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Alt-ercations
March 14, 2006
Since the whole alt porn thing has started to happen and become a force not just on the internet but in the land o porn DVDs, I’ve been thrilled to see it happen. I’m a cheerleader (but in a mopey goth way, of course) for the whole damn movement and I love seeing my tattooed and pierced sisters (and increasingly and encouragingly, brothers) fucking on film, and more than that, I love seeing porn in their hands as producers and directors.
We’ve got Eon McKai at VCA and now Vivid, Ron Royster’s AlternativeWorldz distributed through Adam & Eve, Rob Rotten wheeling and dealing, Joanna and Burning Angel working with Hustler and getting a distro deal with Pulse, Jack the Zipper making some edgy stuff for Hustler as well, Benny Profane moving from his ultra-DIY Silverlake digs into the financial graces of VCA, and several others I’ve got my eyes on moving in from the fringes.
It’s awesome, and I pump my fist in the air for them all (uh, but not in a lame Arsenio Hall way, a cool solidarity way), but I also find myself having moments of doubt. It’s not like there are rules against criticizing alt porn and the community around it, but I’ve been hesitant to do it because I feel like it might be a little dumb to whine about this thing that, basically, I support. I prefer to jerk off to the weird and the tattooed than the blonde and the tan.
However, the thing about porn is that of course it’s about identifiable characteristics – alt porn is now synonymous with tattoos and piercings. But is that all alt porn is and can be? Fuck no – what makes alt porn an alternative to mainstream porn (or what could, anyway) is a potential for different kinds of performances, different kinds of management behind the scenes. Is this happening, or is alt porn getting swallowed up and becoming just like everything else but with funny-looking performers? I fear it’s the latter, but I hold up hope for the former.
As things spin bigger and lose some of that idealistic alt edge and gain big money backing (uh, hello Larry Flynt and hello Vivid) many people who I consider to be doing alt porn have expressed disdain for the term. Being someone who is not a joiner (this is a world class understatement) I get that, but being a bit of a pragmatist, I also think it is silly. Beyond the general silliness of being part and parcel of creating a movement and then shunning the label slapped on it, this belies the increasing unrest and turmoil within the beast. Alt is a useful marketing term – use it, unified front-style. If you aren’t happy about what alt is, and you’re inside it (or outside it, for that matter), work to change it. Bitching is good too, but best done in pointed and measured ways.
Sometimes, even if pieces of a label are ugly/irritating, it is good to keep on using it and become a representation of what it could be – here I’m thinking of words like “feminist” and “American.” I accept responsibility for both of these labels, though I’m neither your typical feminist nor your typical American. Some feminists and/or Americans hate me and don’t consider me feminist or American, but there is beauty (and perhaps madness) in wearing these labels and doing my fucking thing.
It’s fair to say that money and power – or the potential for these things – make people crazy. Furthermore, money and power bestowed on people without either can fuck shit up, and maybe it’s meant to make subcultures devour themselves and each other. This is not so awesome. It would be awesome if it’s possible to both bolster up people who are doing good things (even if they are competing with you) and critique and call people on their bullshit when that could be productive. But how to do this without a catty, cataclysmic meltdown ensuing? How can you encourage diversity, competition and disagreement without shit-talk?
Posted by Dacia at March 14, 2006 02:03 AM
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—Sometimes, even if pieces of a label are ugly/irritating, it is good to keep on using it and become a representation of what it could be – here I’m thinking of words like “feminist” and “American.”—
You forgot “porn” ;-)
Posted by: Tony Comstock at March 14, 2006 07:24 AM
I think there ain’t nothing wrong with some deserved shit-talk.
For you, Dacia, the issue probably seems especially thorny because you know a lot of the people you’re referring to. But if you’re going to express honest opinions, it’s gonna hurt some feelings.
Anybody who’s serious about what they do should appreciate frank and intelligent criticism because it’s so rare.
Posted by: Kirby at March 16, 2006 06:56 PM
