Porn 2.0

For better or worse the porn industry is here to stay. Human beings exploit things they enjoy and human beings enjoy sex.

Lots of parallels between this and music blog sites that provide us with music, yet claim that since USERS are uploading stuff, that they (the site) shouldn't get in trouble because "no files are hosted on this website"... it's just serving as a holder for all of this content.

Here's an article that might be of interest to those checking out this thread.

http://bacn.me/ezh

boo hoo boo hoo, im so sad for the porn industry. wow get over it, thats the world we leave in, Hell someone stole my private movies and i saw them on a porn site, and i got a lot of hits. but to sit here and think im going to feel sorry for some one cause he cant make money selling sex. get another job. its sex dammit. and if someone gets it free in a short of time to get OFF. who wants to watch a movie then a lil sex. get straight to the point and maybe you can make more money, call your movies quickies, and watch how many hits you get. ppl dont have 2hours to waist to watch a born out no acting wanna be movie star. Get straight to the point. dammit you waist my time lmao. it is what it is

It's that 47% of the nation which finds the 'industry' interesting. It'll happen if people are willing to pay for it.

Looking at all of this really makes me wish that I want a piece of the action as well. Hell I don't care there are a lot of Indian and Pakistani porn stars out there, and most of them started out as escorts working for a leading adult agency.

boring....
can we please bring back Adam Yamaguchi to the vanguard team.
these new guys just aren't cuttin it.

There is a demand, here's the supply! I think more women should be involved in Making the er...movies (behind the scenes lol) because I think that it would make it more interesting for female audiences.

"People will always be jerking off" period.

I have heard this argument about how the porn industry is always on the cutting edge of marketing to people and I find it really interesting. It makes sense because of what it is it needs to stay on the cutting edge of what the market wants and how to get paid doing it. They have the creative freedom to try different avenues. I just never realized how much of that gets filtered and put into general use. I also find it interesting how they are really trying to combat all of this pirating by offering more 'interactive' features to their products. Really interesting story, thanks Christof.

I'm really disappointed in this piece. A half-hour documentary on porn and not once is gay/lesbian porn shown or even mentioned?

A lot of the criticisms of this piece seem to relate that this doc didn't evaluate the social value or ills of pornography, but that wasn't the focus. It was about the current state and future of porn.

In examining the state of porn, I don't know how you managed to completely neglect gay/lesbian porn, as well those people and perspectives, but congrats.

Pink & White, No Fauxxx, Trannywood Films, are all doing well financially, as well as breaking porn (and other) social barriers. This documentary would have been so much better if you had interviewed people making gay, lesbian, and queer porn, instead of just heteronormative (and primarily white) films.

I started watching this mess on wed. with my sister and when I heard what that young lady who works in the "product promoting, not supplying" side of the porn industry had to say, I had to turn it off her statement of how this is not an industry people come in because they have no where else to go was obviously not coming from the large percentage of women who were sexually abused/molested as children before they ended up on this side of life...but from her and all the other money swimming people on the other side of this industry.

I was really hoping for some insights into the sudden influx of porn and how its rise to mainstream has changed our society and how society view sexuality.

I'll admit it, I am a recovering porn addict. I have seen and felt the devastation, guilt, shame, that porn can have on someone (and their family), in terms of self-esteem, and how one views others. I have been dealing with the tempation that is porn since I was 9. I was kinda looking for some reasurace that I am not alone in this ongoing battle with my "Id" to look at things which I know are not healthy for my mind, and destructive to my marriage, yet am drawn too in my quest to "up the ante", for something more perverse/extrem/niche....

Maybe something along the lines of the piece on Oxy and pain pills problem, that looked at the situation from someone perspective and that of the loved ones whose lives had been afected, and them at the "industry". I guess the pain that porn created for some ( I do not wish to make a universal assumption about porn, simply reflecting on personal experience. If you enjoy porn and find that it is not damaging your minds, more power to you) is something very real, and I was surprised to say the least, and the "jouranlistic direction" that the episode took.

