If you live in Utah, you know the way rumors spread through Mormondom like napalm, and you’ve also probably heard people grumbling and asking questions about whether or not Harry Potter and The Deathly Hallows: Part I has nudity or not. I’m not sure who ignited this particular brouhaha, but it seems KSL.com picked the story up from who knows where and then it spread through Facebook and Twitter quicker than you can say Mahonri Moriacumer.
Here’s my best guess: The article’s author, Cleon Wall, doing his best LDS impersonation of TMZ.com, stumbled upon or was led to an article (there are many out there) where Potter director, David Yates gives a description of the supposed “nude” scene, saying (and be cautioned, this could be a SPOILER):
“…a horcrux [carrying a piece of Voldemort’s soul] defends itself by producing nightmarish visions, and one shows Hermione and Harry embracing and kissing. It’s something intriguing and sensual for Rupert to react to, and Dan will be bare for that.”
Let me tell you right here and now there is no nudity in Harry Potter and The Deathly Hallows: Part I. The scene in question, involving silver, swirling mist and an airbrushed Harry and Hermoine is as exactly as the Classification and Ratings Administration has described it – brief sensuality. Frankly, we see more skin on Dobby and Creature, the two house-elves, or when Harry strips to his boxer briefs to jump in an icy lake, than we do in the rumored nude scene.
Now, with that out of the way, let me be the cautionary parent. The Deathly Hallows: Part I is rated PG-13 and is rated appropriately. The scene in question is sensual, there are plenty of terrifying moments, violence and gore, so, once again, CARA got it right. PG-13 is the appropriate rating. Parents should be strongly cautioned when taking there children who are younger than 13.
For more reading on the PG-13 rating, visit Reasons for Movie Ratings via CARA.org. You may be surprised to learn that you can have nudity in a PG-13 movie, as long as it isn’t sexual in nature. Also, please check back on Thursday for my full review of Harry Potter and The Deathly Hallows: Part I.
41 comments On Nudity in The Deathly Hallows? The Truth About Potter’s Parts.
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Yeah! Because we all know that Mormons are the only ones to hear or spread rumors, and whats even more embarrassing is that Mormon rumors tend to be more centered on protecting high standards, as opposed to the world who loves to wallow in filth and trashy rumors and then glamorize it. No but I guess you are right, if I was surrounded by a culture which much higher standards than myself I would probably take every opportunity to put them down as well. Speaking on a short term basis only, I love to hear about stars, or even the general population getting mixed up with STD’s, illegitimate children, drugs, and violence. It makes me feel better about my life, well, for the moment anyways, and then I am off to other mind numbing activities to take my mid off of my own misery and lack of self worth…..like movies. Great time waster.
You’re an idiot!
I love how this has become such a big deal. Its a PG-13 movie, not a G rated film. If you have read the books– then you have some sense that this movie will not be like the candy coated first one.
On another note–I think all rumors are trashy.
It’s a big deal because people love gossiping and freaking out. Calm down people. If parents are worried and can’t find any information beforehand, go see the movie and DECIDE whether it’s ok to take your kids. Heaven forbid we find out for ourselves.
I agree– I appreciated your clarification– even though I have no moral compass and wasn’t that worried.
I agree, when did it stop being the parents “responsibility” to find out info for themselves instead of delving into gossip?
Amen, Valerie. Amen. Miss Natalie went off on a nonsensical tangent, supposing my beef was about movies Mormons decide to see, or not. That was never the point. My point was it didn’t have nudity and Mormons should rely on rumor or the ratings system. I’m assuming most parents, regardless of religion, probably think the same way.
What is with our society trying to bring everyone down to their level? So Jeannie, it has to to be a G rated Spongebob or you can put trash in it? You might be surprised to know that a movie can be very trashy without having one ounce of nudity in it. But when you have become desensitized to scum by watching scummier things, then I can see you logic, “well it isn’t the worst thing I have seen.” When you have to justify something by comparing it to something crappier,…… then you have a weak argument. I don’t know you decide, does this sound intelligent, “Eating donuts all day long can’t be that bad, it has flour and eggs and milk in it, which is all good for you, and it isn’t at all as bad as straight sugar all day long.” UMMMMMMMM So your saying you walk out of those kind of movies feeling better about yourself or your life? With a greater knowledge to become something better, or try harder?
The purpose of a risque movie is not to take you to the bottom rung of the trash ladder in one movie, but to move you down a couple rungs each time until you justify everything. And just for the record, not all rumors are trashy, that is just a sly attempt on your part to once again justify trashy behavior and put down those who are attempting to climb the ladder….. because we all know that misery loves company.
