We at Castle Bramenstein usually spend a chunk of our weekends catching up on TV shows, documentaries and movies we didn't have time to view during the work week. On this weekend's agenda was "Inside Deep Throat," a 2004 documentary which chronicles one of the 1970s' most controversial and bizarre episodes - the rise and subsequent demonization of porn marketed to the masses, as epitomized by the campy crappy sex flick, "Deep Throat."

"Deep Throat" wasn't the first porn movie to play in movie theatres. It wasn't the first porno to make a controversial public splash either. In 1969, the Swedish movie I Am Curious Yellow shocked, outraged and (of course) titillated movie-goers around the US. (IMO, one of the flaws of "Inside Deep Throat" is that, while it very briefly mentions the Swedish film, it doesn't acknowledge that it paved the way for its tacky American cousins of the 1970s.)

But in its day, "Deep Throat" forced a confrontational debate between people who believe in the First Amendment and those who place personal and religious beliefs above the Constitution. The documentary did an admirable job of gathering research on the key figures involved (including interviews with the film's director, Gerard Damiano, and its sacrificial lamb-cum-leading man, Harry Reems). Linda Lovelace died before the documentary was made, but there is plenty of footage on her through various stages of her life.

The filmmakers interviewed some of the FBI agents and prosecutors who worked feverishly to save America's soul from sex, including the now-disgraced Charles Keating. One of the most interesting subjects was Larry Parrish, a Tennessee prosecutor who says he was mentally scarred from watching "Deep Throat." Equally fascinating was the infamous "Deep Throat" debate between Hugh Hefner and Susan Brownmiller. 30 years later, it's clear that both sides lost. As in YUCK!! Playboy v. Women Against Pornography. It makes my feministic flesh crawl. (Brownmiller's rhetoric was one of the reasons I drifted away from organized feminism in the early 80s.)

The documentary has its flaws. Though some of the interviews were brilliantly edited, I'm dubious about some choices of interview subjects. Like - why Dick Cavett, who claims he never saw the movie? Or Norman Mailer and Gore Vidal who were, at best, on the outer fringes? Perhaps they wouldn't agree to be interviewed but I wonder what Warren Beatty or Jack Nicholson - two high-power celebs who stood up for Harry Reems in the 70s - feel today about their involvement back then. I would have loved to see more 70s porn stars talk about events that directly impacted their lives and fortunes. (It was great to see Georgina Spelvin and my buddy Annie Sprinkle - but I wish they'd added some more pioneering porn stars, like Marilyn Chambers, Gloria Leonard or Jamie Gillis.) And I really truly wish there had been a lot less Erica Jong and Camille Paglia, neither of whom added much of anything to the discussion.

I really loved the scary 70s flashbacks: the tawdry weirdness of American culture back then was deliciously captured in this film. The documentary also showed that some of the same people who hounded Reems, Damiano and others into poverty and despair are still pounding the same beat. Only now they're trying to hound Internet sex-businesses out of existence. As Larry Parrish implies at the end of his interview, if only those pesky terrorists would go away people like him could get back to next most pressing issue in America: ensuring our moral purity by suppressing porn.

Priceless.

The filmmakers did a great job of catching up with the key characters. At the end, they interviewed contemporary porn stars, like Mary Carey, who were cheerfully oblivious to the history of their biz. It's a bitter-sweet statement on how this hugely important moment in pop cultural history has been lost on those who benefit the most from it.

Personal note: I was but an itty-bitty baby perv (17 or so) when an older friend snuck me in to see "Deep Throat" in its original run at the World Theater. Even then I found it howlingly bad and, worse, boring and silly. You could not make me sit through it again: but that's what I loved about this documentary. It offers the only clips worth viewing from the original film, including footage showing Ms. Lovelace's infamous talent for swallowing an entire dick.

We caught this on TV. The DVD apparently has lots more interesting stuff. You can check it out on Amazon.

Also recommended:

September 17, 2007 in Sex and History, Sex Laws and Crimes, Sexual Politics | Permalink

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