Thinking XXX (2004)

Looking ar Porn

"Thinking XXX"

Looking at Porn

Amos Lassen

"Thinking XXX" is a documentary film based on a series of interviews with people who are involved in pornography. Most look at what they do with the idea that sex is just a job that must be done well. We meet the stars and see their bodies but do not see them perform and this gives a sense of authenticity to the DVD. I actually learned something by watching this.
Timothy Greenfield-Sanders who wrote the book "XXX: 30 Porn Star Portraits" decided that he would film this study as he was taking photographs for his book and he gives us quite an interesting look at the porn industry. We learn that porn stars are just like we are with the same issues and problems. We also get opinions from people not involved in the industry (John Waters, Gore Vidal, Nancy Friday and others).
This is an HBO Made for TV movie and I found it interesting to hear how porn stars relate to their lives and their profession. We actually get a naked look at the stars in more than the unclothed way. They seem to love their jobs and look at them as just jobs. I think that the average person looks at porn as more of a lifestyle than a job and it is interesting to get another perception.
All in all, I found "Thinking XXX" to be an excellent portrayal of the industry that we know so little about.
July 25, 2008

EXCELLENT INFORMATION

THIS DVD PRESENTS IMPORTANT INFORMATION CONCERNING SEX AND THE PROPER REPRESENTATION ABOUT WHAT TO DO AND WHAT NOT TO DO FOR THE VEIWING PUBLIC. THIS INFORMATION PROVIDES QUALITY AND A SAFE MESSAGE THAT SHOULD BE APPLICABLE TO EACH HUMAN BEING ON THIS EARTH. A VITAL DVD TO BE SEEN BY ALL. June 7, 2008

Lou Reed...

The conceit for this project is trite, and the difference in the respect shown to the commentators and that shown to the performers belies the director's stated aim.

However, do rent this, purchase it used, do whatever you need to do to see Lou Reed's hilarious recitation of porn tropes in the "Extras." It's the Lou you thought you'd never see; relaxed, genial, laughing and genuinely funny, playing off his own myth. December 3, 2007

It's about time someone spotlighted the positive side.

Thinking XXX (Timothy Greenfield-Sanders, 2004)

I've been stepping up my watching of documentaries these past few years. Sort of a combination of feeling like too much of the time I spend in front of a screen is wasted and wanting to find out more about subjects that I know nothing, or little, about. It's not that much of a sacrifice when you've got stuff like this out there waiting to be seen. Celebrated photographer Timothy Greenfield-Sanders, while taking the photos for his book XXX: 30 Porn-Star Portraits, decided to film the process as well. The result is a fascinating look at the people behind the porn, as it were.

One (or, at least, I) always expects porn stars to be nice, bubbly, somewhat vacuous. I know, prejudice is a horrible thing, but there it is. And to be fair, a few of the folks who get camera time here come off exactly that way. But the majority are quite another thing entirely. Everyone, by now, knows the Jenna Jameson story, how she went from being "just another porn star" to being one of the biggest movers and shakers in the adult entertainment industry. (One of the interviewees notes that the E! True Hollywood Story episode on Jenna Jameson was the series' most watched episode of all time.) that sort of drive, intelligence, and ambition is very well represented here, and by many more stars than Jameson. Yeah, there are a lot of naked bodies to look at, and they're aesthetically pleasing, but the flesh on display is not the only attraction here; these people, and the other commentators Greenfield-Sanders ropes in to give their opinions (among them Gore Vidal, Nancy Friday, Karen Finley, and John Waters), really have interesting stuff to say about the business, about their lives, about the cultural mystique that allows such an industry to become the billion-dollar juggernaut it is. These is good people, these is! (And I had no idea Nina Hartley was still making movies-- I remember her from almost a quarter-century ago. More power to her!)

As well as all that, there's what (I assume) Greenfield-Sanders originally set out to document, the art of composing the pictures themselves. He works on antique equipment, so this isn't just a documentary about point-and-shoot camera technology. Even if it were, his idea here-- portraits of the stars clothed, then nude, in the same positions-- required a lot of forethought, a lot of retakes, and, no doubt, a lot of patience from everyone involved. Ever wonder what goes into one of those big coffee-table books of photography? I have little doubt that what Greenfield-Sanders shows us is no more than the tip of the iceberg, but it's enough to get a person wondering.

Rent this, send the kids to bed, and watch it. Prurient interests aside, I think you'll learn something. This one was definitely not filed in the "wasted time" folder in my head. ****
August 1, 2007

Mindless Spin.

This is a perfect portrait of the way in which our society accepts practically everything from anybody. Personally, I don't have any problems with pornography and I never really have, but I found the rah rah take on the business to be rather offensive. The porn stars profiled here are celebrities and their interviews portray only a kindly spin on the industry as a whole. There is no interlocutor voice so the narrative's angle is entirely positive. In America, people are free to make lifestyle choices and that's what makes it such a great country. However, we should be honest, as for every choice we make there are unanticipated consequences. The film avoids this truth and I found such salesmanship to be rather sad.

This video showcases the great morass that is political correctness. John Waters and Gore Vidal are both commentators who provide their opinions about porn, and they make a point of saying that they don't like the straight variety. Waters compares straight condomless sex to being a snuff film (what of barebacking among gays?) and Vidal compares it to the rape of the Sabine women. Of course, these two are rather biased commentators but political correctness apparently prevents us from pointing such things out nowadays. These two icons should tolerate heterosexual diversity and not imply that the love of female breasts is not due to Americans being an infantilized population. Also, female porn stars being self-actualized successes in this world is a concept mutually exclusive with their being exploited and demeaned by men. March 18, 2007

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