' ^4 Y4 }, z1 I0 L. L8 D' a0 n$ S) `重返《星际迷航》的拍摄现场,我和主要演员之一宝碧·斯塔尔聊了起来。宝碧是大学毕业生,以前是国家级游泳运动员,专业的双簧管手。短短的27年,她的一生真可是阅历丰富。. d$ S% y! {; Q- V) s. S
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宝碧说,改行做色情电影演员,主要是为了追求性探险。她说,“这是找乐趣。身边的人都高高兴兴,你有什么可烦的呢”? 8 f) D$ Z# l' G- a( h; e 0 V% W, }! `6 r5 E' {当天,她的日程安排得很紧凑,两句台词,四小时的性爱。星期二试装,然后就去接受每月一次的体检。宝碧每一天都要工作15个小时。+ @, k: i y' ?+ i6 w
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我说,“你一定很累吧”?她微笑着回答说,“习惯了”。 4 b. y/ o. P: e5 x% a* Z; D, @' f' G/ g* J4 d, E
我接着问,“那么,健康风险呢?你经常被感染吗”?( A2 }* V) D" l5 Z9 g3 V9 ?6 S
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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。”6 @, x* B6 W/ K( h6 D+ y
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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。. c# Z: F1 F* y+ m' A2 l( W1 u
; Y/ b. E' v+ n9 G( |7 h- n1980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。 - `% o! z( @, }$ ?; b5 K8 p. R1 r不戴安全套的权利# X% ?0 i) r6 }
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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。 . M, z/ }$ ^; N- m+ |' e, I7 i
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”?+ b+ r4 u% A d0 v0 V# x! u
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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。 6 f6 N `+ b0 G6 D2 m0 R7 \! a8 y$ }, t" w1 q6 H4 K4 t; L, M
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?+ m' @6 F* F6 v) e* x8 b2 }3 e* ^
- H9 s, `0 f h& z; M" Z% Q6 O6 p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。 4 |: P3 [/ O _+ r% D/ c, X/ L( y9 f
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。9 r1 X$ a) n% P8 f! U4 D
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一些演员私下告诉我,他们盼着立法赶快生效。 J! R1 W2 o, B2 I5 T7 Y% I. z! ^( ]% p) O2 e* w3 h m
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。 ' F* \1 H5 |0 Z4 G" U2 u9 c, I" b4 n6 i. c) C3 _8 v3 J% {. R- U( y
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。) r8 _, E) ^3 M: |6 R W' y, A
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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……. 5 {! @0 ?8 C5 {, `& e6 `. z& v u% @) T1 R! S3 R
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Californian porn industry's 'perfect storm' of troubles 1 s, k q* ]+ A) X- h ! l( T- b9 v# m) J+ H% [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. 6 I/ Y2 l6 g# a# D( ` G& e 4 Z, L2 j% p2 [$ w+ d4 Q% XLight drizzle was falling as I pulled my car up outside a low-rise warehouse studio in northern Los Angeles. - l) O6 }+ a7 ? ) W2 o) T" v2 }6 m# V, AI had been told just to pitch up - it would be fun, they had said, to see how we do things.* a c& G- L& y1 Y4 M
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What I did see at first did not quite match my expectations but then again, I was not quite sure what to expect. - {1 C$ q& E# O+ @0 O, y : T5 r* e3 ]2 t+ ]9 DThe porn shoot was Star Trek, the Next Generation - a triple-X parody, billed as a humorous tribute to the iconic TV space saga.& V% K; }2 A* L& d
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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. + `" r) _8 R/ }+ v0 M4 A& t' A6 ^+ H! ~
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.5 x& p) g1 ^. O: A$ w3 h
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Only 30 minutes of this two-hour sex film would involve plot, he sighed.& s9 r* ?( h4 b
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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.4 N9 A5 {: K" X" Z& P+ H
8 A0 l8 _ ^& m' z9 q, h+ hThe problem, increasingly, is revenue." L( y% c6 x7 M2 f9 k: P4 y
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Like the music industry, pornographers are struggling to persuade their audience to pay for what they watch.* E/ Y8 J1 _ d$ q
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DVD sales have collapsed. Online, a great deal of porn can be accessed for free.+ o9 S9 R6 k7 r. R2 l- K3 i4 F
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And the economic downturn does not help. 4 y( V! H' \9 Z* Z N' q! U1 U # P9 ?2 i5 n: i4 {0 G"What with the recession and piracy, we call it the perfect storm," one leading producer observed wistfully. 9 w" p7 S2 M+ x; ]7 ?% R- V 0 O6 A/ P! f* O3 H5 VThe economic climate also means the industry is even less keen to accept California's increasingly stringent workplace regulations.% U# `0 h/ N. L4 {( b
