6 I, \6 @6 b i' x# V0 y我说,“你一定很累吧”?她微笑着回答说,“习惯了”。3 [' X- z0 \3 x2 e) A
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我接着问,“那么,健康风险呢?你经常被感染吗”? - R% G$ E# u, Q# ] Y% c7 o H/ g# H6 `* c9 D, [
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。” ! a1 p) J* ^) Z- z; I & j6 k9 }6 L3 }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。 # \$ k0 w+ K, _( i" e( B! U [9 G# ^/ N! g0 m0 n7 h% O8 L$ t
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。 ! k6 O5 b% l: z j ~! N6 K不戴安全套的权利 . O) X& w+ b) y/ _% B) a$ w' R( \. Z2 l, B) R
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。 # @/ C( R5 T% b& y/ n2 n8 }; R $ D& m5 v, e6 {" t7 u$ G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”?/ G( @ `6 q% ?5 C1 @$ r4 D3 l( ^
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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。 ; |, _6 y+ e& \0 |4 _! `& ~2 |: a
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?: f; f' G- ?% N9 X
" J5 x. r& i3 h& a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。# q0 }' b% X) c
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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。6 v4 Y- P2 w7 b" B3 }
0 x$ b8 ]% ?: r* q! A# ^一些演员私下告诉我,他们盼着立法赶快生效。 % z2 m# w! F* Y `' l* |& | ( J* I. k1 r! a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。 7 C0 h2 w4 G0 a& V+ I6 s # W( s! z ]3 k+ t* g: w' m5 |4 I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。3 r& n/ D: I- n' x! [
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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……. / M& \1 Q$ I0 n& Q ! a; E8 Z% s$ p2 ?1 \% U/ B% j" O V% i: E, c, q# u7 X0 ?
Californian porn industry's 'perfect storm' of troubles / f# z2 b% J! y& g
" f4 W# T% g' Q) b4 G( jCalifornia'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. ! r/ t' s5 \% o) \) ~. e. Y8 U : c5 i/ {: \) ?" r# SLight drizzle was falling as I pulled my car up outside a low-rise warehouse studio in northern Los Angeles.# A* U" q8 c: W' N
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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. 2 |4 `9 V0 V0 W5 R, b6 E' u# o) N * t, B T1 M* `What I did see at first did not quite match my expectations but then again, I was not quite sure what to expect. 9 l; t0 s, R2 T6 U ( T* X+ {4 k& SThe porn shoot was Star Trek, the Next Generation - a triple-X parody, billed as a humorous tribute to the iconic TV space saga.# |/ D7 U S+ k: g* g/ _" j, ^9 D
# s7 e3 O; j: oPerformers 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. 7 l' Q6 q' Q. _- n9 A" U4 s+ j, Y6 Z$ U, v/ B: Z( K
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. ; e( W5 S5 i: [; [! r4 L' O" \6 x& J& u" C
Only 30 minutes of this two-hour sex film would involve plot, he sighed. C" U6 \! P; w
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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.! G' O# @/ i9 b G
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The problem, increasingly, is revenue.& S$ L3 i5 U0 E5 u; a( c
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Like the music industry, pornographers are struggling to persuade their audience to pay for what they watch.: Z1 h& n- b, L5 g; l+ |2 ~5 L: h @
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DVD sales have collapsed. Online, a great deal of porn can be accessed for free. c8 F8 [; q% k# ?, V
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And the economic downturn does not help. , D2 i7 V p; ^& G2 j0 I 8 ?& v* O+ G) \5 T"What with the recession and piracy, we call it the perfect storm," one leading producer observed wistfully. 6 e6 D2 K/ @% p1 E' t4 @; ]+ e e1 Y% x; ]6 h# j; d
The economic climate also means the industry is even less keen to accept California's increasingly stringent workplace regulations.& F0 _# ?7 b- o( m5 O- B