Natalie, I appreciate your passion and concern, but you are missing the point. I am a Mormon and this story, Potter’s supposed nudity, originated and was fueled in Utah. Period. My irritation is nobody took the time to research the story, it was pure fuel to the flames by KSL and it worked.
I am a practicing, active member of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints and have two kids, so I do care about what content is in movies. What I don’t care for is wild, unsubstantiated rumor, and that’s what this Potter story has been from day one. Nobody is saying run in blindly, but on the same token, wait until all facts are presented before rushing to judgement.
I am an active member of the LDS church as well, and if this stupid stuff originated from those of the LDS faith…then shame on you! If we are worried about something like this…and I would be worried to take my kids to a show that has nudity in it, but it’s up to my husband & I to find out the facts…if we are really intent on taking our kids to the show and we are worried about the content….then it is up to US to find out the facts and then decide.
I think that readers might respond in a more favorable manner to your posts if you didn’t talk to them as if they know nothing.
” A movie can be trashy without nudity.” Say what? Maybe its my fault– I should have clarified better. We all depend on other people to make our decisions. We need to start making our own about what is best for us. Sure we have church, our parents, our spouses etc, to help guide us– but in the end it is us who needs to decide. If you don’t feel good about a movie– then leave it. If you are unsure about –don’t attend. If you wonder about the content– then find out from one that really knows– not rumors(gossip). I call food manufacturers often about ingredient questions.
I am a member of the LDS church, and I get a chuckle from Andy’s comments, because nine times out of ten he is right. I also know that more often than not, our members do not live up to the standards they preach.
As for rumors— I’m sorry- but they are gossips nasty cousin.
Very well said!!
Wait… movies can be trashy without having an ounce of nudity? Interesting. I’m truly surprised to know that. Glad you came along to flame the comments section. Geeze Natalie. Where you’d crawl out from, The Angry Chick’s Toilet Bowl of Unwarranted Anger For The Quickly Offended?
“The purpose of a risque movie is not to take you to the bottom rung of the trash ladder in one movie, but to move you down a couple rungs each time until you justify everything.”
I didn’t know that either. Hollywood writers, directors and actors have been trying to get me to justify everything this whole time? THAT explains why my wife and I don’t’ share the same email address. We’ve been justified into thinking we’re safe with our own when all along it leads to trash,filth and gingivitis! Thank you Nat. Your bat-shit craziness–that wicked streak of judgmental condemnation you’re heaping on people you don’t know– has caused me to see the light. Sadly, that light is the bitter glow of all the hate that’s gonna burn you up.
Thank goodness for knee-jerk reactionaries like you, Nat-Nat-Natalie. I’m just sorry your hubby has a porn/donut problem.
Hit a raw nerve Jason? Your response was much more immature and full of name calling. And just for the record, my hubby is one of the ONLY guys I know who doesn’t have a porn problem. Want to know why, because we cut out risque movies which deceive and control the weak and stupid. You know falsely accusing other people and judging them is a dead give away of a guilty conscience. I doubt it really makes you feel any better either, you might want to start with admitting you have a porn problem and getting a counselor if you want to boost that self esteem.
As far as calling me a angry hater, go back and read all of Andy’s posts which you are defending, they are loaded with Mormon criticism and justifying “trashy movies that disguise themselves as “Okay” ( In Andy’s opinion) because they have no outright nudity in them”. If your wondering what I’m talking about, go and read his post about how “Hell Hath No Fury Like a Moron (Mormon?) Who Doesn’t Get Ratings” I couldn’t comment over there because the comment section is closed. But my comments apply to this article as well.
As for you Andy, sorry if I appear to be missing the point, but I don’t usually try to insult religions or groups of people to make a point that while parents should be cautioned, it isn’t as bad as it is being made out to be. I think that is definite grounds for defending myself. The only reason I found your site at all is because my husband was invited to early showings on Friday with a work group, and he asked me to research the movie (because we do have standards and a brain, and not everything goes), but because kidsinmind doesn’t have it up yet, I looked to see if there was any questionable content in it, and instead found questionable content regarding mormons. I actually really appreciate your calm, reasonable response and explanation. I’m sorry if I seemed offended, but after even the “Twihards” comment, I was not sure if your site was intended to displace rumors, or criticize utah mormons. I have never seen twilight and don’t intend on it, but just for the record, most if not all of the twilight lovers I know aren’t mormons, and half of them don’t live in utah. All in all, I am glad I found your site and can safely say the nudity rumor is full of crap, me and my husband just aren’t in to that cheap entertainment.
Nat, I think Jason has a point. Your comments don’t sound very Christlike. Calling people who watch movies weak and stupid is petty and immature. Furthmore, I think you need to re-read my posts you call into question. I don’t criticize the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints at any juncture. I criticize churchgoers who use the ratings system as a morality compass instead of defining their own standards and finding out for themselves what the content of a movie is or isn’t.
