's. It's. It's. It's. It's. It's. It's. It's. It's. It's. It's. It's been. It's been. It's been. It's been. It's been. It's been. It's been. It's been. It's t. It's t. t. t. t. the. the. the. the. the. the. the. the. So we've talked during this podcast, ladies, just about how the portrayal of women and their sexuality and how that can inform and influence us from a very early age.

But should the movies be where people are even learning about all of this? Yeah, I mean, what is seen on, in the movies and on TV matters. It certainly carries a lot of weight, but I think it matters more because kids aren't really learning a lot about sex ed in a full, comprehensive, inclusive way in school, so they're left to learn this stuff from seeing shows and movies and that's like to me that kind of puts too much pressure on what's supposed to be entertainment to kind of like solve the world's problems. Yeah I think if anyone needs these movies it's Catholic school kids

because I can tell you right now they are not teaching them shit that they actually need to know. I went to a Catholic high school and I would think that that th th th th that th th th th th th th th th th th th th thi thi thi thi thi thi thi thi thi thi thi thi thi thi thi thi thi thi thi thi thi thi thi thi thi thi that's that's that's that's that's that's that's that's that's that's thi thi thi thi thi thi th th th thi th th th th th thi th th thi thi thi thi thi thi thi thi thi thi thi thi thi thi thi thi thi thi to to to thi to to to to to to to to to to to to to to to to to to to to to to to thi thi thi thi thaching them shit that they actually need to know. Because I went to a Catholic high school, and I would think like, you know, that was 20 years ago, that it would be better, but I don't, like it's like, Dazzie was saying it's not. Like, sex education is still pretty bad, at least in America. And most kids are getting their knowledge from TV movies, and, you know, unless someone has like a cool older brother like, like, like, like, like, like, like, like, like, like, like, like, like, like, like, like, like, like, like, like, like, like, like, like, like, like, like, like, like, like, like, like, like, like, like, like, like, like, like, like, like, like, like, like, like, like, like, like, like, like, like, like, like, like, like, like, like, like, like, like, like, like, like, like, like, like, like, like, like, like, like, like, like, like, like, like, like, like, like, like, like, like, like, like, like, like, like, like, like, like, like, like, like, like, like, like, like, like, like, like, like, like, like, like, like, like, like, like, like, like, like, like, like, like, like, like, like, like, like, like, like, like, like, like, like, like, like, the their, their, their knowledge from TV movies and you know unless someone has like a cool older brother but other than that like there's not really many resources to get like the real like the real authentic stuff of what sex is actually like. Do you think also in addition to the lack of sex ed is there

more sexual censorship in America that also keeps kids from learning about stuff? Like just, I saw mortal combat, okay? I saw the new mortal combat movie earlier this year, blood and guts everywhere. Yeah. But then you can go overseas and they, pardon my French, they got breasts and just commercials.

Oh yeah. Nudity is just so regular. Like, it's just a commercial about buying shampoo. And it's just a woman getting out the shower and a breast around, yeah, shampoo. Wouldn't it be nice if Americans had more shame surrounding violence than shame surrounding the human body and all of its sexuality? It's so crazy. I mean, even I have a five-year-old and the stuff that when I'm trying to look for something that is appropriate for him to watch,

we are always stumbling upon stuff that's like, well, that's still violent, or there's some, you know, weapons are being thrown around, and there's some fight, and I would much rather my son see naked boobies on screen, than see like a full, full-on, knockdown, drag out, violent fight. As Americans, we probably don't even realize how much violence we're seeing every day because it's just something we've grown up with at this point.

But yeah, I remember when I went to Europe for the first time, I think as a teenager, I went as like a French exchange student, and I just remember seeing like boobs on a billboard and I was like, do they know that those are up there? I was like, someone's gonna get fired because there's some chits just like at a department store. You have to act normal as an American out, yeah, boobs out, totally normal. Yeah, no big deal. Are things as a whole improving do you think, you know when we have they they they they they have they have they have they have they have they have they have they have they have they have they have they have they have they have they have they have they have they have th have th have th have th have th have th have th have th have thi have thi thi thi thi thi tho tho tho tho tho tho tho tho tho thi. Do thi. Do thi. Do thi. Do thi. Do thi. Do thi. Do thi. Do th. Do th. Do th. Do th. Do th. Do th. Do th. Do th. Do th. Do th. Do, do do do do do do do do do do do do do do do do do do do do. Do, do. Do, do, do the. Do the. Do the. Do the. Do the. Do the. Do the. Do the. Do the. Do the. Do the. Do the. Do the. Do th out. Totally normal. Yeah. No big deal. Are things as a whole improving do you think you know when we have programs like say pose which is ending their run coming up now in FX. How does the sexuality, heterosexuality in the preterial of that, how does that fit into the wider discussion of BIPOC and LGBTQ sexuality on film and TV?

