The new Netflix show “Sex Education” feels so refreshing because for the longest time, there has been a dearth of cultural properties that specifically deal with the realities of sex. Sure, there’s sex in film and TV, but in recent history, there has been an absence of content that treats sex (and the complicated feelings that it can bring up) not as an aside, but as the main event. From “Fatal Attraction” to “Sex and the City” to “Knocked Up” to “Black Panther,” we trace the history — on screen and off — of how we went from lots of bad sex to no sex to hopefully some good sex moving forward.

Discussed this week:

• "Sex Education" (created by Laurie Nunn, 2019)
• "Fatal Attraction" (directed by Adrian Lyne, 2019)
• "Basic Instinct" (directed by Paul Verhoeven, 1992)
• "Color of Night" (directed by Richard Rush, 1994)
• "The Witches of Eastwick" (directed by George Miller, 1987)
• "Sex and the City" (created by Darren Star, 1998-2004)
• Bill Clinton denying his sexual relationship with Monica Lewinsky (1998)
• "Knocked Up" (directed by Judd Apatow, 2007)
• "X-Men" (directed by Bryan Singer, 2000)
• "Black Panther" (directed by Ryan Coogler, 2018)