Beware heaping generalizations on masses of people, Natalie. If you re-read my posts without your angry, me-against-the-world glasses, I think you’ll see that my commentary is not only spot on, but measured and far from inflamatory.
At any rate, thanks for visiting and reading.
Jason,
why do you have to be so rude? Why can’t this be about giving our opinions or thoughts, without being so rude?
hahahahahaha. Are you kidding? MY comments don’t sound Christlike? You seem to rate comments about as good as you rate movies.
Now I’m no English Professor, but I fail to see where I said that people who watch movies in general are weak and stupid (straw man argument?),
However, I can find multiple examples of where you do outright make “Heaping generalizations on masses of people” by insulting Mormons(((you do use the word mormons do you not? Is that considered a heaping generalization? What about Twihard? You seem to be exempt from your own advice, and falsely accusing others, or just trying to shift negative attention.))) as a whole, because none of us can seem to follow a rating system, or because some of us WOULD classify a movie as trashy, where you would approve of and defend it. (Social Network?) So we must all be blindly stupid and thus only following the prophets letter of the law and avoid all R rated movies, or do you think that questioning a PG-13 movie with shady content falls more into the category of following the spirit of the law, and deciding for ourselves what drives the spirit away. Isn’t that the exact thing you claim to be for but are insulting people who do this in all of your comments???? Seems to me you are more out to insult anyone who disagrees with you in general because you contradict yourself a lot . …R, PG, G, or regular old T.V…I don’t know what is good or bad, Im just a mind numb mormon zombie….You tell me the right answer, or should I just start calling you President Andy, since your advice is “Spot On and Measured.”
Heaven forbid we err on the side of caution and miss a life altering experience by NOT going to a questionable movie…….
Think about it.
Where I have I insulted Mormons? I am a Mormon. You seem to forget that. As for your exact quote, this is what you said: “…because we cut out risque movies which deceive and control the weak and stupid.” That’s not a nice or Christlike comment. Risqué is also a subjective term depending on personal taste and standards. Make sense? As for Twihard, I don’t find that term insulting and either do Twilight fans. Twihard is a coupling of Twilight and diehard, i.e. a diehard Twilight fan. Nice try, though.
As for your other arguments on my posts and comments about ratings, you once again miss the point. You are so caught up in defense of your narrow-minded, self-righteousness that you miss the bulk and foundation of what I’m saying. So I’ll let you stew in your frumpy pot of anger and contempt, meanwhile I continue to live my life with a smile, laugh and make sure to treat others with the respect they deserve, particularly when it comes to brushing them with wide swathes of cantankerous, mean paint.
Ignorance is bliss. Keep on with your empty insults and nothing to back them up with after you get shut down.
I’m well aware of the fact that you are a mormon and it doesn’t change your authority to make insulting mass generalizations towards them.
Weak and stupid is in reference to people who go to movies who are “risque” for their standards, and then can’t handle the consequences of not being able to control their thoughts and actions and become subject to the flesh and addictions. Thought that was a pretty clear statement in regards to Jason’s comment. Not un-christlike statement, but plainly true. Too true and plain to stomach for some I guess. Wonder if it is because it pierces them to the very center, but then again it is prophesied to anger the wicked. Is that un Christlike? However if you want to argue Christlike statements go back and read Jason’s post and many of your own, they seem much more blatantly rude and un-Christlike, and that “Chrstlike” label and accusation you keep using seems more of an attempt on your part to divert all of the negative attention that is cast on you caught in all of your contradictions. It’s kind of like one of those “cure-all” labels you can slap on someone when you are losing pathetically.
I’m glad to know that you do not let my comments ruin your self esteem. It would seem foolish to base one’s happiness on some mere comments from someone who disagrees with you. Good thing you didnt prejudge me and assume that I did that, it wouldnt seem very Christlike…
Don’t even reply. Ive had my fun for the day and am on to more productive things…..
Yawn.
I’m pretty sure Christ wouldn’t even be having this conversation…..
Because I am not supposed to reply– I will direct this to everyone but Nat–
Educate yourself on your forms of entertainment. Not from internet jibberish or what so and so said to so and so– find a good source. If you feel uncomfortable– then leave–if you don’t feel like its something you should see– then don’t go! I for one will never let someone else be my moral compass.
Andy– I appreciate your humor. If we cannot laugh and see the humor in some of our behaviors–then we are lying to ourselves or are just plain old boring.
Its sad how fast and untrue rumor can spread–what if it had been something of a greater importance– or about me or you.