I mean, I think definitely, I mean, having more people behind the camera, but then also just seeing those relationships, like, um, like I may destroy you, was like, I feel like so revolutionary and how it portrayed sex and sexuality. And that was one thing that, that was in our research, but we were like, that's such a heavy show. I was like, I was like, I, I, I, I, I, I, I, I, I, I, I, I, I, I, I, I, I, I, I, I, I, I, I, I, I, I, I, like, I, like, I th like, I th like, I th like, I th, like, I th, I th, I th, I thi, I thi, I thi, I thi, I thi, I thi, I thi, I thi, I thi, I thi, I thi, I thi, I thi, I thi, I thi, I thi, I thi, I thi, I th, I th, I th, I th, I th, I th, I th, I th, I th, I th, I thi, I thi, I thi, I mean, I mean, like, like, thi, thi, thi, thi, thi, thi, thin, thi, thi, thin, thi, thi, thi, thi, thi, that was one thing that that was in our research but we were like that's such a heavy show. I was like that doesn't the tone doesn't feel right to like include that. So I think more shows like that where it's no longer this big deal because it's revolutionary and like the only one of its kind that should be now our standard like most more shows, like like the dramas, should be able to

show those relationships of like people being more fluid with gender and more open to different sexual experiences, but also make sure consents always involved because that's just something we've really started putting into film and television in the past like four years, which is not that long seeing how movies have been around for over 100. So those are like all things I think that revolve around like kind of the same issues. They're all connected. The way that Michaela Cole was able to explore and dissect sexual assault, and that whole

experience that her character went through and also the supporting characters in that story felt so like truthful and authentic and you know shocking. It was really like Kat said, revolutionary and also shocking because we have never seen it like that before, talked about in that way. So stories like that, stories like, you know, Ryan O'Connell's show special and he has like, like, the that, like, like, theyrific, like, like, the, like, like, like, like, the like, the the their, their, their, their, their, their, their, their, their, their, their their their their their their their their their their their their their their their their their th, like, like, like, like, like, like, like, like, like, like, like, like, like, like, like, like, like, like, like, like, like, like, like, like, like, like, like, like, like, like, like, like, like, their, their, their, their, their, their, their, their, their, talked about in that way. So stories like that, stories like, you know, Ryan O'Connell's show special and he has like, there's a scene of him having sex with another man that was, I've heard him speak about it on, on the press tour before, about it being like just a really authentic, honest interaction that he hadn't seen on camera before. Feebue Waller Bridge in Fleaag in the way she talks about sexuality and shame and, you

know, her being able to tell that story and it being such a massive success, I think gives me hope that we're moving in the right direction. We're starting to get more diverse stories being told and that's important. Well, the diverse stories are told because we have a wonderfully diverse cast of people working in the building. Thank you all so much for bringing me up to speed on women's orgasms. I will now go on the same deep dive that Madeline went on. And then, two minutes later, I will wait an hour and try to go on that deep dive again. And to tod. And to to tod. And, th again. And, to th, th, th, th, their, th, th, their, th, their, th, th, their, thi, thi, tho, their, their, tho, thi, thi, thi, tho, tho, tho, tho, their, their, their, their, their, their, thi, their, their, their, thi, their, their, their, their, thi, their, thi, their, their, their, their, their, their, their, their, thi, thi, thi, thi, thi, to, tooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo. too. And, to. And, to. And, wait an hour and try to go on that deep dive again. There, there's your sex job. We did it. Look that's all the time we have

for today. A special thanks to Cat Radley and Desi Latic. Hopefully now we've taking you beyond the scenes. Take care everybody. Thanks Roy. I'm sorry Ken Jong, I love you. Listen to the Daily Show Beyond the Scenes on Apple Podcasts, the IHeart Radio App or wherever you get your podcast. Explore more shows from the Daily Show podcast universe by searching the Daily Show, wherever you get your podcasts. Watch the Daily Show weeknights at 11, 10 Central on Comedy Central and stream full episodes anytime on Fairmount Plus. This has been a Comedy Central podcast.