Nudity and spirituality don't often intersect here in the West, where centuries of Christian tradition have taught that the devout reject the sins of the flesh. This attitude holds true in the movies, where "inspirational" and "adult" represent the two extremes of filmmaking. So when taboo T&A is displayed in films with a religious theme, the combination can be explosive:
For example, when The Last Temptation of Christ, which contains scenes of Jesus getting to "know" biblical hooker Mary Magdalene (Barbara Hershey), was released in 1988, hordes of offended Christians rose up in anger, even burning a Paris theater that was showing the film.
Hail Mary (1985) also caused a huge furor when it was released, earning director Jean-Luc Godard a stern warning from the Pope and a pie in the face at the Cannes Film Festival. The casting of bombshell Myriem Roussel as the teenage virgin mother in this allegorical tale did little to quiet Godard's critics.
The 1999 TV miniseries Jesus, an inspirational look at the life of Jesus of Nazareth, managed to avoid controversy despite a brief moment of nudity from Debra Messing as Mary Magdalene.
Violence in films about Jesus have proven to be far less controversial. The Passion of the Christ (2004), which contains scenes of graphic torture as Jesus is crucified, was embraced by religious leaders who endorsed the film from their pulpits and took busloads of parishioners to screenings. One key difference is that The Passion of the Christ follows the traditional account of Jesus' suffering, while The Last Temptation of Christ and Hail Mary challenge Christian doctrine as well as nude taboo.
So how do you feel about Biblical boobs? Do they put a steeple in your jeans or a bee in your bonnet? Let us know in the comments!
