Traci Lords

I suspect they will present the industry's view only to puncture it. I don't get the sense they are dismissing or questioning her abuse which is well covered but I'm assuming the tone will darken as the series progresses.

I do think Traci's narrative about her behaviour in the industry is disengenous (see the claim about her first use of coke) but then she was an abused 15-year-old let loose in porn so none of her behaviour is that surprising.

It is a shame she felt the need to dissemble but that is the nature of presenting a victim narrative in the US. Ambiguities would not have been welcome in her attempts to 'reform' and enter the mainstream.

Edited by - BlackSix on 7/19/2020 12:35:28 PM

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(Side note, I tried to start investigating myself as I was writing a paper about the edited re-releases and even tried to track down the people that produced the Talk Dirty to Me films starring Lords. Alas, no luck, and I was informed that they likely wouldn't want to talk about it. Understandable. So, I am glad we finally have some insight into the various feelings and thoughts industry people had/have).

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I think I was assuming the production rate of the film era where she wouldn't have been able to shoot that many features in 3 years.

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As an addendum, I would note that I haven't heard the full podcast yet, just the 4-5 episodes that have been released to date. In the Vanity Fair article, Lili says something to the effect that the last several episodes are very much on Traci's side.

Edited by - however on 8/3/2020 9:44:52 PM

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A lot of women enter the industry at 18 and a street smart 15 year-old seems likely to pass muster. There were performers like Velvet Summers who looked a lot younger than Traci and she was of age.

By the mid-80s the industry was pretty big business thanks to VHS and from what I've read the mob's influence on the West Coast wasn't as prominent as it was on the East. There are stories of some performers starting when they were 17 in the 70s but even during the Wild West of the early to mid-70s when porn was more underground a 15-year-old seems to have been beyond the pale.

I can't imagine many producers or directors, knowing how dangerous it was to shoot someone underage, would have risked it knowingly.

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I strongly suspect that her "step-father" molested her. If it's true that he masturbated during her first shoot, that should have been a red flag. But I don't consider Traci a reliable witness, and I think she may be the only source for this story.

I tend to believe the industry who said they were shocked.

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I see no reason to doubt Traci's story of abuse either, her stepdad who brought her to the meeting with Jim South knew she was underage, kind of amazing he was allowed to walk but obviously the LAPD and Feds were more interested in going after the industry.

Edited by - BlackSix on 8/9/2020 6:41:52 PM

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So the podcast is taking another turn with its most recent episode, as I suspected they seem to be trying to find a more ambigious truth that is neither anti-Traci nor anti-porn.

Surprised to hear David Thomson, the respected if lately curmudgeonly film critic, on the podcast to talk briefly about The Deer Hunter. I love the first hour of that film set in Traci's old hometown, to me it is by far the best part of that film that take a dive once they go off to Vietnam.

Edited by - BlackSix on 8/13/2020 9:27:10 AM

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My main point was that if he masturbated during the shoot, the porn community couldn't reasonably claim that they had no idea. I'm skeptical of Traci's allegation, but it's not totally implausible given what we already know about her "step-father".

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Jean Jennings is rumoured to have been 17 when she started although that may just be because she always looked young and played jailbait roles, similar to Velvet Summers.

Edited by - BlackSix on 8/27/2020 8:34:10 PM

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It seems the relevant authorities didn't care about Sharon Mitchell– probably because it wouldn't generate the media spectacle that was they really wanted out of the Traci Lords story. Still, it feels a little odd given how society almost always sensationalizes the issue.

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