: T/ ^2 ]6 G1 i7 X( X& W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”？ ) I! {2 a, L4 J/ t5 b7 R, a i- R# t. w. A! ]% z- O7 g
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。8 d8 d8 N3 ?$ z; M: Y/ T9 A$ ?+ c
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我说，“你一定很累吧”？她微笑着回答说，“习惯了”。4 Q7 o J) c; B. B6 a% J
0 Q9 r: q+ I, H; ^1 L我接着问，“那么，健康风险呢？你经常被感染吗”？6 A6 n! o. M5 R2 c$ s" z3 W
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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。”, B! z" U$ A0 t N3 e
, S! x* W; J, ]' x0 q9 y. d- 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。 2 A `2 O y, |7 }7 f9 n$ ]; o' p2 [
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。9 K# x" {- U, r4 r j
不戴安全套的权利 " l% U; X- n1 U) @. f E+ f& a& m( H% f# N7 @: `- b U
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。 : @( G3 y2 m+ Q6 P+ A2 q1 k3 n" ~$ t7 k
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”？7 Z# ^9 I1 h, T4 D5 v
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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。8 a* O# }1 F' W9 j# ]( L+ x
! n) I3 y/ l4 m# Q; I% W8 {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？: R7 }) a0 v/ @; ]% ~+ D
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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。 & b3 C1 W3 v; K# A) U' w- J$ i6 b2 P+ p! d% W# t! M# W2 [
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。 ' X( N4 j. M; a4 y9 x H5 `+ u# }. r% ~" J/ J4 f. `; u$ c
一些演员私下告诉我，他们盼着立法赶快生效。) f# o$ a/ v& l$ @8 ^
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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。( o+ t; P+ z0 K3 m
0 \- q' ?" l7 }0 D. s) j" m1 m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。4 n* O9 C y) F0 a
" T0 f) x3 j5 i% f, S2 G8 v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 q" ?% f( v1 R . A* g5 [* ~ b4 @' s( I. l; l 0 f0 h( T; K* O, L6 BCalifornian porn industry's 'perfect storm' of troubles . U7 f9 |7 u e2 m. s5 @& J9 |8 C5 }
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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.0 y( z; _7 s, U( I! ?
: n* a+ u0 t9 j3 E" K0 ILight drizzle was falling as I pulled my car up outside a low-rise warehouse studio in northern Los Angeles.% V( y9 ], t6 @, ~* D8 H0 d
1 Q8 t6 k) i: aI had been told just to pitch up - it would be fun, they had said, to see how we do things.! Z2 B1 U. ~7 k* z) R
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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.+ }9 Z6 o, E# E$ D1 B* {
$ s5 ?' R2 Z4 v, Q. OThe porn shoot was Star Trek, the Next Generation - a triple-X parody, billed as a humorous tribute to the iconic TV space saga." q1 S; g! ~0 y2 g' q/ d$ a( b
- o c- L+ ]- |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.' l/ i8 t- e' m$ H* ~$ y) ?
