Over the weekend…
I went to go see The Masters (Joaquin Phoenix, Philip Seymour Hoffman, Amy Adams). Now, those folks *can act*, no doubt about it. However, there was this one scene with women *in all of their glory* parading around a house and I thought “OK…and what is the point of this scene exactly?” That question, later on, was followed up with this thought: “I’m pretty sure that if it had been online with some bad lighting and corny music, it would be considered a porn scene.”
That got my mind to running in that direction (that train of thought, that is). I just read this morning that Lindsay Lohan is gearing up to do a “film” with porn actor (I wonder why we call them *porn stars*) James Deen with a line in the trailer that says “Welcome to the Canyons. Where sex is as cheap as the budget and the only way out is death” (gee, isn’t that lovely?). Oh, and Lindsay’s character is being defined as “sweet as sin” and James’s character name is “Christian” (it just keeps on getting better and better, doesn’t it?).
Then I recalled Shai LeBouf and all of the press that he got earlier this year for his annoucement that he’s about to do a movie with *real sex scenes* in them called “The Nymphomanic“. At least I can give the director “credit” for calling his film (that is slated to have a national release, by the way) “porn”: “Lars von Trier said in an interview that he was hoping to shoot two versions. First one is a hardcore pornographic cut, while the second one is a softcore version where different camera angles would be used and likely a blurring of body parts.”
Yet when you think of a lot of the sex scenes in films and shoot, even these days on television, what makes us call those “films” rather than “porn flicks”? Is it because the sex scenes are shorter and the actual acting is longer? Is it because we don’t get to see *as much* on those platforms? Or, is it that there is a part of us who just doesn’t want to believe (or is it accept?) that a lot of what we are watching is pushing the limits so far that it might as well be some good ole “dank…dank…dank” (the sound that oftentimes comes to mind when I think of porn)?
It’s kind of like how I’m (mildly) trippin’ off of how many people are tuning into 666 Park Avenue on ABC. OK, there is *666* right in the title and the Word says, “Here is wisdom. Let him who has understanding calculate the number of the beast, for it is the number of a man: His number is 666.” (Revelation 13:18-NKJV) If you’re a Christian watching it, I would think that knowing the number is associated, biblically, with the beast would be *more than enough* reason to leave it very much so alone. But shoot, maybe *acting* demonic is different too. Which brings me to my question for today…
When it comes to sex scenes in movies and on television vs. “actual porn”…
What’s the line between when it’s “real porn” and when it’s just…acting? (Especially since a lot of porn has acting in it…just sayin’)
Sound off…