Adi Nes, the acclaimed Israeli photographer, incorporates homoeroticism into his art, adding depth and complexity to his compositions. Adi Nes’ series “Soldiers” is a powerful exploration of identity, masculinity, and the complexities of military service in Israeli society. Nes captures the human side of soldiers, going beyond their uniforms to portray them as individuals with emotions and vulnerabilities. Nes’ exploration of homoeroticism critiques societal norms and taboos. Depicting intimate moments between male subjects, he challenges heteronormativity and reveals repressed aspects of same-sex desire. Nes encourages viewers to question their assumptions about sexuality and the constructs that shape it. Nes’ “The Last Supper” recalls Leonardo da Vinci’s The Last Supper, replacing the characters with young male Israeli soldiers. A print sold at auction in Sotheby’s for $264,000 in 2007. Adi Nes
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I’ve lived in Israel and had a lover there, so I adore Nes’s photographs and his critique of the hypermasculine violence of Israeli military culture through the outing of the deeply pervasive homoeroticism found in Israel and in all militaristic male social environments. In my (so far unsuccessful) search for the movie from which the HaPenis clip “Daddy love” was taken, I came across a marvelous film about men, the military, violence, and homosexuality: Moffie (20i9), a South African movie set in 1981 when the Apartheid regime was fighting “communists” from Angola and Nambia along its northern border. “Moffie” means “faggot” in Africaans. The story is about a young English-language recruit with an Africaans surname and his experiences during his 2-year mandatory military service. We learn later that as a boy he discovers his attraction to men, but the deeply felt relationship he forms in the army with a gay, fellow recruit is one that is only expressed twice, when they lie naked together in the freezing cold and wet in a trench for the night, and again when Dylan gives Nicholas a sudden, tender kiss. Dylan is later “outed,” brutalised, and sent off to psychiatric centre to be “rehabilitated.” Beautifully filmed against the harsh South African landscape, accompanied by a gorgeous soundtrack, the film brilliantly brings out the contrast between the kind of brutally toxic masculinity that the current regime in the United States wants to bring back to its military life and the brotherly, loving, sensual masculinity that the soldiers in the film express and share with one another, the kind of bond that is crucial for military success and survival on the battlefield, in contrast to the violent, homophobic Africaans military regime they are being trained to participate in and serve.
This is a film everyone who cares about HaPenis should watch!
It can be streamed free at the following link: https://www.dailymotion.com/video/x973dm6 and is also available for purchase on Amazon Prime and AppleTV+.
The Wikipedia entry on Moffie isn’t great, but provides basic background.