The Door in the Floor

In this excerpt from the movie ‘The Door in the Floor’, Mimi Rogers who plays an artist’s model poses nude for Jeff Bridges, a sculptor. What is interesting about this scene is the completely impersonal relationship between the two people. Usually nudity implies some kind of intimacy in a relationship, but quite the opposite is the case here. This is as it should be between an artist and model where the pursuit is beauty in art rather than sexuality, although it’s hard to deny that some sexual element always exists. The very fact that the relationship between the two is so detached and impersonal serves to increase the sexual tension. The slight look of pained embarrassment on Roger’s face as she disrobes further increases the tension.

The fact that Rogers is not a young woman but still manages to be very sexy and the way the artist manipulates the platform to position her, treating her very much like an object is also interesting. In a way it serves as a metaphor for the relationship between all men and women; the male active and the female passive and devoid of personality. Judging by the number of women who eagerly pose for the camera, women enjoy this kind of attention and find it flattering. This only perpetuates inequality.