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    Pornography
    Film and Culture

    Peter Lehman (Edited by)

    9780813538716

    Paperback / softback, published 8 June 2006

    271 pages
    25.4 x 17.8 x 1.8 cm, 0.51 kg

    Porn is big business. By some estimates, it grosses more revenue per year than the entire "legitimate" film and entertainment industry. Most large hotel chains offer pay-for-view adult movies, many video stores have adult movie rental sections, and Internet porn sites have proliferated by the thousands. With porn so ubiquitous in mainstream American culture, why is it that when "respectable" people talk about this phenomenon, they act puzzled, as if they cannot imagine who would watch such worthless and meaningless smut?

    In this collection of path-breaking essays, thirteen respected scholars bring critical insights to the reality of porn and what it can tell us about ourselves sexually, culturally, and economically. Moving beyond simplistic feminist and religious positions that cast these films as categorical evils-a collective preserve of sexual perversion, misogyny, pedophilia, and racism-the contributors to this volume raise the bar of the debate and push porn studies into intriguing new territory.

    The essays are divided into two sections. The first reprints important debates on the topic and traces the evolution of pornographic film, including comparing its development to that of Hollywood cinema. The second part presents new essays that consider current trends in the field, including pornography's expansion into new technologies.

    This book separates this compelling genre from the sensation and shame that have long surrounded and obscured it. It will be of interest to general readers and film scholars alike.

    Contents

    Acknowledgements
    Introduction

    Historical Context
    On Pornography
    Letter to John
    Generic Pleasures
    Revelations about Pornography
    Crackers and Whackers
    How to Look at Pornography

    Current Directions
    "
    He's in the Closet but He's Not Gay"

    The Chang from Film to Pornography
    Sex and Law
    Never Laugh at a Man with His Pants Down
    Asian College Girls and Oriental Men with Bamboo Poles
    Interracial Joysticks
    Pornography

    Contributors
    Index

     
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