Assignment 5 - Except Sex

Nearly everyone has seen the Austin Powers trilogy. After reading Foster's opinion of the less descriptive sex scenes, an infamous seen from Austin Powers: The Spy Who Shagged Me came to mind. During the scene, Austin and Ivana Humpalot play a simple game of chess. However, seconds into the game the two begin to play in a less than traditional manner. Rubbing, moaning, licking, and guttural noises commence. The game of chess contributes to the characterization of Powers and the time period. The sixties, where Austin originates, were a tumultuous period of clashes between the new front of free love and the bastion of old conservatism. By using a simple game to describe the sexual acts that are about to occur, the film creates a feeling that sex was everywhere during the 1960's and could appear anywhere. As for Powers, the scene creates a feeling of the sexual prowess of the International Man of Mystery. The men and women, as Ivana too participated in the sexual game, of the free love era are described without words. Using the game, as opposed to a sex scene, creates the double effect of describing not only an entire time period but a the people who resided in the era.