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Kinsey (2004)
In director/writer Bill Condon's dramatic biopic about
the famous pioneering human sexuality researcher:
- the scene of Indiana University professor of biology
Alfred Kinsey (Liam Neeson) teaching his first introductory class
in sex education, writing the word STIMULATION on a blackboard,
and provocatively asking: "Who can tell me which part of the
human body can enlarge a hundred times. You, miss?" - when
a female student objected to the potentially embarrassing question
in a
"mixed class", he responded: ("I was referring to
the pupil in your eye, young lady. And I think I should tell you,
you're in for a terrible disappointment. It is often in the eye that
stimulation begins")
- the matter-of-fact interviews conducted by Professor
Kinsey (nicknamed Prok): ("Hello, I'm Professor Kinsey from
Indiana University and I'm making a study of sex behavior. Can we
sit and talk?")
- the honeymoon scene of Kinsey with wife Clara "Mac" McMillen
(Oscar-nominated Laura Linney) having painful sexual problems with
her inexperienced husband during their honeymoon; on their wedding
night, the two virgins were so sexually naive that their attempts
to consummate their marriage were a complete failure when she begged
him to stop intercourse - due to a medical issue with her thick hymen:
("I'm sorry, it hurts too much")
- the exhibition of Kinsey's revolutionary techniques,
example, in a b/w educational sex film of patient Barbara Merkle
(Kathleen Chalfant) masturbating - one instance of using movie and
still cameras to record sex acts
- the later emotional scene of Kinsey's free-thinking
wife "Mac" revealing that she already had suspicions that
her husband was unfaithful and bisexual: ("It's not like I'm
surprised exactly. I've observed certain things over the years....A
look or a gesture. The pet student who suddenly becomes a member
of the family and then just as suddenly disappears when you tire
of him...I understand. Haven't I always been open to whatever you
wanted?...I'm just not enough. Is that it?"); Kinsey admitted
his failings: ("This is inside of me. To what extent, I don't
know. But I'd be a hypocrite if I pretended it wasn't there");
then, after she complained about the problems in their marriage,
he began lecturing her: ("You're just afraid that I won't love
you anymore - which is impossible, Mac. The human animal is capable
of all kinds of sexual expression. Not all sex has to be sanctioned
by love, enriched by emotion. To the Greeks...); he tried to calm
her protest by expressing his steadfast love: ("Mac, Listen
to me. You're my girl. You always will be. The bond we have, the
life we share - sex is nothing compared to that")
- the black and white montage of sexual activity, with
Kinsey's voice-over about female motivations for engaging in sex:
("In the bonobo chimpanzee, our nearest primate relation, sex
is the glue of social cohesion and peace. Cleared of notions like
romantic love or religion or morality, their society's behavior hangs
together as a coherent unit of biology and conditioning. Based on
the experiences of females who have contributed to our histories,
we have observed a wide range of motivations for extramarital coitus.
At times, it is a conscious or unconscious attempt to acquire social
status. In other instances, it gives them a variety of experiences
with new sexual partners who are sometimes superior to their marriage
partner. There are occasions when it is done in retaliation for the
partner's extramarital activity or for some sort of non-sexual mistreatment.
Some females discover new sources of emotional satisfaction while
others find it impossible to share such an intimate relationship
with more than one partner. We have also encountered a considerable
group of cases in which husbands encourage their wives to engage
in extramarital activities in an honest attempt to give them the
opportunity for additional sexual satisfaction")
- the confrontation between Kinsey and his bisexual
male research assistant Clyde Martin (Peter Sarsgaard), who told
his superior: "What are we to you, Prok? We're just lab rats?
Is this just another part of the project? To prove that sex.....
F--king is nothing more than than friction and harmless fun? Well,
let me tell you, that is a risky game, because f--king isn't just
something. It's the whole thing. And if you're not careful, it will
cut you wide open"
Research Assistant Clyde Martin (Peter Sarsgaard)
Homosexual Kiss
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- the fact that Kinsey's wife was engaged in an extra-marital
affair with Clyde - and Kinsey himself, a closet bisexual, also
had a homosexual relationship with Clyde, who appeared nude in
a full-frontal scene
- the last interview scene in which older lesbian subject
(Lynn Redgrave in a cameo), after having read Kinsey's 1953 research
study Sexual Behavior in the Human Female, expressed how
she was freed from guilt - realizing that she was not alone in her
feelings and attractions for the same sex: ("After I read your
book, I realized how many other women were in the same situation.
I mustered the courage to talk to my friend and she told me, to my
great surprise, that the feelings were mutual. We-we've been together
for three happy years now. (she stood and gratefully took his hand
in hers to thank him) You saved my life, sir")
- the concluding nature-walk discussion between Kinsey
and "Mac" about the strong rootedness of very ancient trees
into the Earth: ("...the Mbeere?... They're an ancient East
African tribe. They believe that trees are imperfect men eternally
bemoaning their imprisonment. The roots that keep them stuck in one
place. But I've never seen a discontented tree. Look at this one!
The way its roots are gripping the ground. I believe it really loves
it"); the film concluded with his final line as he walked off
hurriedly: ("There's a lot of work to do")
- the final credits sequence of actual film footage
shot by Kinsey's group - of animals copulating (to the tune of Cole
Porter's "Let's Do It") - with the porcupine segment the
most intriguing
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Alfred Kinsey
(Liam Neeson)
Kinsey Interview
Painful Honeymoon Night
Barbara Merkle
(Kathleen Chalfant)
Kinsey's Wife Discussing Her Husband's Infidelity and Bisexuality
Mac's Own Affair with Clyde
Lesbian
(Lynn Redgrave)
Nature Walk
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