8 T }& C* b% l- V( d$ SFor years, the authorities have been demanding that porn performers wear condoms. j' ?. a% [$ A; T
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Health scares - most notoriously in 2004 when three actors contracted HIV - have highlighted significant levels of infection on set. % ~/ @! ]0 n# ^: e* ?4 P % h! `, x6 M4 ]7 Y* c% B1 v9 yBut the industry says wearing condoms on-screen is a turn-off. The public do not want it, it will kill the fantasy, they say.' h& W) k) Q! l8 d" A
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Gonorrhoea " ^- D' T5 B/ S0 b& O% B* z! K' ^6 g, T* @. l
Back on the Star Trek set, I talked to Bobbi Starr, one of the lead performers." G; F( e. k: ] @; ^; t- T' s
. J( i+ H# i+ v) q- r5 n+ i% j. J; N" ^A college graduate, a former national standard swimmer and professional oboist, she seems to have packed a lot into her 27 years.- Z# V1 V9 W6 B4 Q( u
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She turned to porn, she said, out of a sense of sexual adventure.! \& I G2 G8 m* r
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"It's just fun," she said, "and when everyone around you is having fun too, what's not to love?"7 j' N. m2 w% {7 ~' u: d1 g, ?0 O
! ?* @/ G: _% h8 ^8 J- ]+ r* B4 hHer 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. 9 S7 x; R4 A8 s Q) L3 E8 D, V' l% v6 i
Each day would be 15 hours long., \( c& o) d- J% c
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"Wow, you must be exhausted?" I suggested., z) V0 ?/ ~5 @. R
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"You get used to it," she smiled.' ^% B# [" [, n, h
& v, T# [& m" c1 {+ Q"And what about the health risks," I asked. "Have you had many infections?"; ?8 `' T' p: Q3 Z
3 Z1 {1 p4 K$ S4 ]( N"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."3 l, G/ o( T5 ^* O; A @
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There was something very Californian about Bobbi, I decided.0 a1 t$ u: z' B& S6 ?* @
* E: y% s. x. W- l. j+ oExpensive lawsuits. k) r/ [% W- K$ n/ x7 ^, t
+ u# \( ^" t$ B4 j4 GIn fact there was something very Californian about the entire business.7 S3 L0 K/ w% K o
( b, D" \. t$ r. j: nA combination of determined enthusiasm, combined with a rebel attitude, a sort of libertarian defiance towards the forces ranged against it. # D" U) d; s7 U0 M* f6 H& K1 V! H, r( [1 b" @; x- n
It 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. & d4 C8 j' R; A: Q 1 W7 R- j$ D% z& Q0 T5 o( w- x7 |Now, 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.) b9 h# t, v3 A r. j
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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?" 6 p0 P, b( l6 u8 B$ V; w D+ m( Y. ~' U( _: J
I struggled to picture Benjamin Franklin or Thomas Jefferson having this in mind as they penned the First Amendment.: l& @& j( c) E& V9 _+ a! b1 W
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But 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?0 c! C$ t( d7 j2 T% w; k9 s
?& A& _, D/ L' z3 U: Z5 BThe authorities though are adamant. Construction workers wear hard hats, miners wear masks - these actors have to have suitable barrier protection.6 a6 X+ d" T+ y& `3 v) C, o; ^
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It 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.) H- J W5 I s! `. J/ r/ M; C
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A number of actors told me privately that regulation could not come soon enough for them., h' R* _9 S8 A) {2 }) R$ U! }
6 P+ i( H, f# ]8 a4 xThe producers say this will not help workers but will only force production abroad, or underground - the public always gets what the public wants. ; C/ i4 T9 s1 n3 Q & t1 e2 O3 E& x' g1 F. DThat view was echoed by Bobbi Starr - her parting words, in fact, as she began to disrobe for her epic sex scene.% P% U- ~8 Q, c, w$ F$ V3 H+ ^
7 A& K# R; s, ~) dI decided I had seen enough and slipped back out into the rain. ) c h _3 S! E3 k6 d8 A+ O1 w # X4 x+ k& E6 J5 D& V . D( D% ^) W, S8 f8 _6 d; S% i: P, W- E% E. n! c- [8 ]- [0 B $ n* C1 ?. s9 r+ H% J* X+ Q* c7 n% }Calls for greater safety increased after actors tested positive for HIV in 2004