List of science fiction works containing nudity
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Nudity, frequently found in science fiction, often symbolizes inner or outer situations. In such cases, the circumstance that individuals, groups or entire nations are not clothed is not simply an expression of a natural form of living. It may be metaphorical or allegorical, or may have other significance within the narrative. A plenitude of positive or negative meanings can be attributed to such nudity, such as perfection, beauty, simplicity, innocence, childishness, frankness, but also poverty, humiliation or defencelessness.
The following are some examples of the symbolic, or otherwise thematically significant, use of nudity:
- H. G. Wells presents in his utopia Men Like Gods (1923), largely a work of social philosophy, a mankind in another dimension that has developed to an advanced stage of beauty, intelligence, sociability and peace. The almost complete nudity stands for the ideal of a perfect life.
- In Odd John by Olaf Stapledon humans who have evolved beyond ordinary humanity abandon the use of clothes.
- In the classic 1950s movie Forbidden Planet, beautiful, young Altaira swims naked and wears scanty clothing. This helps to emphasize the Arcadian or Edenic nature of life on her planet, while also highlighting both her essential innocence and her potential for sexual experience.
- In some novels and stories of Robert A. Heinlein, especially in his satirical Stranger in a Strange Land (1961), nudity serves as the symbol of an alternative form of living, as a protest against the tradition, and as a sign of the liberation from controls. Heinlein's criticism of the modern lifestyle, however, is imparted with a wink. In the same author's Job: A Comedy of Justice, casual nudity indicates basic maturity and lack of shame.
- In Marion Zimmer Bradley's lengthy The Mists of Avalon (1982), nudity appears only in a short episode, but the meaning characterizes the whole story. Nudity here symbolizes naturalness and innocence as well as threat and vulnerability.
- In several early stories by John Varley characters wear skin-tight reflective force fields over their naked bodies instead of spacesuits, so that they resemble animated nude statues. When two force fields touch they merge together, which allows wearers to touch skin to skin, and even make love, no matter how hostile the external environment may be. In this context, nudity is used to emphasize the ability of technology to conquer hostile environments; the wearers may appear naked, but they are no longer (at least physically) vulnerable. Much the same mechanism is used by Dan Simmons in his Hyperion Cantos.
- In Gene Roddenberry's Star Trek: The Next Generation (1987-1994), it is established that the Betazoid race conduct weddings in the nude as a celebration of love. Nudity is expected of the bride, groom, wedding party, and guests (not mandatory, just customary). In one episode, however, Lwaxana Troi decides to break her engagement to a groom (from a stuffy, protocol-obsessed people who are not interested in fun) by showing up in the buff at the wedding ceremony. Conversely, Ferengi females are forbidden to wear clothing, a topic more fully explored in Star Trek: Deep Space 9.
- Piers Anthony uses nudity in the Apprentice Adept series (Split Infinity (1980), Blue Adept (1981), Juxtaposition (1982)) to separate the social status of the inhabitants of the planet Proton. A Serf (a kind of indentured servant) is required to wear no clothing except in the privacy of their quarters. The political leaders, Citizens, may choose to wear clothing.
- Kim Stanley Robinson makes extensive use of social nudity in his Mars and Three Californias trilogies. Over time, mores change to the extent that people are no longer ashamed to be seen by family and friends without clothes for swimming or communal bathing.
- "Cloak of Anarchy" by Larry Niven uses the public nudity of one young woman as the story's leitmotif. In it, a technology that prevents the use of force enables a community where peaceful anarchy prevails. The lifestyle of the subculture includes nudity; however, when the technology fails, the woman finds herself helpless against sexual assault by multiple males. Niven has stated, and makes the point here, that he considers pacifism unfeasible and that "human nature" can never really change.
- In Watchmen, Dr Manhattan transcends mankind and its limits and so stops using clothing.
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