4 K9 n. n6 d. r# t6 V& H我接着问,“那么,健康风险呢?你经常被感染吗”?$ @) ~! ^: h5 e& g) i5 X5 c
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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。”+ ? o) W5 d7 {: f; `5 k! d
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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。 ! r Q- y9 t/ z3 j- I) X1 N( m& ?$ B; F: `# B) _4 \
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。 4 T# ?& T1 c v9 H: ~9 P* g4 q不戴安全套的权利& D% r* v: g8 A& f+ C
: I% G2 S% l! `# i B9 M+ a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。; F7 x+ j6 Q- M: ?8 Z, y
" }/ \" [7 s+ g4 j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”? $ I/ ?; B# y0 e7 S; { 8 Y* x7 f( | Q- ^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。# h9 D/ N+ z5 G1 I
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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? + e- G5 v# _- W% `( c$ o/ ^ , a. u! D b$ X2 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。 & u# d) L, G1 U- {' o9 d( l( o9 J; }: Q' a0 U 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。 h% g; T: L% o% e1 i! ~* i2 D) u$ @3 a
一些演员私下告诉我,他们盼着立法赶快生效。( K! R9 }/ M0 j7 y" i6 }
: @* C; p4 f, j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。# u1 w. V2 L6 i
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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。2 w; k0 L9 ~$ Z. j
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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…….2 K, g4 |4 K$ g# b, \1 C4 d2 k$ W
/ N' z% e: @, p2 c3 R1 W * l' O* ^* T6 t- K4 oCalifornian porn industry's 'perfect storm' of troubles 8 \- [/ k2 f# `( A3 e% [6 s+ x. @" w* U+ d
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. ; U3 k8 l7 N/ r# e; Z0 m7 `7 @ f- G- B
Light drizzle was falling as I pulled my car up outside a low-rise warehouse studio in northern Los Angeles. , |; [% l4 O: M$ e6 u4 Z' K5 D! T& i* d- `; c& `
I had been told just to pitch up - it would be fun, they had said, to see how we do things.# t7 a( \% h& q' c% {' r( H
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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.5 Y; u1 T! l. P5 \9 Y9 ^0 M) q$ S
% E2 R- I9 g& c# BThe porn shoot was Star Trek, the Next Generation - a triple-X parody, billed as a humorous tribute to the iconic TV space saga.: p1 Q6 p& c: U8 r1 ?0 s! Z
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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." h% Y: p- }1 v0 F6 | Z% h
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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. $ ?+ h7 k! F; ^ - w3 p/ Y$ O \; |' yOnly 30 minutes of this two-hour sex film would involve plot, he sighed.% O& X, o2 V7 ^% h
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Fantasy9 m$ L# ^5 L" s z( {
2 ? E' j' q d0 g3 `: qThe 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.! z5 X* p3 q& h$ ~
0 h5 }/ s2 @3 p0 OLike the music industry, pornographers are struggling to persuade their audience to pay for what they watch.+ f) s `0 o0 J, B( E
% }! y& z y9 C+ `0 WDVD sales have collapsed. Online, a great deal of porn can be accessed for free. / |3 t9 R" e8 ^& j* X" O$ o " m0 J6 V; k/ j+ x: c+ q" t& F* q* w6 tAnd the economic downturn does not help.' ~, n x0 i( f/ M1 g8 q
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"What with the recession and piracy, we call it the perfect storm," one leading producer observed wistfully.- L" Q* X! E. H2 D% r
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The economic climate also means the industry is even less keen to accept California's increasingly stringent workplace regulations.5 d9 |: }) I5 l
& u, H8 ^ C, O: [3 N) DFor years, the authorities have been demanding that porn performers wear condoms.) p f2 q) o0 t7 M4 P
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Health scares - most notoriously in 2004 when three actors contracted HIV - have highlighted significant levels of infection on set.$ Y. F: _" |! g: {3 O! a; \
7 Z6 d6 u5 R, P7 w, ^4 k1 V+ hBut the industry says wearing condoms on-screen is a turn-off. The public do not want it, it will kill the fantasy, they say. ! p0 i+ w9 U2 R7 b3 E( o2 ]! o $ {& e. c$ h' l7 Z% a h& }% lGonorrhoea 1 j0 S6 \1 w7 V0 E0 d2 _: P; ~$ l& d5 A/ G( H d
Back on the Star Trek set, I talked to Bobbi Starr, one of the lead performers. X: ~, q) F' ^9 @) A B+ h" ]
0 r7 r0 |- ^7 o- ] P6 e/ PA college graduate, a former national standard swimmer and professional oboist, she seems to have packed a lot into her 27 years.5 \+ D9 Y5 [/ |0 o6 ?
