Page 18 - AVN December 2013

WE’VE GOT ISSUES | By Sharan Street
4 4 as rs In Defense of X
t th hi in ng gs s p po or rn n- -b ba sh he er s d do on n
’ ’t t s se ee em m t to o u un nd de er rs st ta an nd d
The past few weeks at the AVN office have been an NSFW orgy of porn as we screen
the movies that have been prenominated for the 2014 AVN Awards, preparing to make
the announcement of final nominees (you’ll find them on AVN.com). Meanwhile, in our
email inboxes, it’s an orgy of a different sort: an orgy of porn-bashing.
Thanks to Google alerts, our mailboxes at AVN are inundated with news items that
show global distaste for adult entertainment. As the United Kingdom’s David Cameron
fights for an opt-in system to filter adult content, two sisters from Nova Scotia start an
online petition asking their government to block access to porn in Canadian homes. In
Illinois, arguments rage about blocking X-rated sites on library computers. And in Los
Angeles, permits for porn production have dropped precipitiously—a development that
Morality in Media applauds, while noting that the best scenario would be to ban porn outright.
If all the vitriol weren’t enough, there’s also the snark. This month has been rife with digs
about porn by critics reviewing sexually edgy mainstream films such as Don Jon and
Nymphomaniac.
Even someone who one would think would know better—former adult star Richard
Pacheco, aka Howie Gordon, who performed back in the Golden Age—is dismissive:
“Today’s stuff is cheaper, it’s down and dirty and there’s no attempt at the story aspect.
It’s just wall-to-wall sex,” he told Salon.com’s Tracy Clark Flory.
Ahem.
We’d like to present some counterweights to the heavy load of societal disapproval
that’s routinely dumped on the adult entertainment industry. Here are four things we’d
like to share with the porn bashers:
The Pizza Guy? He No Longer Delivers. The plot in an adult movie is not, as popu-
lar myth would have it, defined by the arrival of the delivery boy or the plumber.
Especially this year. Whereas in 2010 and 2011 porn was all about parodies and 2012
brought romance to the forefront, this year the dramas have darkened into challenging
cinematic storytelling. Take, for example, B. Skow’s Daddy’s Girls (Girlfriends Films) and
Nica Noelle’s Nobody’s Daughter (Hard Candy Films), two dark dramas that explore
young women’s complex cravings for paternal love. Brad Armstrong’s Underworld
(Wicked Pictures) is set inside the psyche of a critically wounded woman, while Stormy
Daniels’ Wanderlust (also Wicked) chronicles the misadventures of a runaway in Los
Angeles. These are just a few examples of the compelling, emotionally complex stories
told this year, with others coming from the likes of Mile High’s James Avalon, New
Sensations’ Eddie Powell, Wicked Pictures’ Barrett Blade and Evil Angel’s Dana Vespoli.
Forget Family Values. We’ve Got Production Values! Pirated tube site content aside,
adult entertainment does not mandate choppy camera work and bad lighting. Pop in a
DVD of Axel Braun’s Man of Steel: An Axel Braun Parody (Vivid Entertainment Group)
or This Ain’t Homeland XXX (Hustler Video), and revel in the costumes, make-up sets
and cinematography. Get a charge from the gunplay in Robby D.’s Code of Honor and
Skip Trace series (Digital Playground). Or watch Will Ryder’s Grease XXX: A Porn Parody
(Adam & Eve Pictures) or Not South Park XXX (X-Play/Pulse)—you’ll find full-fledged
spoofs with musical numbers you’ll be humming days later.
We Got Your Shades of Grey Right Here. Want to see insightful explorations of
power dynamics in sexual relationships? James Avalon’s Shades of Kink (Sweet Sinner/Mile
High), Nick Orleans’ Perfect Secretary 3: The New Recruit and Jacky St. James’ The
Seduction of Emma Marx (New Sensations Erotic Stories) are three standouts.
This Very Special Olympics Has Its Own Dream Team. As lawyer Paul Cambria said
when defending Evil Angel’s John Stagliano against obscenity charges, adult performers
are sexual athletes who do things the average person is not going to do at home. Like all
athletes, they continue to strive to do better than those who’ve come before them.
Whether in vignettes, all-sex titles or straight-up gonzo, directors like Jules Jordan, John
Stagliano, William H., Mason, Kevin Moore, Mick Blue, Mike Quasar, Bobby Manila
and other veterans continue to find inventive ways to create situations where porn’s
own athletes can bring their best moves and perform at the top of their game.
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EDITOR’S DESK
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