{"id":1205,"date":"2024-06-20T02:41:53","date_gmt":"2024-06-20T02:41:53","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/us.celebrity2000.com\/index.php\/2024\/06\/20\/naked-acts\/"},"modified":"2024-06-20T02:41:53","modified_gmt":"2024-06-20T02:41:53","slug":"naked-acts","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/us.celebrity2000.com\/index.php\/2024\/06\/20\/naked-acts\/","title":{"rendered":"Naked Acts"},"content":{"rendered":"

Contains language around sexual abuse<\/em><\/p>\n

Bridgett M. Davis\u2019 1996 film \u201cNaked Acts,\u201d recently rediscovered by Maya S. Cade, presented by Julie Dash,\u00a0Kino Lorber and Milestone Films, is an independent film that takes its audience through the independent filmmaking process and the life of a generational actress. It is triumphant, jarring and pulls its audience into an intimate storyline that demands to be witnessed.\u00a0<\/p>\n

The film starts off with narration by the main character, Cicely, played by Jake-Ann Jones, who is writing a letter to her mother who is a former erotica actress. Young Cicely is routinely sexually assaulted by her mother\u2019s lover and forced into doing the \u201cnaked acts\u201d her mother would do as an actress. The evil duality in the beginning is gut wrenching, setting the stage for what will eventually become a courageous film.\u00a0<\/p>\n

As an adult, Cicely, wants to be an actress but not like her mother, who she deems lowly for her choice in film roles. An old boyfriend offers Cicely a role in an \u201cart film\u201d in which she is supposed to be nude. She is reluctant, convincing the producer to let her remain clothed throughout the film’s entirety. The \u201cultra ultra low budget\u201d production is also Cicely\u2019s debut after a major weight loss journey that she endured for 10 years. Though Cicely\u2019s weight loss has rendered her Hollywood-approved skinny, she is still determined to dictate how she wants to be seen on the big screen. Her willingness to stay on the project, illuminates her willingness to expose her newly found confidence, and to keep her body sacred. Even today, the idea of self-preservation as a Black woman actress, in the entertainment industry, remains a bold and honorable character choice by Bridgett M. Davis.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Marketed as a \u201cfresh, funny, and original\u201d production, \u201cNaked Acts,\u201d surprisingly, doesn\u2019t become comedic until 35 minutes in. The producer\u2019s annoyance with his novice cast is tickling, especially during a silent acting scene soundtracked to anarchic orchestra music.\u00a0<\/p>\n

The 4k restoration highlights the luminous skin of the all-Black cast beautifully. The alarming red wig worn by Cicely parallels perfectly with the neighboring blue-light scenes. It\u2019s an evocative, eye-catching effect that imbues Cicely with the kind of fiercely independent character she displays for much of the film, furthered here by the keen sense of lighting and fashion.\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n

The pursuit of safety in the film is tangible. Cicely\u2019s cries for her father, she often reminisces about the safety she felt around him (as opposed to how unsafe she felt around her mother\u2019s lover), act as her building a safe haven for herself, pulling the audience through her own metamorphosis. Throughout the film, the camera homes in on Cicely\u2019s insular nature with closeup shots, and as she opens up, she becomes comfortable with naked self-portraiture. In this visual journey the camera doesn\u2019t so much leer, but quietly studies and encourages her.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Contains language around sexual abuse Bridgett M. Davis\u2019 1996 film \u201cNaked Acts,\u201d recently rediscovered by Maya S. Cade, presented by Julie Dash,\u00a0Kino Lorber and Milestone Films, is an independent film that takes its audience through the independent filmmaking process and the life of a generational actress. It is triumphant, jarring and pulls its audience into …<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[25],"tags":[33,45],"class_list":["post-1205","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-comedy-movies","tag-comedy","tag-drama"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/us.celebrity2000.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1205","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/us.celebrity2000.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/us.celebrity2000.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/us.celebrity2000.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/us.celebrity2000.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=1205"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/us.celebrity2000.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1205\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/us.celebrity2000.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=1205"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/us.celebrity2000.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=1205"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/us.celebrity2000.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=1205"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}