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Source: https://writers.stackexchange.com/a/40115
License name: CC BY-SA 3.0
License URL: https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/3.0/

I think the nude scene in Titanic is 'tasteful' because of the motivations of the two characters. Sure, they are attracted to each other, but Rose at her heart is rebelling against her mother and her fiancé--and we all agree that that man is horrid. Jack has been established as a good man. He's an artist. He has drawn nudes before, and his goal is art and form (I believe he expresses this, talks about the french prostitute's hands). He blushes when Rose is nude. It becomes OK for her to be nude, because he is suddenly very conscious of the intimacy.

So, there is a lot of work ahead of time to establish that these characters' motivations are other than get naked and get some action. And when she is nude, there is a decent response from each of them to acknowledge the tenderness of the moment. This is like finding the camera angles, but in words.

I don't know that you can ever watch a nude scene with parents or children and not find it awkward, but I think if you are looking for tasteful then the answer is fairly straightforward. Make the scene not about nudity, but about something else, and have the characters acknowledge through reaction, words, choices, that this is a tender and intimate moment.

Original score: 4