From Left to Right: Producer Andy Weiss, Mary Carey, Crissy Moran, Nina Hartley, Director Bryce Wagoner
Last night, I had the opportunity to see a screening of the documentary, After Porn Ends. I can hear your thoughts right now. Yep, I said porn. I'm not here to talk about the rights and wrongs of the porn industry though. You either like it or you condemn it. I thought the idea of the documentary was fascinating though: What do you do with your like "After Porn Ends"? Do you have a family? Do you get a "regular" job? Does society allow you to have a "normal" life? After watching the film, I realize how all-encompassing the job choice becomes even when you leave it behind. The former entertainers are constantly judged even if they move on to become parents, real estate agents, artists, or devout Christians. Some of the participants in the film fell into the stereotypical traps of the porn industry with addiction, abusive relationships, and suicidal tendencies. However, other entertainers like Mary Carey, who is hilarious and deserves a mainstream Hollywood job, or Nina Hartley, who is still in the business, are very comfortable with their choices and feel like the adult industry has offered them a privileged life. It was rare to hear that from the female performers because, not surprisingly, the men were judged less harshly than the women upon leaving the industry. The dark reality hit the women harder than the men.
Mary Carey
The other interesting delineation in the film fell between the entertainers who worked in the early years of the adult industry, the 1960s-1980s, versus the actors that worked in the internet years. It seemed like the experiences of those that worked in the earlier years had an easier time. Porn was more of an underground industry, they were able to lead a more private life off-set, and they endured less judgement from society. It was almost cool to work in porn during that era. For the internet-era stars, there appeared to be more personal difficulties transitioning back into the real world because of a tool called Google. Neighbors, co-workers, and family are now able to see images of their former life on their laptops. It never goes away. While many featured in the documentary went on to have well-adjusted kids and careers, their former life lurks in the background. During the Q&A after the documentary, one of the panelists mentioned that this film should be screened for everyone new performer in the adult industry as a cautionary tale. The addictions and the abusive relationships you can move on from, but the stigma of porn.......you cannot.
After Porn Ends will be available On Demand beginning May 21st and the DVD will be out in August. (Warning: There are porn images in the documentary.)
I wrote about a similar topic after I interviewed Demi Delia from Crackle.com's reality web series, Mommy XXX back in 2009. Demi has left the adult industry behind and has her own talent management company. She goes by her given name, Gina Rodriguez, now and reps some infamous personalities like Octomom and Michael Lohan. See the controversial article I wrote here and my interview with Demi here.
I would love to hear your thoughts on this topic. Hit me up in the comments below, on Twitter, or on Facebook.
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Nice article. Keep sharing more.
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