The Sexual is Political

The fact that the sexual is political is nothing new – sexuality is a powerful tool of social change, the use of which is still repressed, supervised, and punished. The right to bodily self-determination or the right to pleasure are among the basic elements of modern and open society, understood as a community of mutual care. We all know how difficult it is to exercise these rights, and what inexcusable rage it is to demand that they be respected. Artistic strategies of postpornographic art from the very start of its existence focus on the relationship between power and sexuality – as evidenced by people praying in front of the cinema in the name of saving us from hell, sin, sodomy, and obscenity. Religious fundamentalism is taking its toll all over the world – “Shibari Turk” (Yavuz Kurtulmus) and “Simon Says” (Lars Kollros) all talk about the same thing, even if in different languages. The same is true of other films in this section: the Brazilian “Gentrification of Affections” (Bruna Kury) and “Les Attendants” (Truong Minh Quy) say the same thing in a delightfully different way. Meanwhile, the perverse “Blasphemies from the World” (Alex Hogre) will allow us step back a bit and laugh at those who still try to take away our rights and still fail.