If you know me well at all, then you know that I have an absolute and unapologetic love for pornography. From my first exposure to the genre my freshmen year of college (yes, I was corrupted quite late. It happened during fall break, when a friend and I were terribly bored and had nothing else to do but take my “porn virginity”), I was entranced, horrified, and ultimately incredibly amused. I don’t tend to think of pornography as being titillating or sexy in the slightest, but I am almost always entertained by the absurd scenarios, campy dialogue, and ridiculous posturing involved.
That said, I have to admit that I’m not such a huge fan of the gonzo/amateur videos that tend to dominate the porn landscape these days. While I can appreciate the types of clips that run rampant on sites like youporn or redtube (and there are gems tucked in these places), I’m much more into the sorts of videos that came out during the “Golden Age” of pornography (approximately late sixties to mid-seventies). Films like Debbie Does Dallas make me smile in the best way possible…they’re funny, cute, and strangely heartwarming, adjectives that I definitely cannot give to contemporary series like "bangbus" or "I am a good daughter" (yes. seriously.)
Yesterday, on the recommendation of my friend Emerald, I downloaded and watched The Opening of Misty Beethoven (1975). I think this might be a new favorite of mine. Without spoiling it too much, I will say that I really appreciated the moments of empowerment that the lead actress had (especially near the end) and that the plot was compelling enough that I tended to view the sex scenes as somewhat annoying distractions from the storyline (this is something that I cannot say about Pirates, the 2005 blockbuster known for being the most expensive porn ever made. While it tries to have a plot, the acting is so atrocious 99% of the time that I was infinitely more entertained by the sex scenes. Though I guess the stilted delivery was good for a few laughs…).
In any case, I would strongly recommend The Opening of Misty Beethoven to any porn fans out there (or at least fans of porn with plotlines. If you’re just trying to get off, I don’t think this is the right movie for you. For one thing, the fact that it was made in the 70s means that contemporary standards of pornographic aesthetics aren’t always followed…in particular, none of the women are shaved, which could be jarring if you expect women to look like pre-pubescent girls).
Afterwards, I had dinner with my friends Evan and Anna, and we ended up watching Go Fish, an artsy-ish lesbian film from the early 90s. It is undeniably low budget (apparently it was filmed in black and white solely to save money) and showcases some pretty bad acting and dialogue. But all in all, it has some really stellar moments (in particular, the main character’s journal entries and a powerful scene questioning what it means to identify as a lesbian). I can’t wholeheartedly endorse the movie given some of its flaws, but if you’re like me and have a soft spot for queer films (and thus tend to be more forgiving in your judgment of them), then I would say that it’s definitely worth checking out.
Today involved attempting to get some work done on my thesis research chapter. Unfortunately, the attempt utterly failed, and I spent my time perfecting my freecell and hearts skills instead (WOE).
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