I just watched this flick tonight after ordering the DVD online. It was all a mellow affair with the grainy screen clearly showing the age of this ancient film. The 'Harrad Experiment' is all about the "sexual awakening" of young people back then. There's the modesty, the insecurities and, of course, the self consciousness about attending a college such as that.
There are those who willingly fit into that type of course, but others who don't. The nudity at the college's swimming pool clearly showed those who were modest compared to those who didn't give a damn.
There's a lot of psychological babble about it all and a planned manipulation on exploring the human reactions to jealousy and the social interactions that came with it. This was clearly an experiment and it did have its juicy moments, most notably when Don Johnson comes out of the shower after meeting his "new roommate".
I admit I was bored most of the time. It was all just a talky affair with scenes of nudity thrown in once in a while. Those students were apparently all virgins at the onset of this course and had trouble in dealing with promiscuities.
They were apparently raised on watching old TV shows where couples slept in separate beds and sex was a major taboo. That clearly shows in this outdated flick though there are some students who were comfortable about the arrangements and the nudity involved. It was indeed a clash with those who weren't.
This is indeed outdated stuff compared to how the world is now. Sex was indeed a taboo topic with North American society until the late 1960s and the 1970s came along and this old film explored the new explicitness involved in that. It also does so in a highly self conscious way.
Something like this belongs in a time capsule to be analyzed later. A good curiosity item though and a nostalgic one at that. Something like the "Harrad Experiment" would come across as completely laughable today if a college dared to set up something like that now. North American society has come a long way since then. The prude attitudes of the old era are no longer with us.
There are those who willingly fit into that type of course, but others who don't. The nudity at the college's swimming pool clearly showed those who were modest compared to those who didn't give a damn.
There's a lot of psychological babble about it all and a planned manipulation on exploring the human reactions to jealousy and the social interactions that came with it. This was clearly an experiment and it did have its juicy moments, most notably when Don Johnson comes out of the shower after meeting his "new roommate".
I admit I was bored most of the time. It was all just a talky affair with scenes of nudity thrown in once in a while. Those students were apparently all virgins at the onset of this course and had trouble in dealing with promiscuities.
They were apparently raised on watching old TV shows where couples slept in separate beds and sex was a major taboo. That clearly shows in this outdated flick though there are some students who were comfortable about the arrangements and the nudity involved. It was indeed a clash with those who weren't.
This is indeed outdated stuff compared to how the world is now. Sex was indeed a taboo topic with North American society until the late 1960s and the 1970s came along and this old film explored the new explicitness involved in that. It also does so in a highly self conscious way.
Something like this belongs in a time capsule to be analyzed later. A good curiosity item though and a nostalgic one at that. Something like the "Harrad Experiment" would come across as completely laughable today if a college dared to set up something like that now. North American society has come a long way since then. The prude attitudes of the old era are no longer with us.