V: T t2 _1 v我接着问，“那么，健康风险呢？你经常被感染吗”？* o* ]& l" j2 {3 t# F& B- @$ e1 `
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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。” . [$ P C( b" @( c 7 A) w. C- T; ^; ] }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。9 {' I6 M; i' J% n; l2 ]
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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。5 |- F& n: K) q& u. I1 @
不戴安全套的权利9 s! h3 a9 P9 \# j( G
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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。 ; Y1 U: \8 o1 I( u7 K* U; @7 w Q7 M0 ? |3 B
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”？ 0 B1 e$ s7 ~' I1 [1 s2 Y4 | 8 a! `- i( r& A. n' O3 @: o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 y$ ]( Z3 }+ p: C
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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？, W O) j9 ]& Q
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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。 1 U7 ^) P) A! H1 S* k5 i8 q3 G : ?7 k6 [7 z" g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。$ w5 m$ t- P, z# f- D# `0 E
$ {4 v* r9 E! n一些演员私下告诉我，他们盼着立法赶快生效。: T- F( ^, o6 h% n
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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。 2 a7 Z% y4 h' }/ c g+ M2 D# E4 w6 e& e% G6 k
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。 - m' _, Q; R" r5 W6 G 3 F9 G& k9 Z3 h3 }" G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……. 6 S' Z' Y+ p5 G7 [# Y$ G& s" Z ( n1 Y- y4 t5 i K* ?( D+ N7 {Californian porn industry's 'perfect storm' of troubles . @8 Y3 q( u! n
$ ~7 V0 M" a; MCalifornia'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. 9 h6 K: f, R6 B& G' M. Z! T $ K4 J+ D9 [6 O# B, \Light drizzle was falling as I pulled my car up outside a low-rise warehouse studio in northern Los Angeles.7 j5 O9 v8 S* [3 e
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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.0 E% M% X% L7 f3 H3 U. ?
. c! M: E$ U6 n$ \What I did see at first did not quite match my expectations but then again, I was not quite sure what to expect. 4 G5 ] |/ N; g. `: f, S! K, _ ) M$ F& X4 \8 C- ZThe porn shoot was Star Trek, the Next Generation - a triple-X parody, billed as a humorous tribute to the iconic TV space saga.' [: ^2 I, E/ M, ~" S$ m0 P
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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.% ]6 x! k; R! C: g' g1 `
$ S" }0 U9 a1 V- tThis 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.: ?0 |. f: n4 r# v% B( `. ~
; F5 E( [/ n+ q* WOnly 30 minutes of this two-hour sex film would involve plot, he sighed. 3 G: q- |) J/ P, L. y2 a5 Y, o; q( L0 \$ Y' |6 o
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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. ' J- h0 T- I9 n9 q: Y7 q- s' ^; C" u6 o: @0 y
The problem, increasingly, is revenue. * P4 \( f# K1 H/ I 3 i2 q; k1 M% Z# YLike the music industry, pornographers are struggling to persuade their audience to pay for what they watch.5 ~$ ~( |7 R: v" {) l
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DVD sales have collapsed. Online, a great deal of porn can be accessed for free. ! G* K3 Y, t6 X3 d8 ]1 S& w; U' q # T& X; n. a J( ]3 m3 `; EAnd the economic downturn does not help., b) ?; n# f+ ~2 `5 P5 Z. q8 r( H; }
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"What with the recession and piracy, we call it the perfect storm," one leading producer observed wistfully.4 ^: W, `3 n0 m
: e3 K# j2 u5 Z2 xThe economic climate also means the industry is even less keen to accept California's increasingly stringent workplace regulations. $ s/ u& u& d; v( u% I# Z4 b8 t& { ' |7 i9 M- h. W* P, ^For years, the authorities have been demanding that porn performers wear condoms.$ l* a" Y; i6 ^) U# b6 }
