duffy moon

Living in Holland, I would be interested to hear board members opinions on a recent issue which has been holding court and some discussion in the Dutch media this week.

A Dutch public broadcast channel (similar to channel 4) decided to show the uncut version of the 1972 hardcore porn film 'Deep Throat' on telly (last night) and has defended this by saying that it should be seen in an educative context and that younger viewers (16 and over) should be able to make up their own minds about these subjects (sex, drugs, violence) by being able to see and discuss them in a more general arena, i.e., public broadcast.

It will be interesting to see if this discussion continues in the next week or so, and what the eventual fallout of taboo breaking will be.

I would imagine that channel 4 would not get permission to do this in the UK and would probably have its broadcasting license revoked. What is the general consensus? Should this be allowed or not? What would the fallout in the UK be? Dutch society hasn't fallen apart. There are not the cases of violence and sexual murders which seem to pop up every couple of weeks in the news in Britain. So what is the lesson here?

I have mixed feelings on this issue, I hate censorship, and think that pornography is fine, but balk a little at it being shown on public broadcast television. Pay per view is another matter if one wishes to watch it, one should be able to.

A topic worth a discusion perhaps?

GRAEME

Deep Throat is a very stupid film - although it is an interesting footnote in cinema history: a brief moment at which the line between art and porn in mainstream cinema appeared to be blurring.

I don't see why it shouldn't be shown - very late night, lots of warnings. But generally I would see an opening up of the porn floodgates as a retrograde step rather than a liberation - if just for the fact that most porn is shoddy stuff and is almost universally offensive in its use and depiction of women.

The censorship I am more concerned with is political intereference with drama, comedy and, especially, news and current affairs.

Joenoir

Please don't go giving Channel 4 any ideas! It would not be the one off showing, which I would be against, but the effect it would have on other programmes.

Start every day with a smile and get it over with.

Steve Crook

What about its offensive depiction of men? Not all men are pool cleaners or washing machine repairers

Steve

DB7

Didn't Channel4 run a documentary on Deep Throat (or another porn 'classic') a few months ago?

Sadly it's pretty passe today but the channel still seems trapped in a timewarp and under the belief that its sex strands are shocking or controversial.

oxfam1uk

Well, that's why I can't agree with you.
Pornography is the worst sort of argument for free speech. It discredits the idea.

GRAEME

Looks like you go in for pornography right there in your avatar, big fella!

julian_craster

It would open the floodgates for hard porn on mainstream UK tv .......especially on the NUTS, BRAVO, BOLLOCKS and DAVE channels..........

duffy moon

And you are of course entitled to your view. I just think that there is no harm in adult human beings being able to watch other adult human beings having consenting sexual adventures if one wishes to do so. If you are talking about free speech, then you have to accept the extremeties of the subject and some of the barbs that are attached. Not wanting to provoke an argument here, but I can't agree with a viewpoint that states we want freedom of expression & speech but not for that, oh and that bits not very nice either, oh and we don't want that to be seen.
As long as life or liberty is not physically or mentally forced or violently harmed against the wishes of those individuals taking part and does not advocate inflicting this on a third party then I feel there is a place for it in society via whichever medium best facilitates its message, be that pay per view or otherwise (publicly funded broadcast omitted)

Steve Crook

I think those floodgates opened some time ago - for those that want it

Steve

Steve Crook

Steve

Moor Larkin

Quite why people want to watch other people fornicating is quite beyond me, but there is evidently a market for it that is insatiable.

I seem to recall Linda Lovelace was a somewhat tragic personality, so I'm not entirely convinced that nobody is damaged making this sort of stuff, never mind the corruption of those who incessantly watch it. It's all the same as prostitution in the end I suppose and both are probably better out in the open than hidden, like every other vice.

I do think this 'consenting adults' excuse can be overdone though.Just because these people are over 16/18/21 or whatever does not mean much at all, of itself.

I recall a penetrating documentary on Channel 4, which would be worthy of being repeated, where a fly-on-the-wall guy tracked a wannabe porn-star. Lots of potential titillation and everyone consented, but there was tragedy being played out, as big and plain as the horn of a rhinoceros.

batman

I saw that programme .... the girl was a young single mum from the UK who was persuaded by her 'boyfriend/agent' to make porn in the UK to earn extra cash. She did OK but didn't seem too happy about the effect it may have on her kid. However this 'agent' wanted her to be a porn 'star', so he took her to the US and to the house of a guy called Max Hardcore who makes 'rough sex' films. The girl was really scared by this guy, who was extremely unpleasant, but her 'agent' talked her into doing an 'audition' with MH. At this point the picture froze and the fly on the wall guy (in voiceover) told the viewer that he was so unnerved by what was going on he had to get the girl out of there. The next shot was of the girl being driven away in the fly on the wall guy's car with MH shouting obscenities at them. The girl was really traumatised by the whole scenario.

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Steve Crook

It's certainly not the case that nobody is damaged emotionally. But neither is it the case that everyone involved is damaged by it.

Some people, male and female, do enjoy it and go on to make their own films to take total control of the production.

It's a major industry in the States, with a lot of the people in charge being the women (as is so often the case)

Steve

batman

I know two people who have worked in the porn industry. One was a guy who I met via the theatre who became a porn actor. He works in Germany for about three or four months of the year and earns as much as I do in three years! He is a regular guy with a specific talent and, although I haven't seen him for a few years now, always appeared to be in control of his life. The other person was a lass who worked in the same restaurant as me while we were both 'resting'. She met this guy who whisked her off to Spain to 'make movies'. I bumped into her years later and she was a very happy mother of two who had started a beauty salon with her porn savings. In conversation with both of these people I heard of others who didn't fare so well. Porn is like any other industry which uses people as a commodity. Some will survive and prosper while others will fall by the wayside. It is a sad but inevitable fact.

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