: J" \: R+ p. I! Q# l* ]1 ]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. : X4 \6 Y" }- I K0 X8 q( e! P / m) t8 u$ M3 N% D% ]Only 30 minutes of this two-hour sex film would involve plot, he sighed.2 I3 e5 g% e' a) L( a" v( d) q2 [. |
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+ @! ~- Q+ S3 H" JThe 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 g) H2 G' w, k8 ` ( }/ A% j# z+ SThe problem, increasingly, is revenue. F7 \" T9 t- w
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Like the music industry, pornographers are struggling to persuade their audience to pay for what they watch.$ r2 U% k9 i# E& t8 e! i3 Q" c+ c, b
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DVD sales have collapsed. Online, a great deal of porn can be accessed for free. $ t$ b1 T. j# `7 |( s% @, P 0 E% J9 j8 o! e/ K* oAnd the economic downturn does not help. $ v$ ~1 t6 P, L7 e8 G$ h1 J2 a
"What with the recession and piracy, we call it the perfect storm," one leading producer observed wistfully.3 k; T( Z) L6 a4 f: o7 j+ u
5 l2 |6 B/ j. s5 oThe economic climate also means the industry is even less keen to accept California's increasingly stringent workplace regulations. ! K; s2 a4 f3 d3 ]+ `8 \6 h% N+ J- C1 Y% u+ I* v* B
For years, the authorities have been demanding that porn performers wear condoms.7 w+ W* W1 Z- A* b$ Q# y6 Y1 a* U
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Health scares - most notoriously in 2004 when three actors contracted HIV - have highlighted significant levels of infection on set.2 L; L# ]3 t/ S+ x: p
! t- I4 \# M" c3 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.8 O; i+ h1 J/ D3 A& @
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Gonorrhoea & `3 F: j# ]# S' _9 |+ D$ a& w $ F3 E% Z2 N3 J8 q# H# u. pBack on the Star Trek set, I talked to Bobbi Starr, one of the lead performers." v% N1 A& ]' h
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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.: C' @" m3 r- j0 J' j7 \' `# S; x
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She turned to porn, she said, out of a sense of sexual adventure. 5 T3 E" j& Q6 z% g9 Q# z2 i" N5 n/ E2 Y4 m
"It's just fun," she said, "and when everyone around you is having fun too, what's not to love?" N$ h& x/ ^/ i7 |/ q! v9 F
# I; u$ a& O; g; IHer 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.6 H) B' D% ^3 w5 d
, D, m7 n5 n4 h! E8 w% S: REach day would be 15 hours long. 5 i) V( Z! F* O3 X( ^! I" V. n4 U- N2 H& [1 h6 N
"Wow, you must be exhausted?" I suggested.& n& i/ [& a5 z/ N5 A; }5 E3 J
. f1 m/ O, l8 f2 P U"You get used to it," she smiled.7 Q1 V8 _# F/ {
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"And what about the health risks," I asked. "Have you had many infections?"6 ?2 V% Q. r" x6 S) b) @( R
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"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."; l6 X3 {' S1 G, p
7 Q# i. {+ `+ v8 h8 Q* E4 eIn fact there was something very Californian about the entire business. / y; ], u% G3 f 1 D- W/ [: @3 v$ {" M, OA combination of determined enthusiasm, combined with a rebel attitude, a sort of libertarian defiance towards the forces ranged against it. , w6 r" V0 E+ h/ S% [' e. A9 R ; `4 s9 Z+ b. e T2 h0 m# {3 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.6 D X5 z& S; i) A
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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.. |" P# e2 t( Q" I' t
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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?"; }3 a9 j& C( k8 ^8 N
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I struggled to picture Benjamin Franklin or Thomas Jefferson having this in mind as they penned the First Amendment. * S2 X. P+ r i" R6 o% @" v3 E, F0 t
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? % v- r! `9 q0 r/ n, L2 N$ Q : h: f, G" z0 T; a8 O' z ?4 lThe authorities though are adamant. Construction workers wear hard hats, miners wear masks - these actors have to have suitable barrier protection. 9 a6 ]# y4 J# Z( Y6 \$ ^' i7 E/ I7 U t( N @+ d
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.# A) ^. y' k& w$ o
4 A& _; `5 p$ H6 ~! TA number of actors told me privately that regulation could not come soon enough for them.+ K( X( [+ D5 I, x5 G2 {
' [$ L( _, z6 j1 g9 aThe producers say this will not help workers but will only force production abroad, or underground - the public always gets what the public wants.2 R6 D2 s2 @% f, W% X
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That view was echoed by Bobbi Starr - her parting words, in fact, as she began to disrobe for her epic sex scene. ?4 b) b7 i2 R; R" f+ c$ w8 I t7 c1 A& `& ] p
I decided I had seen enough and slipped back out into the rain. 3 k1 d5 o$ G6 _8 f1 J% h4 g/ V8 C& ]0 U $ f$ j1 X% }8 N4 f y# j+ {5 L3 _) S2 p+ w( W 2 Z2 T6 V( b+ _8 Y2 l+ ~5 a; iCalls for greater safety increased after actors tested positive for HIV in 2004
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