Hot Topic Tuesday: Violence and Hollywood

After last week's tragedy in Aurora, Colorado, it was only a matter of time before we heard pundits hop on CNN and MSNBC and tout the "Violence and Hollywood" angle as a possible motive.  A secondary thread to this is "Violence and Video Games" and that is also another factor in this case.  Many folks want to take a look at MPAA (Motion Picture Association of America) ratings because PG-13 films have the same amount of violence, suggestive scenes, and language that a Rated R film did ten years ago.  Has violence in Hollywood movies escalated?  Sure.  I would hardly argue with that statement as torture porn movies like Saw came in vogue and sophomoric sex humor encouraged by the success of the Judd Apatow movies grew.  I think we have become accustomed to tolerating more in our PG-13 movies as trends and social mores have changed.

A movie studio often finds an R rating slapped on its film the kiss of death because it eliminates a younger moviegoing audience that would fuse a lot of cash into the box office.  They want that younger viewer to see the movie once and then love it so much that they pay the ten dollars (Or fourteen dollars if you are in a big city.) to see it again.  Can you imagine putting a rated R rating on The Avengers or Dark Knight?  Nope, it won't ever happen.  This is where it is up to parents to police what their kids are seeing and the games they are playing.  I imagine it is a constant struggle to figure out what is appropriate given that new movies and games are released each week.

However, the real question circles us back to what happened last week in Colorado:  Did the gunman's obsession with the Batman franchise inspire his violent acts?  Did his love for bloody video games take his role playing to another level?  While I know everyone loves to make Hollywood the scapegoat in these situations, I am actually going to have to defer to the fact that he clearly had massive psychological issues and while he wanted to recreate a scene from fiction and make it reality, the real issue is gun control.  While our Second Amendment to the Constitution allows us "to keep and bear arms", I think there has to be a limit.  Protecting your family with a handgun seems reasonable, especially after living in Hollywood with celebrities constantly dealing with stalkers.  If you are into hunting, I think owning a hunting rifle makes sense for your sport. (While I am not a fan, I get that some people want to participate in this centuries old pastime.) Yet, not one person has been able to answer this question for me:  Why does someone need a semiautomatic weapon/assault rifle in their gun collection?   Why are weapons like this even accessible to us in the United States?  In 2004, Congress allowed the Federal Assault Weapons ban to expire.  Well, Congress, I hope you enjoyed the fruits of your labor....twelve innocent lives were lost last week.

Your turn to chime in on this hot topic.  I realize that politics plays into this a bit.  I ask that you are respectful to people's views and let's calmly and rationally discuss gun control, violence, and Hollywood.

Hot Topic: 'After Porn Ends'...The Documentary

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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