# I1 r5 a4 c. D) F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。 3 ]5 e( e0 W" W6 B2 W B7 D7 J! R! b* P* U' l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？ 9 w9 b/ x" N5 H# ]+ ^8 u" g- c, `) _+ S% u
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。3 R0 Z# X+ K. g$ X" b
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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。 : _; g8 J4 a/ L7 H+ x( n6 } _0 k. Q 4 u% P& m% R q+ j0 x一些演员私下告诉我，他们盼着立法赶快生效。9 l+ j/ L/ v# }9 _ 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。1 n0 A0 u* U; W4 T
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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。/ P: u# u V) I1 \
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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……." ]. i5 h" d- z `+ ~' C
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# I* J! ~# x v/ `. t1 eCalifornian porn industry's 'perfect storm' of troubles 8 n6 x3 O% \- d8 ]3 H# H4 u) j. h+ ^7 b7 ^) c- N2 |! ^* v
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. + b8 _; W' P4 X; M- N# B& j% ?" B. ]! o+ ? H0 z3 i
Light drizzle was falling as I pulled my car up outside a low-rise warehouse studio in northern Los Angeles.) x/ @: M( R1 _% ?0 U9 K; w
7 a, h% x: L. x" gI had been told just to pitch up - it would be fun, they had said, to see how we do things.- \7 |) \3 b4 x$ }3 a% `
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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. % r3 o* q0 w9 I, x1 l; s+ R" l : ]1 J8 D4 q4 Y6 C, u3 SThe porn shoot was Star Trek, the Next Generation - a triple-X parody, billed as a humorous tribute to the iconic TV space saga. 6 D& T8 T4 g7 e2 ?- @$ ~9 B2 N5 L2 y- O) t" K5 P
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$ M; K( S8 ^( t / h6 T: L6 y: ~( cThis 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 u- u. X, `2 _1 N0 O$ Y1 M, k5 b1 @
Only 30 minutes of this two-hour sex film would involve plot, he sighed. & D1 F2 e! ?% Q' D$ H7 e, ~ / H/ `8 ~3 h, k( g @2 z. t) QFantasy, Q' X! E" @; d
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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 S3 [& a
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The problem, increasingly, is revenue. , y* ^4 Q& w& T6 z( r0 ^! |% N / V- P" ]3 Q8 h1 M0 _Like the music industry, pornographers are struggling to persuade their audience to pay for what they watch.7 \8 R. ^0 j0 y' |) N6 w2 w
+ m1 n1 l( m4 M, I1 m8 VDVD sales have collapsed. Online, a great deal of porn can be accessed for free.) E, y% T8 M8 b" Y Q5 @ K1 h
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And the economic downturn does not help. % q' F4 [0 i, a! }" u- x4 k9 `( { k2 s7 U* m# c3 T
"What with the recession and piracy, we call it the perfect storm," one leading producer observed wistfully.1 k3 X2 |4 {# J# u' e
7 J' Y8 M% g; [# ]The economic climate also means the industry is even less keen to accept California's increasingly stringent workplace regulations. - J5 c+ R. ~# N) T6 U. L1 |' y4 Q# J3 q
For years, the authorities have been demanding that porn performers wear condoms. & c1 U$ g7 E; V$ A8 U% d 3 H( ^1 \& t' l* U9 r$ J0 |# {Health scares - most notoriously in 2004 when three actors contracted HIV - have highlighted significant levels of infection on set. - s% O7 {! Q* }# ^$ P6 G/ V. I( P& v& w" f) Y o% q$ J
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. 5 J+ ?7 B: N$ y6 ~" G; j4 o* G% Y
Gonorrhoea \! ?- d$ t& m% @9 v5 N+ A" T
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Back on the Star Trek set, I talked to Bobbi Starr, one of the lead performers.' H) L' B0 D6 {+ {8 v# y5 E5 o
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A college graduate, a former national standard swimmer and professional oboist, she seems to have packed a lot into her 27 years.' `' Q" v: P: d/ Z9 g8 r
9 a6 N9 ]6 u$ L! S2 zShe turned to porn, she said, out of a sense of sexual adventure. 0 f- M' K- j: {2 G8 v5 A2 _3 b- v3 z) g; T% r' e9 ^. B8 `% q( G
"It's just fun," she said, "and when everyone around you is having fun too, what's not to love?"7 X+ e/ b, x" q# O9 `' r
+ }: r6 X1 A: a- g7 Q6 [+ _7 _8 q' dHer 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. : r; O- n; Z& F# G7 l/ _$ n6 L3 A# h
Each day would be 15 hours long.$ A2 F9 f: v& I' g. h
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"Wow, you must be exhausted?" I suggested.; d/ o2 V: x* x' N9 R+ D
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"You get used to it," she smiled. c# ~# p0 I, |6 k0 } q2 Y- r- v" J; U
"And what about the health risks," I asked. "Have you had many infections?"# N3 D, X' `- W) P) o) [5 f
) E# y6 A$ v! b9 w* u3 q"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."+ s! A. P8 |6 Y. g8 a# V% I6 [# F& r
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There was something very Californian about Bobbi, I decided.2 W. O; A6 D* j$ V5 r
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Expensive lawsuits 0 G: {" I- T: s8 U3 e6 U# c 0 a, n! ?* g! _3 w; xIn fact there was something very Californian about the entire business. : ^$ k7 D" u% l. h" c+ _1 k, E/ t7 @3 H+ j( s0 A& |
A combination of determined enthusiasm, combined with a rebel attitude, a sort of libertarian defiance towards the forces ranged against it. ) v* ^& F% d6 Z g5 V- I7 a3 w) V- J, D/ |% H2 d; l( Z 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. $ I7 q6 m5 X: F0 r * ]0 C& A. R) Q3 j# rNow, 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. - y9 y4 e8 X. m " i# B' e- ?' }$ ]) S& f0 y"How can I express myself as an artist," one producer said to me, "if you're going to clothe my performers in rubber?"& O1 F( V# o0 @& W; g2 q$ ?2 v' y
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I struggled to picture Benjamin Franklin or Thomas Jefferson having this in mind as they penned the First Amendment. 2 F, H5 {4 |. u/ N% D. V% a! p! o$ c' I3 ]
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?- w. ^' [; o4 h8 Z* D
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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.3 k; d3 E% J% R# d
8 [ P" n6 t/ e+ D, d: KIt 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.: ]8 b t+ L2 A6 E- _: J7 C
c$ B2 O* W% C: c6 x- R$ zA number of actors told me privately that regulation could not come soon enough for them.7 Q8 ]5 w; G' B \% b! z
$ j$ R0 R' b9 i! U" YThe producers say this will not help workers but will only force production abroad, or underground - the public always gets what the public wants. ; B! S6 u L4 L+ e " a- u% d, |4 L$ l! s' a) G/ sThat view was echoed by Bobbi Starr - her parting words, in fact, as she began to disrobe for her epic sex scene. 7 A8 k$ i. K- F8 O ' P; P7 u% R5 }- BI decided I had seen enough and slipped back out into the rain. ; r6 Q. H0 L( I ) n7 Q* @1 m$ P( A: z/ D: [8 g# I) U+ F( B' K7 Z
0 v. w* p( r2 B9 z( p0 n7 k , u, c3 q v! w! a+ ?+ L) bCalls for greater safety increased after actors tested positive for HIV in 2004
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