This summer, a wave of new movies is zeroing in on generational attitudes about sex, offering a raunchy antidote to the so-called gen Z celibacy. From One Night Only to The Invite, these films explore the tension between sexual progressiveness and conservatism among young people.
The Rise of Sexual Themes in Film
Nearly a decade after alarm bells first rang about gen Z's apparent lack of interest in sex, culture seems to be recalibrating. "Smut" literature is on the rise, prestige TV now depicts OnlyFans models, and indie films have turned towards kink. This summer, through confused young protagonists and their sexual misadventures, movies are addressing generational attitudes head-on.
One Night Only: A Dystopian Romcom
One Night Only, a new romcom, imagines a world where Congress has outlawed premarital sex, lifting the ban for one night a year—essentially enacting a purge for single people's sexual freedom. On this night, Owen (Callum Turner) and Allie (Monica Barbaro) meet cute after a series of missed encounters. The film presents obstacles like the $2,000 price tag for condoms, but it misunderstands today's sex recession as libidinal when it's really existential, says the review.
I Want Your Sex and The Invite: Alienation and Desire
Other films this summer understand that sex can't solve the fundamental alienation of modern life. In Gregg Araki's I Want Your Sex, Elliot (Cooper Hoffman) is a studio assistant to provocative artist Erika Tracy (Olivia Wilde). A doomed threesome with Elliot's roommate Apple (Chase Sui Wonders) disrupts the dynamic, showing that even half-naked, they might as well be worlds apart. The Invite, starring and directed by Wilde, shares a similar dynamic: a younger person becomes entangled with an older, sexy woman who shows them self-knowledge through desire.
Teenage Sex and Death at Camp Miasma: A Nuanced Take
Jane Schoenbrun's Teenage Sex and Death at Camp Miasma presents sex, death, and art as intertwined human impulses. Kris (Hannah Einbinder), a 29-year-old filmmaker, is tasked with rebooting the Camp Miasma slasher franchise that prompted her "queer awakening." Through her relationship with muse Billy Presley (Gillian Anderson), Kris learns that to arrive at artistic epiphany or sexual climax, one must let go of control. The film strikes a more sincere tone, addressing generational concerns in nuanced ways.
The Value of These Films
These movies don't present zoomers with a model for how to be a young person who has sex; they're more like cautionary guides. But that's where their value lies. After decades of unrealistic depictions of sex on screen and years when it seemed sex might disappear from movies altogether, it's a relief to see sex return to screen—messy awkwardness and all.
