Quentin Tarantino Dips A Toe Into Movie Sex Scene Discourse

A heated debate over the prevalence of sex scenes in movies keeps emerging in film-centric online communities, and Pulp Fiction director Quentin Tarantino recently dipped a toe into the discourse.

The debate rages between movie-lovers who enjoy sex scenes, and those who believe that sex scenes are awkward and unpleasant. The latter camp, who often skew younger, have jokingly been dubbed the “puriteens,” and tend to make the argument that sex scenes are “unnecessary” to plot and character development.

The “puriteens” seem to have gained a surprising ally in Tarantino, who echoed their argument during an interview with the Catalan publication Diari Ara. Tarantino stated (via Variety): “It’s true, sex is not part of my vision of cinema … If there had ever been a sex scene that was essential to the story, I would have, but so far it hasn’t been necessary.”

The internet was quick to point out that Tarantino movies might not feature much sex, but are unambiguously horny, and loaded with lingering close-ups of women’s feet, which has become something of an in-joke among movie-lovers, who often speculate that Tarantino has a foot fetish.

One Twitter user even pointed out that Tarantino wrote (and cast himself) in a scene in Dusk Till Dawn, in which he is “forced” to suck Salma Hayek’s toes.

Others posted foot shots and close-ups from Tarantino movies, which are so prevalent that Honest Trailers once released a lengthy montage of them all on YouTube, as a tribute to the director.

The abundance of bare feet in Tarantino’s cinematography is no secret; Brad Pitt openly joked about it during an SAG Awards acceptance speech for his role in Once a Time in Hollywood, quippping that the director had “separated more women from their shoes than the TSA.” Kill Bill star Uma Thurman also poked fun at the director, famously making a toast to Tarantino by pouring champagne into her shoe and letting him take a sip.

Tarantino even addressed the subject in an interview with GQ, amusingly describing the prevalence of feet and toes in his films as “good direction.”

One could argue that Tarantino’s famous foot shots are not “essential to the story” of his films, but clearly, the director is imbuing his work with his own interests, fixations, and eccentricities, as any good artist should.

Plus, sex scenes absolutely can contribute to character development, just like any other action; sex scenes offer an opportunity to highlight the dynamic between two people, in a particularly vulnerable, intimate state.

Sex scenes can be used for cringe comedy (Lena Dunham’s Girls excelled at this), or pulpy shock value, like HBO’s True Blood, famous for its hilariously over-the-top vampire sex scenes.

Fight scenes can be unnecessary, uncomfortable and self-indulgent too, but they aren’t subject to the same level of debate; few care to argue against their existence.

Sex scene discourse appears to have been ignited by a 2021 Blood Knife article titled “Everyone is beautiful and no one is horny,” written by Raquel S. Benedict. Benedict argues that modern blockbusters feature an abundance of sculpted bodies, but very few sex scenes, and barely any sexual tension, especially compared to the blockbusters of the 90’s.

Benedict points to the Marvel Cinematic Universe as a bland landscape of toned, sculpted heroes who seek only war, not love; compare any MCU movie to the simmering, inescapable sexual tension in Tim Burton’s Batman Returns, and one can see how things have changed.

Just like Tarantino’s foot shots, sex scenes don’t need to justify themselves; sex is an essential part of the human experience. Fight Club director David Fincher put it best when describing his success, and said, simply:

“People are perverts.”