I guess, according to Natalie, I’m one of the douchebags in the great and spacious building pointing my guilty finger at her downtrodden, Celestial-pointed self on the straight and narrow. And to that all I can say is at least the building is air-conditioned.
Eat drink and be merry, for tomorrow we die! YEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEHAAAAAW!
I agree, I am pretty sure Christ would not be sitting here carrying on about this converstaion like this. Can we please just move on to something else? Have a great day everyone!!
Andy,
…… “meanwhile I continue to live my life with a smile, laugh and make sure to treat others with the respect they deserve, particularly when it comes to brushing them with wide swathes of cantankerous, mean paint.”
So you are going to treat others with the respect they deserve? Ummmm, you mean like Jason treated Natalie? With THAT kind of respect? WOW!! Nice of you!!
I’m not quite sure how to respond to that, Valerie. It feels like I’m being baited. I’ll let my comments that you quoted stand as they are written.
No I am not meaning to bait you. Sorry. I just mean that…in essence…Jason also has been very disrespectful & rude to Natalie, so maybe the comment ” giving people the respect they deserve” needs to also be for Jason as well. Because he has been pretty nasty with the sarcastic & rude remarks. I’m just saying that lets not be railing on Natalie for NOT giving respect, when Jason has been just as nasty with his comments to her. I was in no way trying to set you up or bait you at all. Sorry if it came out that way.
It’s all good. I think you and I are on the same page, Valerie.
While I don’t agree with the name calling and lashing back that Natalie did to Jason….I certainly do not see that Jason has shown Natalie ANY respect that you are talking about Andy. I think Jason needs to chill out a bit himself!
Sometimes, Valerie, respect earns respect and knee-jerk reactionism, outright, condescending and unwarranted nastiness needs to be met with the same and called out. Natalie qualified.
Then, of course, it just became sport.
I’m sorry I offended you.
Hi Andy, just wanted to thank you for the clarification. I am a little less “Molly” than my husband so when I heard the rumor my heart sunk that I might be seeing Potter without him, and that our three fanatical boys would (in their minds) have to choose which parent to side with. He asked me to come find info on the scenes and when I googled it your post came up, thankfully! I’m also grateful to have stumbled upon your site so we now have another resource to use in deciding if a movie is ok for us or not.
Regards, your newest follower, Sallygirl
You are welcome, Sally. The PG-13 is well-deserved. I was more concerned about some of the tense, frighting stuff more than I was about the “brief sensuality.” Generally speaking, I think sexual content is more harmful to kids when it’s wrapped in jokes and humor, because it makes those situations seem like they have no consequences. I’ll stop there, though, as I could talk ratings all day. It’s what I studied for two years in my master’s program.
Thanks for visiting and I look forward to seeing you around more!
WOW! My problem is that people are going crazy for no reason! The earlier commment about the books is right on! The books are progressive and so the first couple of books are a little more playful but like life they progess in maturity. I can’t wait to see the movie! I love the Harry Potter books and movies. Andy brings up a good point about people speaking before knowing! The only people that have the right to say how good or bad this movie is the ones who have actually seen the movie. Once you have seen it then tell us what you think!
Amen, Kathy. Notice how nobody outside of Utah is crapping themselves. Again, I point my finger at KSL.com’s Cleon Wall. He knew exactly what he was doing. Anything for readers and controversy. His story wasn’t “helpful” because he HAD NOT SEEN THE MOVIE, nor did anyone he interviewed. Pure conjecture and pure sensationalism. Lame.
90% of Harry Potter is the lame for me and my refined sensibilities of righteousness, but I won’t begrudge anyone liking the movies and the last one was pretty damn good. It would have been better if there was some hardcore nudity and wizard on wizard action, though.
Ah, well.
Since The Hatemonger has left the room (but not for long, I’d bet). Whew! That Nat character comes off as probably one of the most miserable, bitter and egotistically evil human beings I’ve ever had the misfortune to encounter on the internet and I’m not one quick to judge because miserable people are usually awesome. Hopefully, she scampered back to The Herald Journal hate boards where she can sharpen her claws and stroke her self-righteous ego for doing “more productive things” like shitting her nutty misery all over hapless bystanders/those who find joy in eating it for breakfast.
Still, I’m available for message board hugs all day. Mmmmmm.
In the mean time, Andy– I sure would appreciate your help with my porn problem. Muchos Gracias!
I’m sorry- but out of all of this hub-bub, I find the comment,”90% of Harry Potter is the lame”, the most offensive. Breaks my heart.:)
Ummm…..people….can we be nice please? This is getting WAY out of hand with making such sarcastic & rude comments about each other.
I wasn’t meaning to offend! I was being waaaaaay beyond sarcastic! How could anyone not love Harry Potter! You missed my smiley face!
Ok. 75% lame?
I will accept that :)
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