Revolutionary Desires: The Political Power of the Sex Scene — Xuanlin Tham

Sex on screen is unnecessary, gratuitous, and serves no purpose. This is the sentiment on the rise as cinema becomes less and less sexy. Xuanlin Tham counters that sex scenes can open our minds and bodies to the possibility of new futures, and seduce us towards an expanded political imagination.

Through The Matrix Reloaded, Lingua Franca and beyond, Revolutionary Desires explores how the form’s intimacies, transgressions, and dedication to pleasure can be uniquely poised to rupture dominant narratives of capitalism and the violences that flow from it. Why is the sex scene, demonised as it is, therefore more politically important and subversive than ever? And how can it power a desire for something more?