RE: I wonder what these ratios would be like if time-spent-watching were compared. For every minute the average American spends watching mainstream movies, how much time does he / she spend watching porn?

These are probably two different groups. The average (male) movie goer includes lots of teens, while the average (male) viewer of pay porn sites probably includes lots of guys without wives or regular girlfriends.

Interesting stuff, especially the notion that porn viewing may be declining as the population ages. As an aide, this strikes a blow against the nonsensical notion of some that porn turns viewers into hopeless addicts who cannot turn away from it.

RE: MILF and Lolita fantasies aside, it seems reasonably logical that a 40-year-old porn actress is likely to be more alluring to a 50-year-old viewer than to a 25-year-old viewer.

Again, I’m not sure who the audience for this stuff might be since often the MILF actress is paired with a younger guy. There might also be a nostalgia factor at work here since many of the MILF actresses are not amateurs or newcomers, but former stars of 70s and 80s porn.

RE: College-age girls don't require make-up, surgery, etc., so you'll probably see an increase in movies starring them.

To the contrary. A lot porn is such an assembly line product that producers are too lazy to use makeup or lighting to hide such common stuff like pimples on faces and behinds, breast implant scars or stretch marks (a number of pretty, young porn starlets have had children). And one of the odder aspects of the porn industry is how often producers insist that otherwise perfectly lovely women get breast implants, fuller lips, and other cosmetic surgery that tends to make them all Barbie look-a-likes.

One of the interesting things about these stories is that in the past the porn industry was often the first to embrace and exploit new technology, but if the NYT article is to be believed, some in the porn industry are not certain how to best deal with HD.

For those interested, a link to the NYT article on porn and HD can be found here (“In Raw World of Sex Movies, High Definition Could Be a View Too Real”) http://www.nytimes.com/2007/01/22/business/media/22porn.html?_r=1&oref=slogin

Posted by: Alec on January 24, 2007 9:07 PM

I find all this talk amusing and riddled with ignorance. I'm always amused at how easily the porn industry hoodwinks reporters for mainstream media. (see a dissection of the issue here http://www.boingboing.net/2007/01/04/media_overestimates_.html )

First, HD is not sending anybody away. HD does give more detail and calls attention to imperfections. But tv news, talk shows and prime time TV already have lots of "blemished actors" on it; HD watchers are used to it. HD is remarkable, but not that remarkable!

Second, the real threat to the porn industry is overexposure. Too much porn, too easy to download, too cheap. Several sites offer unlimited amounts of porn legally for $20 for month (and if you download a lot, that month of downloading can last you for several years). Compare that to Vivid and other "bigger" porn producers/distributors, who are selling DVDs still for $20. Porn revenues are down because big porn companies are stupid; nobody buys DVD's anymore.

MILF, well, it's interesting how it has entered the mainstream vernacular; I attribute it to there being a surfeit of ex-porn actresses who like to stay in the industry for the sheer hell of it.

On another DVD note, I watched a DVD version of Candida Royale's Three Daughters (feminist porn). It was beautiful when I saw it and beautiful watching it again (and a very classy DVD menu too). Wow, it's available on amazon too .

Watching director's commentaries on adult films can be great fun. I once wrote an analytical essay about an adult film. Imagine my discovery upon hearing on the commentaries by actors that I was much more familiar with the film itself than the actors themselves were. Then again, they were having all the fun...

Posted by: hapax legomenon on January 26, 2007 2:15 PM






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