Wounded perhaps (Hippies? That's at least as bad as emo!), but not offended.
For what it's worth, here's my take on the rise of commercial porn:
In my view, the advent of The Pill, too many young people, various court cases (Jacobellis v. Ohio, Roe v. Wade, Miller v. California), and probably some other things I don't know about was a confluence of events, a perfect storm if you will, that made open discusion of sexuality in general and pornography in particular significantly less marginal than it had been only a few years earlier.
Whatever the moral misapprehensions of the era, the new freedom to show porn in movie theaters and a certain freedom from opprobrium (both legal and social) for both makers and viewers gave rise to climate in which we actually had the phenomenon of people standing in line, in public, to see a dirty movie. While there was plenty of trash produced in this era I'm sure, there was at least some economic broad incentive to take financial and creative risks, and in inflation adjusted dollars, porn budgets have never exceeds the monies spent in this era. If you haven't read them already, the essays from Richard Corliss and Colt Spencer I linked to earlier in this thread are worth a look.
But the door slammed shut on all this pretty quick. Contributing factors no particular order: humiliation in Viet Nam, oil shock, herpes, HIV/AIDS, VCR, The Meese Commission, all these conspired to change the economic and social climate in which porn was produced and viewed.
What we've seen in the intervening quarter century we've seen constant downward financial pressure. To my eyes, the only creative response to this came from John Stagliano, who understood better than anyone else that video is not film, and requires a different creative conceit. But before too long, his insight was devoured by the rapid rise of computer technology. Lowered barriers to create opportunities for some, but they entry create an environment of diminishing returns. Film, even shot-on-video pornographic film, is a quintessentially commercial art form, and without economic incentive to take financial and creative risks, it stagnates and dies.
I'm not saying those incentives don't exist now. Pirates seems like it just might be something (at least a little) different, and I'm expecting a screener any day now. If nothing else, it shows that someone thinks there's still money to be made by spending more money, instead of less. And of course I'd offer my own work as an example of a nominally successful financial and creative risk. But "the industry" of today doesn't to have the same broad inscentives to take risks that the "porn chic" era had, at least not when viewed through the rose-colored glasses of nostaligia.
As to whether or not what I do is porn, I'm charmed to see people wrestle with this question. Well maybe "wrestle" too strong a word, but it's nice to have created something that makes people think about it. And I'll readily cop to trying to have it both ways. The label is only important in as much as it serves the commercial success of the work; letting me keep my labs bills paid and my house warm through these long, cold, damp East Coast Winters. A warm house with a well-stocked pantry is as much a source of artist freedom as anything else.
The technology we have in making porn today and video quality, the DVD players and DVD format have added to the enjoyment of porn. The internet has made porn far more accessible. That's all good. But......
Sex hasn't changed much over the last 2000 years, but the way it is depicted in porn is moving at light speed and some of the choking, slapping, gagging, double anal, double vaginal, anal and pussy gaping have exceeded my anatomical knowledge of erogenous zones and my ability to wrap my brain around why that is erotic.
Tony, I have an unreal urge to flame the hell out of you right now, but all I'll say is I sincerely wish the best of luck to you and your future projects.
The majority of your posts in the thread, moreover, have shed new light for me in understanding why so many American Artists are so "blasé" about their craft (think John Ford: "I'm John Ford and I make Westerns," and if you and Mike Quasar will give me some rope, "I'm Mike Quasar and I make gonzo films."). Regardless, this discussion has been very informative on a number of levels. Thank you. BTW, I even learned a new word: sanctimonious.
"I do hope that the "end user" has a subtle appreciation for the things that I do different in a movie as opposed to the Acme Gonzo company ..."
Y'know, ever since you wrote that I've had spastic, uncontrollable giggles every few hours imagining Wilie E. Coyote receiving his a big crate marked "Gonzo porn director supplies" @ his desert digs -- with all the standard Acme Co. results!
Lets face it, most people lack the taste and sophistication to appreciate the finer things in life. This makes them a prime target for about 90% of all the porn out there. This is also the reason why good, at least somewhat sophisticated porn, doesn't sell.
The curse of the capitalist system, people get what they pay for, and that usually means they get crap.
Me, I'm just thankful there exists people like dac and TonyC who actually care, not that that necessarily mean I will like what they do, or like Qazarman, who at least tries to make as good product as he can in the given context. At the very least it makes almost everything else stand out a little more in its mediocrity.
Clark, maybe you should have more respect for the people who distribute your movies, so you even have distribution. If you are so happy doing what you are doing, why so pissy and bitter all the time. You are the biggest whiner this business has. How many deals have you lost over your pissing here on adt and abroad? Have some steak and lobster catering on me my friend.
Who was giving the reach-around while who typed? Jules or Chico? Or did you forget you were actually posting under your own name this time, Jules?
I'll only take this much of the bait ... should I "show respect for my distributors" by giving them the same cynical, lookalike slop so many others are, to further push the bubble economy of porn to its inevitable breakdown?
As for respect for distributors, Jules, I hear that despite their classy public response, not everybody at E.A. was happy with your little surprise & the way you engineered it ...
But you! Are! The King! of Gonzo!
Tell you what, Jules, I'll buy you some steak & lobster if on your own you can parse what I've written in this thread & explain it to me in your own words. C'mon, when you felt you had to be a big man & give me the finger at AAE I responded with open hand & heart, offering once again gratis lessons to help you work towards that GED!
Pure insult is not satire, Mr. "I got a Screenwriting Degree so I'm better than you all, SOMEDAY I'll escape over the hill & leave all you cartoons in the dust!"
(For those who never saw it in print or heard it from his mouth, Chico used to "justify" his racist "satires" of Lex Steele & his harassment of me & others back when he had the Lukeford.com bully pulpit with the reasoning that "All the people in this business are cartoons, so it doesn't matter what you say about them.")
Anyway, you & $JJ$ must be the hot new couple of porn -- again. It's a love story, that's for sure! Best of luck in all your mutual ventures! I'm off to work.
but the crap in communism was a bit "crapier" than crap today
