* e4 S) O7 F# P2 L, |; ~0 H- h我接着问,“那么,健康风险呢?你经常被感染吗”? 1 A$ e, ^( f" c 8 W1 {7 y6 L J6 @& b) V+ V她说,“也就是染上过一两次衣原体,还有淋病,除此之外,没什么大不了的。我们每个月都体检,得了病,赶紧吃药,然后就又能回去上班了。没问题。”: G- Y) {2 G7 t/ O( F1 c
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我看,宝碧人很“加州”。进一步说,整个色情电影业都有点“很加州”的意思。有执著的热情、反叛的心态,还有一点点自由主义者反抗压力的顽强。1 o$ u1 v1 l. z% Y& X* \: q r
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1980年代,官司一直打到高等法院,色情电影在加州才得到了合法化的地位,正式与普通意义上的嫖娼卖淫划清了界限。 - K1 T; @- T3 C y不戴安全套的权利 $ Z+ L3 T% W2 L: \* w) F2 k" S. `( k& g8 @) f3 y
现在,我遇到的许多人都说,不戴安全套的权利是宪法赋予的言论自由权利的一个关键部分,正如美国的立国之父指出的那样。 7 l: n- q9 }) |6 ~$ N! O2 y" q + S4 G! l. ?. D! W1 Q一名制片人告诉我,“如果你把我的演员都装在橡胶里面,作为艺术家,我还能怎样表述自我呢”?- s& G0 ^5 l+ A
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我很难想象,法兰克林和杰弗逊起草《第一修正案》的时候,想到过戴不戴安全套的权利。8 X4 d2 W8 [( m+ |
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但是,我也很难想象,《星际迷航》的粉丝们排着长队去看皮克船长和“进取号”的船员们真刀真枪地“肉搏”。所以,我算老几呢?7 d4 o, u4 l: H/ m* n
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但是,当局非常坚决。建筑工人必须戴头盔,矿工必须戴口罩,色情演员也必须有适当的保护。 " n9 @% o, S- _; q2 W% m % l6 w `1 ~, z2 e/ A和加州的立法人对阵,色情电影业最终很有可能打败仗。除了罚款,色情电影业也面临着一些前任演员们提出的代价昂贵的法律诉讼。 & M4 C! X1 L! R4 I/ }1 l2 k, g7 W: u9 I1 L% ?' K& ~- N6 y6 m& t
一些演员私下告诉我,他们盼着立法赶快生效。& D; h4 \& E2 |
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制片人说,这对雇员没有任何好处,只会迫使制片公司搬到海外、或者转移到地下去拍片。观众想看的,就一定能看得到。 4 A3 y3 k0 R4 c+ Q! g. | D' @; [
宝碧也有同感。事实上,这也正是她开始脱衣服、准备开拍性爱场面之前说的告别词。! r% A1 X. J5 v
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我想,我看的已经够多了。我悄悄地离开拍摄现场,重新回到淅淅沥沥的小雨中…….4 F6 p. t: O: g' ^. t1 _; i
5 H% q: k3 e9 C( t 0 Q! m. W( ]4 Y% D" zCalifornian porn industry's 'perfect storm' of troubles / X( `7 Z$ q4 z9 o" r4 `1 O4 w; t9 o C" i7 G1 {8 L! Q3 p
California's adult movie business is under pressure - internet piracy and the economic downturn have slashed revenues, while state regulators seem set to win their long battle to make actors wear condoms.8 @& S3 B1 b; ~& I
5 @5 q9 V. [0 U: F* t: a( S6 [* wLight drizzle was falling as I pulled my car up outside a low-rise warehouse studio in northern Los Angeles., o+ B8 y/ R$ ]# R
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I had been told just to pitch up - it would be fun, they had said, to see how we do things. ! k4 B- y5 F. q6 A- U 8 g% m& Y( x* P3 D6 {What I did see at first did not quite match my expectations but then again, I was not quite sure what to expect. 8 w: `+ [% `" h: m/ W( u3 r ! m5 O$ t" C; I' E+ G4 P$ R+ K/ FThe porn shoot was Star Trek, the Next Generation - a triple-X parody, billed as a humorous tribute to the iconic TV space saga. " b7 m$ L _; G# n0 }8 u9 E3 U! v2 g3 d0 u: E- L
Performers in body-hugging Star Trek outfits, some with prosthetic noses to resemble aliens, wandered around looking slightly bored as a weary crew worried over lighting arrangements.5 r2 J& }" u, i& H6 Q
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This morning was devoted to dialogue, I was told, although - as Sam, the film's artistically minded writer-director, explained to me with clear regret - there was not too much of that to be had. ; p) U D8 C& G( s0 B# Y! Q( I: y; {: @1 [) j
Only 30 minutes of this two-hour sex film would involve plot, he sighed. & Z( B% S6 v/ D& X* w ' g) S) Z1 @9 l5 o! _( E# ^, Y# x, \Fantasy 6 N. S/ n- B/ v% ?& L9 [, _+ s( ?5 D. a3 m- H% b ~
The demands of porn may not allow Sam to be the groundbreaking film-maker he clearly aspires to be, but at least there are films to be made.: u6 Q% u9 K4 N }$ ?5 D4 ^6 X
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The problem, increasingly, is revenue. 5 d, T7 ^# J ^! i7 Q: c0 v& i* u( I% j+ N5 p: f" o
Like the music industry, pornographers are struggling to persuade their audience to pay for what they watch.( j" K, V) n: D- [4 O5 k" k
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DVD sales have collapsed. Online, a great deal of porn can be accessed for free.1 c' g, N, P0 Z s6 v
5 G" a9 g$ v( {9 EAnd the economic downturn does not help. 4 ~5 e6 d+ N8 E' D0 v" x* i , E5 {- h) s$ l0 c"What with the recession and piracy, we call it the perfect storm," one leading producer observed wistfully., `7 z4 ^) X3 ]0 G
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The economic climate also means the industry is even less keen to accept California's increasingly stringent workplace regulations. ' a2 E* Y; }$ s: g' g* y: B! |4 z5 {( ?- i% Q. Z7 \
For years, the authorities have been demanding that porn performers wear condoms.! c& d% Z0 ]8 |" ]: S. n9 \