/ k3 h( I e: R3 ?8 ?) GShe turned to porn, she said, out of a sense of sexual adventure." M- I, t/ j# q4 m8 D1 T
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"It's just fun," she said, "and when everyone around you is having fun too, what's not to love?"5 D. b5 a. c; u
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Her 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.3 g. F3 D; C: Q
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Each day would be 15 hours long.( T; {6 ~1 _$ G# L0 r* _* Q7 x
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"Wow, you must be exhausted?" I suggested.0 q5 [1 U, o2 y7 j
% ~$ c G4 z6 C* N, F. h"You get used to it," she smiled. ; i, t0 w7 y( F* Q w. T . W. K9 v8 {3 J) T- {4 ]' p" a9 q"And what about the health risks," I asked. "Have you had many infections?" 7 G% }+ q% C7 {; E 5 K% `! l$ v9 b3 q: Z# o) `"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."# `' C9 w O7 o5 y; f0 A
6 _' e2 T! U" b* TThere was something very Californian about Bobbi, I decided. " w% v8 _* w" m& u7 k: X O" M' m8 E- bExpensive lawsuits 8 C! s; L9 [7 u. c$ H/ X0 ?" P) _9 w$ t8 X7 b' v! W! M3 C
In fact there was something very Californian about the entire business. ; ^5 G6 g! _# `$ T+ d I \) p' }. f' [0 _# u c: VA combination of determined enthusiasm, combined with a rebel attitude, a sort of libertarian defiance towards the forces ranged against it. , u) W* F0 Z4 |8 z, j 8 V) D; ]' T9 q2 [& }* EIt 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.- B% M# L% p& l6 d
8 B' j1 V9 R! Y" W2 b9 X nNow, 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.+ ~% b$ k, F. t7 V% _8 W
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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?"; k g" {+ p" n6 Z3 d4 R6 e" [
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I struggled to picture Benjamin Franklin or Thomas Jefferson having this in mind as they penned the First Amendment.4 G# `- p2 t3 z1 g' c, s# z' B
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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?# F7 a! ]7 m- f# ^
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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. u% i' |- O: G9 r
# D4 X3 Y! _0 M% |! W% y, pIt 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. , U0 N( m) V$ ?5 z, j % Q7 n$ J9 q8 k) a, n7 d2 MA number of actors told me privately that regulation could not come soon enough for them., R/ D# H' q5 u
* j: l8 X& ~3 A8 a1 Q/ mThe producers say this will not help workers but will only force production abroad, or underground - the public always gets what the public wants. 3 F" V. @- v) \0 L ) Q/ c" O+ `, [3 ]That view was echoed by Bobbi Starr - her parting words, in fact, as she began to disrobe for her epic sex scene.0 ^. m2 g) y1 F9 l( X. q
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I decided I had seen enough and slipped back out into the rain. + u6 D v- S% O 3 g+ a/ h" h" F7 F1 d9 e( p 5 j# L8 N+ {0 m+ i! b( t a : w/ ?( ^( U* m6 {3 ?3 q" f0 p4 q# I: ]% v
Calls for greater safety increased after actors tested positive for HIV in 2004