German aristocrat Otto Von Bismarck once said 'Laws, like sausages, cease to inspire respect in proportion as we know how they are made' - The implication being that if you see behind the scenes of every day things that form part of our lives you will form differing opinions of it. If you see how a sausage is packed with god knows how many different types of meat you wont want to eat it.
Now admittedly the law part of that quote is probably a much less disgusting metaphor, however I think having watched the documentary Hot Girls Wanted I feel like its appropriate.
Sorry, just a little segway here, that intro was clever wasn't it, I mean I used metaphor, I quoted a historical German politician and I feel like I made a pretty apt comparison. Just sit back in awe at my insight.
Done? OK I'll get on with talking about the documentary.
The film itself came out in early 2015 so I am probably a little late to the party, but I didn't actually know it existed until a couple of days ago when someone I know spoke about it.
The actual content of the documentary is fairly straightforward. It follows the lives of some new female porn stars, specifically teenagers between 18 and 19 years old. All of these girls are found through Craigslist by a guy called Riley who simply advertises for 'Hot Girls' - hence the title - by offering them a free flight and a promise of lots of money and good sex. Many of these girls arrive from small town America to pursue a career in something known as pro - amateur porn, which is what it sounds like, professional porn, made to look like it stars amateurs.
Now, to get away from the actual content of the documentary briefly, I will say that I have watched porn before, I am not a prude who thinks its should all be banned and that all these women are being exploited. However returning to my metaphor, after watching this and seeing what these young girls go through, it has managed to make sex look like the most unappealing thing imaginable.
A lot of the girls featured in the documentary were very attractive, they seemed fairly happy with the life they had chosen and they weren't the stereotypical dumb girl that you would probably expect to see.
There is a lot of talk about female empowerment and liberation in the documentary, which is an argument often seen in porn. Its a fair one in my opinion, a persons choice is their own and if a woman - or anybody for that matter - chooses to do porn then fair enough, however I felt myself being really challenged by this documentary because despite these girls choosing what they do, it really really reallllllllllllly seemed like pure exploitation. For example, according to the various facts presented in the film, a large part of the porn market is something ill paraphrase as 'abusive porn'. These are films in which a girl is maybe tied down and fucked, or forced to give a guy a blowjob until she vomits and then has to lick it up afterwards.... So yeah, I've honestly never seen something like that, but what the fuck! I mean, in the documentary the girls defend this type of porn by simply saying its acting and if someone wants to pay them for a short amount of discomfort then more fool them. One girl even said, she would rather someone watch her acting as if she is getting assaulted then have them go out and really hurt someone. Again that's a good point I suppose, but I just cannot suspend myself from the fact that these girls are being abused, acting or not. In fact, one girl was speaking after a forced blowjob scene and she comments on how did she didn't vomit because she didn't eat breakfast and so nothing came up. Now, I just cant see how that scenario is OK ever? Seriously, whether the guy really intends to hurt her is surely irrelevant? I don't know, I just found it really fucked up, and this girl was only 18 if I remember right. At 26 I don't think I am old enough to really judge a young person, as I haven't really 'lived' enough, but I felt genuinely concerned for her well being.
That to me is the main aim of the documentary and I am full of praise for the way Jim Bauer and Ronna Gradus (the directors) handle it. The film is never gratuitous, if people who haven't seen it are expecting some free nudity, then you will be disappointed. The focus really is on the girls and their struggle to justify what they do, and I am not talking from a 'moral - all porn is bad' sort of way, but more in the sense that the girls seem to struggle with the fact that they have a 'shelf life'. By the end of the film, 2 of the girls who feature have left the industry after less than a few months of being porn stars, and its indicated throughout that this isn't unusual. Porn really does seem to have a revolving door policy when it comes to women especially and then the girls are just discarded. Fortunately for the girls who leave there is some hope and the audience isn't left completely dejected, but still.
Overall I think Hot Girls Wanted should be seen because if anything it exposes more about these women than any porn scene possibly could. I realise I probably sound like a pretentious twat and maybe it comes across that I am trying to tell women what they should be doing with their bodies, but honestly that couldn't be further from the truth. Like I said, I appreciate that some people will make choices that I or others cant understand, but I don't think that means I am not allowed to talk about those choices if they seem detrimental to seemingly good people.
Anyway, sorry this blog is so long, I could have gone on and on (that probably shows, considering how sloppily this is written) But I just think this is an important documentary on a divisive subject that approaches its material objectively and with care for its participants.
Byesey bye!