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For years, the authorities have been demanding that porn performers wear condoms. ! w0 |7 d, i0 i, M! f. Q b$ C: M. ?, V1 z1 SHealth scares - most notoriously in 2004 when three actors contracted HIV - have highlighted significant levels of infection on set. T& A+ E+ c% w! K; _7 A8 d. u
9 P2 P1 ?# [5 Q. [" ~& TBut the industry says wearing condoms on-screen is a turn-off. The public do not want it, it will kill the fantasy, they say. ; z! T& |& x+ q( T. f; H0 r" F8 L/ w* n) z$ W/ Q; c3 d! P5 M6 S
Gonorrhoea ; ~5 Y& L4 t' m! w+ u6 g3 W 3 Q5 Z9 [& i N! H+ |Back on the Star Trek set, I talked to Bobbi Starr, one of the lead performers.# d4 r$ u( E3 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.$ ^$ v- p7 x2 [9 [
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She turned to porn, she said, out of a sense of sexual adventure. 5 p9 H0 m* [! f! ^5 p% {# W+ t; w S4 `7 e P
"It's just fun," she said, "and when everyone around you is having fun too, what's not to love?"+ i) {8 G, @5 Y
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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.& C6 b0 f2 z' m
5 b: U; i& M: DEach day would be 15 hours long.& N3 S2 m" p) w
$ q" z* q: ?2 w5 K"Wow, you must be exhausted?" I suggested. # y1 ^7 E9 [( X; ^/ _6 M) o+ F4 o! L' Y
"You get used to it," she smiled.: l4 p y! Y1 n. D4 h
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"And what about the health risks," I asked. "Have you had many infections?" # W8 j: ?. ^! u/ O% ] ! Z4 D- l* |7 L1 n# Z7 X"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."* E# D, K! a9 g# A/ Q7 X
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There was something very Californian about Bobbi, I decided.$ S5 L* n7 W5 e
; p- p) a) [! c# H7 AExpensive lawsuits . o1 |: g( e* ~ u4 ?* H" @/ i# d7 F: t& Q- s8 z
In fact there was something very Californian about the entire business.' y- ]% _0 o: C
0 Y, F: {& e$ T8 b; s6 V1 IA combination of determined enthusiasm, combined with a rebel attitude, a sort of libertarian defiance towards the forces ranged against it.% h' z) ]$ s y# z1 s
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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. + K0 d1 d; ^; S; u. M; `" U/ f! C. K4 z% {$ ?: A7 `
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. ; R6 W4 k6 w$ e) Y ) E& a1 _) T c) ^/ F$ L"How can I express myself as an artist," one producer said to me, "if you're going to clothe my performers in rubber?"9 W1 e1 R% ?1 L9 V4 {3 f
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I struggled to picture Benjamin Franklin or Thomas Jefferson having this in mind as they penned the First Amendment./ y: b; L, b8 I# H& e0 e; v; y
/ Y$ ~3 o: Q2 D2 h) E8 g0 U8 V3 {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? ; r. p, Q. X6 |' Q( k: a. M W' I- W- y/ g- \& I \1 b
The authorities though are adamant. Construction workers wear hard hats, miners wear masks - these actors have to have suitable barrier protection. + z0 f2 p& ^6 j+ Y % I$ `8 w4 X- M! K1 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. + X, m% e! ]; q; |$ f" ] , i3 g. d6 k" @: I! P3 @- ^A number of actors told me privately that regulation could not come soon enough for them. ( r' u$ o. m6 r0 U* K . m& N6 F8 D& L/ V$ ?The producers say this will not help workers but will only force production abroad, or underground - the public always gets what the public wants. 7 d) L! Q X5 V7 p( { " R$ Y; c, u* P4 c' WThat view was echoed by Bobbi Starr - her parting words, in fact, as she began to disrobe for her epic sex scene. . ~0 T/ U6 _- w8 }3 |9 o) n2 _, |+ ~+ J, {5 M
I decided I had seen enough and slipped back out into the rain. * X$ {& s# ~2 |% d% E; w* P0 h' _8 f$ G 3 D9 G2 [/ d" k/ e2 K5 L
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Calls for greater safety increased after actors tested positive for HIV in 2004