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Health scares - most notoriously in 2004 when three actors contracted HIV - have highlighted significant levels of infection on set. : E% ~7 Q9 I" S) D$ e( r) [- M* ^: _9 k8 p3 w7 e8 `- s
But the industry says wearing condoms on-screen is a turn-off. The public do not want it, it will kill the fantasy, they say. - x6 u# @& V8 a: @7 D( `% U$ _5 o, Q2 s. b7 n0 [
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Back on the Star Trek set, I talked to Bobbi Starr, one of the lead performers. $ Y4 B) `& G, |7 f# u, X* Z! w ' Z% H h$ X& s }4 oA college graduate, a former national standard swimmer and professional oboist, she seems to have packed a lot into her 27 years. / c; H# d2 H+ E J" O" l+ h5 }6 K8 y; k, c/ b b: d/ f3 O4 S& o- e
She turned to porn, she said, out of a sense of sexual adventure.2 `. V; W" @+ d9 _' G9 y
: A5 B- F9 n5 L) {3 Z; V"It's just fun," she said, "and when everyone around you is having fun too, what's not to love?" ) k- _, S$ N* t4 O* e 3 k' l/ H" m0 t) m" |0 IHer packed schedule today involved a couple of lines, then a four-hour sex scene. Then a costume fitting on Tuesday and she was off to have her monthly health test after that. # m, W/ b6 S+ d) V* f5 N! u |0 D5 Y; D
Each day would be 15 hours long." A9 _% S: V3 `" ]- h1 q% \0 z: E
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"Wow, you must be exhausted?" I suggested. : k/ T3 D: a! j7 m! Y: S( S: c u+ u+ L
"You get used to it," she smiled. & ~5 r* U$ z8 H* J. p0 E " m3 Y5 [3 N0 ~( p"And what about the health risks," I asked. "Have you had many infections?"/ a5 S( Z5 }" u. @
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"Well, just chlamydia a couple of times, gonorrhoea - nothing much. Anyway, we test each month so, when you're diagnosed, you just take your medication and you're good to go. No problem." a6 m' e5 o$ |, Z
& S& l: F; J$ j+ uThere was something very Californian about Bobbi, I decided.$ l0 w# o5 E9 N" E7 Z! W
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Expensive lawsuits ' X' q* I5 w5 ` f+ [: j- |' I2 u5 N8 j
In fact there was something very Californian about the entire business. . m- |6 n+ D6 W5 D% P# ~0 ?% b ! y( ~) W$ c0 J+ S* {A combination of determined enthusiasm, combined with a rebel attitude, a sort of libertarian defiance towards the forces ranged against it.' |! ~! ?9 n" Y/ Z
]' `! |6 G! l, w. @# w( tIt had taken a Supreme Court battle back in the 1980s to make porn legal in California in the first place, formally distinguishing it from common-or-garden prostitution. 2 U! N5 S0 J% C7 Y& c / l( o. u$ ~" O$ pNow, many I met spoke of the right not to wear condoms as a key aspect of their constitutional right to free speech, as set out by the Founding Fathers.6 @9 f* d1 v8 Y4 }' }* n; S ?( i
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"How can I express myself as an artist," one producer said to me, "if you're going to clothe my performers in rubber?"+ Z! X/ J' L0 u. `6 b1 C
% e, f3 Q& _8 f: z/ zI struggled to picture Benjamin Franklin or Thomas Jefferson having this in mind as they penned the First Amendment.5 c5 X- J! L1 K( w' F X. C
" ]% L1 X' U" H" ? nBut then I also struggled to picture hordes of Star Trek fans queuing up to see Captain Jean-Luc Picard going hard-core with the crew of the Star Trek Enterprise. So what did I know?$ d. o9 ^" M0 C6 ~$ B( \) D3 t/ u
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The authorities though are adamant. Construction workers wear hard hats, miners wear masks - these actors have to have suitable barrier protection.( m+ A7 |( U) ?, {
% A3 ^& }6 r7 h* M( b, cIt seems likely that porn will eventually lose its battle against the California regulators, not least because - as well as state penalties - the industry could be about to face some very expensive lawsuits brought by former performers. 7 u+ n* ^) k! ^) u* ]" K" u) ~! |& m" b2 t3 |! A, L& b. o
A number of actors told me privately that regulation could not come soon enough for them. , ~0 T% G6 B; s {% q! N- C, r# z4 M
The producers say this will not help workers but will only force production abroad, or underground - the public always gets what the public wants. 8 S( p7 U" ]6 u- o# i) a9 w & y9 u3 I0 {! @9 _That view was echoed by Bobbi Starr - her parting words, in fact, as she began to disrobe for her epic sex scene. / ?- L% ~ [. h$ W1 g8 O0 L" |$ \$ N( A4 s4 _. I
I decided I had seen enough and slipped back out into the rain.- z* m/ U7 K u; s3 Y9 q) O
( @( A4 G% L& w! C, ? * g1 W, Y4 w, |: {$ m ( Z1 S+ d% m( Q7 c6 N5 | ' p- H5 U" B" K, v3 K# ?9 oCalls for greater safety increased after actors tested positive for HIV in 2004