7 D5 p! r' _; h5 {3 M( H F我说，“你一定很累吧”？她微笑着回答说，“习惯了”。! o: M( E' ?' r' W
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我接着问，“那么，健康风险呢？你经常被感染吗”？9 m0 j6 p' V9 C# ?0 p
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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。” # ]) a8 A( e. G- h& P% D5 x2 `# D3 k1 s% s* e
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。- B, D# T c K9 P
5 m' b- o6 Y. n' w* w( B' ]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。3 R8 i6 x& D' L4 X/ R' w
不戴安全套的权利0 u g# X$ f% P @1 ]9 s+ j
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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。9 G: d: V( S- h; Y) b
6 k& k7 ?/ c1 A8 h5 b/ N 5 x3 E1 Y( N4 q* a d: m. h! }/ C& fCalifornian porn industry's 'perfect storm' of troubles R# K# o2 }& p6 Y) X ) y, S6 e! @# N$ gCalifornia'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.0 b( o7 e( r3 \+ R& l
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Light drizzle was falling as I pulled my car up outside a low-rise warehouse studio in northern Los Angeles. 6 {8 H9 ?" O, S8 O# f) Q 0 p, I# N8 ~: K6 t1 BI had been told just to pitch up - it would be fun, they had said, to see how we do things.) B: t0 B2 Z5 G
* F8 E3 Z" Y3 B; FWhat I did see at first did not quite match my expectations but then again, I was not quite sure what to expect.) Q$ h5 a/ S6 s8 ~4 _
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The porn shoot was Star Trek, the Next Generation - a triple-X parody, billed as a humorous tribute to the iconic TV space saga. 6 r; v! P- Y4 ]# h9 @4 n! K* K | ~$ B
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.! M! h* g( x% e' @0 b
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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.9 A; I9 S+ K! I1 [5 Z' L1 G; G
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Only 30 minutes of this two-hour sex film would involve plot, he sighed./ E# {$ |. D @9 N# L5 e6 S
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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., Z6 C4 x5 ], K+ Y8 j4 Y: D
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The problem, increasingly, is revenue.% ?" l5 @3 A9 a8 C3 n0 `
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Like the music industry, pornographers are struggling to persuade their audience to pay for what they watch. % O3 ]7 V$ S# y' f h% c+ q& @, a9 i; p# Z
DVD sales have collapsed. Online, a great deal of porn can be accessed for free.0 C [) {+ t& E4 D) r1 |
2 P" O7 ~5 d; ?, P) y4 F! _ A2 kAnd the economic downturn does not help. ! e8 w! Q, y/ i6 z4 v 4 x9 ?3 J7 d! Y$ N/ ]9 ]. q* ^"What with the recession and piracy, we call it the perfect storm," one leading producer observed wistfully. " {# c+ Y- |- `/ S* }8 W! U# }' H$ X
The economic climate also means the industry is even less keen to accept California's increasingly stringent workplace regulations.* G8 n' o2 l' @7 L4 K
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For years, the authorities have been demanding that porn performers wear condoms.) P0 g6 V6 U5 M. N- `, g: u3 g
, o7 g2 F2 f4 w& g; Q6 R, vHealth scares - most notoriously in 2004 when three actors contracted HIV - have highlighted significant levels of infection on set. p' r; A: y5 _3 M8 @. c1 a8 ~+ @5 F K- p1 C
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. * u/ E0 C# B% K8 z, u, f ; D0 p0 {& u; R9 x$ E, N! }* qGonorrhoea * Z: g" A3 s7 d* f' h$ f# ^ , }& m, ~7 T+ o2 W, ^2 l/ yBack on the Star Trek set, I talked to Bobbi Starr, one of the lead performers.& ^2 n, Y1 V3 K+ \, m1 c
3 s5 C! _7 W! yA college graduate, a former national standard swimmer and professional oboist, she seems to have packed a lot into her 27 years. - O8 G4 f g: Q& ?- C( W @- I0 w. A" o9 G: |She turned to porn, she said, out of a sense of sexual adventure." q1 u/ X! N* K2 m
+ Q0 e3 r' ^# j T6 _( b' w"It's just fun," she said, "and when everyone around you is having fun too, what's not to love?" % { k: }% d' T) o, o/ ?* s, l( g& w; _
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.. \! Q( m3 }% m- @
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Each day would be 15 hours long.5 r& _1 ]. G/ r% @
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"Wow, you must be exhausted?" I suggested.- S: u C2 w6 J& G
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"You get used to it," she smiled.& K, \7 o7 P, j! U: w) s+ U
* O0 `$ |* m- x% k; d! n"And what about the health risks," I asked. "Have you had many infections?" 9 A! V4 H! o6 K: l3 O, t3 f/ e9 M( m. ~3 W4 Q" j9 [; w5 d) D( ], l
"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." # J- p9 [1 s4 }9 L' q. a 0 x+ V3 O+ A1 l) Y+ LThere was something very Californian about Bobbi, I decided.. Z8 l. \9 j0 N% A; P
) x+ P, g. n+ y) S5 X1 ^Expensive lawsuits - W2 O$ [* h# \# _, {3 J % g3 `4 A- a( A! aIn fact there was something very Californian about the entire business.3 Y" i3 v* k& m4 ]! s
2 M* b+ W. k4 e }- D# n* JA combination of determined enthusiasm, combined with a rebel attitude, a sort of libertarian defiance towards the forces ranged against it. / g3 m5 B; o& E$ z7 @9 Z+ G 2 J% f6 U! L# [) i; C# ]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." }: B7 S- ^' S7 e$ D- f1 q
) g' [) k( f$ d! C4 qNow, 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. # {, b6 a# h# I8 |3 m( m: w7 \$ R $ k7 t. W4 O6 {0 x7 A! i"How can I express myself as an artist," one producer said to me, "if you're going to clothe my performers in rubber?" 6 e- E# P) A8 u! ?" O. z- X/ P1 P" K1 P
I struggled to picture Benjamin Franklin or Thomas Jefferson having this in mind as they penned the First Amendment.# i) Q& _; X: y, T3 Z; i
! `, c8 [6 ^6 [8 G T. HBut 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?2 q5 J0 Y! O. ^1 X8 j
2 n7 H+ p ^# A: x6 @! U9 QThe authorities though are adamant. Construction workers wear hard hats, miners wear masks - these actors have to have suitable barrier protection.$ w- O' K' F- O( D W5 d
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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. 7 p( y2 o3 Y% v$ j5 ^/ `+ n, ^/ e7 a4 S0 f. V0 X6 ]8 T8 {" |
A number of actors told me privately that regulation could not come soon enough for them. e8 Z! W& `; _4 V6 b8 U$ |2 |3 ?3 V, F$ w n, b3 @5 Y& S) G
The producers say this will not help workers but will only force production abroad, or underground - the public always gets what the public wants. 2 M3 S9 D6 P! H# C! W; `5 h & N' l7 f$ i+ m% p! @That view was echoed by Bobbi Starr - her parting words, in fact, as she began to disrobe for her epic sex scene.( `* V) o4 h( V8 W# ~% p
, @, C* ]5 f, z. L1 r$ t& a# i/ DI decided I had seen enough and slipped back out into the rain. $ @( [ n/ `/ L" s) q% S! W 0 _, F) K) O, ^: J 3 l8 a" e4 S3 _ H: q8 B! d3 g0 \. q% X! c- o( G. X7 T8 X/ u . ~ ]& J5 o" q* ~3 i5 ?2 U6 uCalls for greater safety increased after actors tested positive for HIV in 2004
