Various bloggers have been discussing pornography this week. Almost everyone agrees there are serious problems with virtually all porn out there. I want to thank Ell of Wilful Damage and MonMouth of Rentboy Diaries for kicking my brain into gear.
Somewhere or other I called it Industrial Porn and Ell called me on it. In keeping with the discussion VS, Freya, Lili-g and others are taking up, I think I’m goning to stick with that term instead of mainstream, plastic, or any other terms in common parlance.
Industrial Porn
I think it’s useful because so many other industries are being influenced by artsianal, boutique, microbrewery sorts of alternatives.
In my regional center we’ve got local “boutique” alternatives to coffee, beer, soap and bath stuff, and (very promisingly) chocolates. “Boutique” wines have gotten so out of hand it’s hard to find Gallo and Mogan David in supermarkets. Microbreweries have gotten so out of hand Miller Beer had joke billboards proclaiming “We brew beer in vats the size of Rhode Island.” And “boutique” steel mills are kicking Pittsburgh’s ass… or would be if they were even making steel there.
The point is that branding can go two ways. Calling what’s out there “Mainstream” porn is being way. too. flipping. kind! It’s not mainstream, it’s industrial porn and that’s why it’s got all the character, appeal, romance, and originality of other industrial products such as Miller Lite, Chrysler K-series cars, and WalMart underwear. Industrial porn: it’s big, it’s cheap, it’s artificial, it’s mass-produced, it’s tasteless, flavorless, moisture-free. It’s a bulk commodity with all the individuality and charm of a rack of store-brand processed cheese in a can.
Industrial porn. Let ‘em try to escape that label.
Meanwhile we now have a “brand” for what we’re looking for: artesian porn (or boutique porn, or whatever you want to call it. As I mentioned to Tony Comstock a couple of weeks ago, what we name it isn’t as important as that we name it and make the name stick.)
Aside: the only name I’d really want to avoid would be “alternative” porn. That’s already a fairly well established niche with it’s own connotations in porn, as well as film, music, art, and other markets. I’d like to think that “artisan” porn, like artisan ice cream, could be a broad enough category to include both genuine mainstream (call it vanilla) offerings as well as alternative varieties. The distinction shouldn’t be based on it’s difference from industrial stuff but it’s higher quality and value.
Of course there are risks. Artisan brewery Redhook Brewing Company (a local product) is now owned in part by one of the big breweries. On the other hand, you can now buy that and similar “microbrews” live, on tap, in cowboy bars in southern Utah and even a teetotaler like myself can tell the worst microbrewery beer is better than the best Coors or Budweiser offering. Artisan coffee roaster Starbucks, which started out as a single store 25 or 30 years ago, may now be selling more coffee than anyone else and they’re garnering huge amounts of scorn these days. (Note the occasional “friends don’t let friends drink Starbucks” bumper stickers.) But the very worst Starbucks coffee (and there are a heck of a lot of other options, even though I sort of prefer the original myself) is miles better than the best Maxwell House coffee ever brewed.
Industrial porn vs. artisan porn: That’s my story and I’m gonna stick with it. I strongly recommend the rest of us stick with it (or something like it) too.
Freya puts it very well in her blog
I think the existence of prurient materials is part of our societal need to express ourselves sexually. At the same time, if we leave it to the San Fernando Valley to do that expression, we get what we deserve. In other words, we have a responsibility in this too. As artists we need to make better porn/erotica/art and as consumers, we have to seek this out and buy it and eschew the crap.
I’ve done this before without getting a lot of feedback. It won’t stop me from doing it again. Here’s a list of artisan pornographers we ought to think about patronizing:
If there’s someone you think is making artesianal porn, let me know and I’ll add them to the list.