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Health scares - most notoriously in 2004 when three actors contracted HIV - have highlighted significant levels of infection on set.8 O, ^( X3 {0 Q( a8 c
& o+ X/ }. c# E+ cBut the industry says wearing condoms on-screen is a turn-off. The public do not want it, it will kill the fantasy, they say. 0 j) S. n" l% u2 T" J$ B3 n' [6 h
Gonorrhoea0 O! M( ~" U4 N. j0 w4 V* k E; q
$ e; W) ]# ?% J2 U. p7 }' @; uBack on the Star Trek set, I talked to Bobbi Starr, one of the lead performers. 6 z; q0 d) g& ?3 n- I* w- A5 Z0 p. O
A college graduate, a former national standard swimmer and professional oboist, she seems to have packed a lot into her 27 years. # M+ r4 G6 o/ n8 Z8 W3 } # d& d. K C9 e& { B) nShe turned to porn, she said, out of a sense of sexual adventure.+ o3 O5 J! y3 t3 q1 u3 A
( d6 o6 M; t1 S- N7 e" j& W, s9 j"It's just fun," she said, "and when everyone around you is having fun too, what's not to love?"2 T/ {' y/ h* |
6 H9 g/ P; s% ~8 PHer 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.5 v3 O: Q( ?/ H: M: i6 |* s
( Q' h5 |/ H+ V: tEach day would be 15 hours long. : J3 H& A! ^) r+ t E! T ' ?/ g3 |) k6 G"Wow, you must be exhausted?" I suggested.. f4 ^7 h7 e. S5 K
! i9 R' @/ Z t"You get used to it," she smiled. . k+ j( P, v/ ^. X0 r! h6 e # _- v1 o6 _$ ?. u/ }"And what about the health risks," I asked. "Have you had many infections?" 8 {2 @# s0 S% Y' G; b' f+ C $ |: ~. O/ U- a3 V"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."9 U% x1 {* E2 E" e0 F
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There was something very Californian about Bobbi, I decided.: J1 |/ c8 f: ?7 O8 [
0 U( Z5 ?! p2 \; k2 x/ P EExpensive lawsuits 0 p$ p1 P7 _' M' K . B" p. `2 I3 t# ~8 _In fact there was something very Californian about the entire business. + h; d$ t% c' W0 {- o6 v- e6 J/ C. h( w( \, K
A combination of determined enthusiasm, combined with a rebel attitude, a sort of libertarian defiance towards the forces ranged against it. & w8 B4 w! e" n9 t ) W% T6 x+ A/ uIt 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. ( x$ d6 {: Q6 \( @ 6 Q+ A" ` `0 Q+ b3 I7 X$ HNow, 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. 1 q0 a K' t3 o2 [2 C7 k2 K & a% S! B5 `& A: \9 s4 ]4 h"How can I express myself as an artist," one producer said to me, "if you're going to clothe my performers in rubber?" # g& D* l2 r( N" i" }3 T7 h0 Y1 T: K2 H$ O) N
I struggled to picture Benjamin Franklin or Thomas Jefferson having this in mind as they penned the First Amendment.1 L) {8 O; o; o4 j, d( z
3 ~- h2 F8 `. @5 ?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?4 A, d) o- O9 a0 x% m+ j. A
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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.- T4 w8 ^ A9 j6 D1 J i
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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. 2 o0 b' o5 b1 n5 n2 n; \6 W2 g, A& w: P0 v
A number of actors told me privately that regulation could not come soon enough for them.% [! y, }3 n ~
6 P" `: m* q3 \' D6 zThe producers say this will not help workers but will only force production abroad, or underground - the public always gets what the public wants. 5 d5 \" {/ \9 S" z) E% c F9 K [, V) W8 D( bThat view was echoed by Bobbi Starr - her parting words, in fact, as she began to disrobe for her epic sex scene. $ \' `" n F- Q+ M) v x0 w. z1 Y* h; N2 C5 ^I decided I had seen enough and slipped back out into the rain.3 m. c) ], x* v+ k8 p1 J
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6 r' y* Z; `* T2 f. l4 j0 M 2 ^" t& n: Z" d( l% {6 Y& H5 p$ oCalls for greater safety increased after actors tested positive for HIV in 2004
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