First off, I don't think this film has anything bad to say about people who watch porn or women who choose this as a career path. It offers both negative and positive opinions on the subject from the subjects of the film -- both the men and women. The narration only offers facts and statistics. You are allowed to decide what you think of the way the porn business handles young amateur porn actresses in America, and what it says about our society that it is such a big industry.
I thought this might be a terribly depressing film or worse, a slut-shaming film and was pleasantly surprised -- that the narrative tone was pretty neutral. It harbors no ill will towards women who want to make a living this way, but offers many viewpoints on how different people, involved in the industry and not, view the subject. The only part that was really unsettling was about the types of porn commonly being produced due to popularity, rather than the lives of the actresses involved -- apparently porn that depicts degradation and violence against women makes up about 40% of what's on the internet, and there is a fairly disturbing porn scene depicting a white male giving a forced blowjob to a Latina female, in which he degrades her by calling her racial slurs and making generally racist remarks. As far as exploitation goes, I do think there is a certain level of it involved in the way the talent agent Riley goes about soliciting talent (posting ads on Craigslist promising young women a chance to get away from their parents and boring "normal" lives to make lots of money in porn, enough to party, buy clothes and live a luxe life in Miami.) It's kind of a mixed bag whether or not these girls realize the implications of their choice to pursue these ads -- some seem very savvy on the subject of porn stardom and are in it for the long haul, while others decide to resign and go back home after a few months.
Personally, I think the fact that the emotional, physical and financial implications are not extremely clear to these girls beforehand and the fact that these implicatoins end up being the reasons for their resignation, makes a strong case for the idea that there is a level of exploitation involved in the solicitation depicted in the film. The blame for why the implications aren't clear doesn't necessarily have to fall on the entrepreneur depicted in the documentary -- I think this doc has more to say about society itself and how sex learned about, discussed and treated in America.
All in all, a really insightful documentary and worth a look for anyone who watches porn - you should know how the sausage is made, whether you like it or not. (Pun intended....?)
I thought this might be a terribly depressing film or worse, a slut-shaming film and was pleasantly surprised -- that the narrative tone was pretty neutral. It harbors no ill will towards women who want to make a living this way, but offers many viewpoints on how different people, involved in the industry and not, view the subject. The only part that was really unsettling was about the types of porn commonly being produced due to popularity, rather than the lives of the actresses involved -- apparently porn that depicts degradation and violence against women makes up about 40% of what's on the internet, and there is a fairly disturbing porn scene depicting a white male giving a forced blowjob to a Latina female, in which he degrades her by calling her racial slurs and making generally racist remarks. As far as exploitation goes, I do think there is a certain level of it involved in the way the talent agent Riley goes about soliciting talent (posting ads on Craigslist promising young women a chance to get away from their parents and boring "normal" lives to make lots of money in porn, enough to party, buy clothes and live a luxe life in Miami.) It's kind of a mixed bag whether or not these girls realize the implications of their choice to pursue these ads -- some seem very savvy on the subject of porn stardom and are in it for the long haul, while others decide to resign and go back home after a few months.
Personally, I think the fact that the emotional, physical and financial implications are not extremely clear to these girls beforehand and the fact that these implicatoins end up being the reasons for their resignation, makes a strong case for the idea that there is a level of exploitation involved in the solicitation depicted in the film. The blame for why the implications aren't clear doesn't necessarily have to fall on the entrepreneur depicted in the documentary -- I think this doc has more to say about society itself and how sex learned about, discussed and treated in America.
All in all, a really insightful documentary and worth a look for anyone who watches porn - you should know how the sausage is made, whether you like it or not. (Pun intended....?)