There is not enough of a secular/academic voice in the media that can say, "ok porn may be fine for some people but we really need warning on this(similar to cigarettes)", or "how many people know/care about the abuse of women in porn" or "is eas of porn changing/dehumanizing the next generation"....Example: What influence porn may have had on the recent gang rape at the highschool dance? Maybe this is evolution, or maybe its is a regretion to more animal instict and behaviors (except that animals don't feel the need to self-stimulate for the purpose of pleasure. I really could care less about how sucessful well fed porn players are losing market share because they are to busy living in fantastical world to adapt to market trends.

Vanguard episodes should leave the viewer thinking, interacting, questioning?? Not writing angry replies of how the mark was missed on this one, better luck next time.

Nice commercial... very fluffy...its good to dispel stereotypes but it seems like the "documentarian" knew 2 people at 2 porn companies.. then asked not one single poignant question and offered no conflicting views...very FOXy

I don’t feel sympathy for the top dogs of the trade. Nor do I consider their issue a crisis. Exploiting porn (everyone dirty secret) like this does make consumers a bit more comfortable when committing to a monthly payment of $39.99 then finding a way to upload the contents on a Smartphone so blue and white collar workers can find something to do on their 10 min break. Come to think about it..."Was this documentary sponsored by the porn industry?" Honestly, the only way this clip could have been more interesting is if they actually showed some tities.

Shallow reporting. Infomercial for Kink. Is Al on their board too? What about the biggest exporters of porn (and prostitutes) in the world e.g. Romania and the Ukriane, and the damage it does to the women involved? I am pretty sure they dont have "college degrees" and live the nice life of "Princess Donna"

Who cares about where the industry is going to be in ten years! Talk about the real people behind porn? The dangers of porn! That makes a more interesting video than this. Who cares about the business side to it.

...and the complete and flagrant insouciance for the moron who posted this reminds me even more the degree of minorities who try to convince the majorities that we’re all F’ed – keep your fantasies to yourself! – Children can access to this crap!

Complete social de evolution has been achieved. Protocol 1.0, cue food shortage, cue diabetes epidemic, cue media apocalypse protocol 1.0, cue war on terror, cue federal & state court collapse, cue nuclear terror threats, cue economic collapse, cue race war, cue swine flu, cue manic depression epidemic, cue pandemic. Protocol 2.0 divide, divide & conquer, It's the New World Order (Second Roman Empire), the porno industry is a tool which will disappear. God particle, human genome, & artificial intelligence will be remembered as a singular event, Nazi Porno Fascists will be remembered as degenerate heathen profligates. TOOLS.

.Pornography is a great form of entertainment, but has its drawbacks. As with any vice, there are consiquences inherit in the act that should sway people away from overexposure. Porn-goers beware, too much can desensitize you to the type of woman who will actually fuck you, leaving you with more issues than a magazine rack.

I understand this piece is on the business end of the industry, however it's really not right they neglected the social impact of it. It's pretty undebatable the negative repercussions that come from exposure to pornography, especially to pre-teens and teens. If Vanguard covered drilling in Northern Alaska, there's no way they wouldn't cover the environmental impact of their business practices.

I would recommend to anyone that's interested to check out XXXChurch. It gives a really good perspective on the effect on not only viewers but many of the performers.

Gag.............. I can't get over my personal biases enough to finish the clip. I have a 16 year old nephew doing porn in California. Legally! (Emancipated with the help of his sister(a well-known"actress") and his producer. There is sadly still a lot of regulating to do in this industry. Not every gig is as well financed as this giant. There is still some sad back alley stories out there.

When is too much.......too much?

I been online before the first wave of internet porn site hit and the web was but a alpha program being tested . We had Usenet news sites they people posted picture adn stories but the content of the what the web has now was just not there. After the house and senate voted to open the internet to commercial want of business the first porn sites in the US came up with the variation of the phone chat type with the first Video chat sites girls hired to talk to you while watched them.. Now you have ton more and its not just the US but all over the world. It not just bootleggers it the Crime world they should be worried about as more of the big crime group in the UK and Eastern Europa put on like site with anything you can think of in porn. the bootleg content or make their own but they are brutal and will do some really sick thing to keep online. the internet and porn has shared a lot of the years but the darker and nastier side was all was under control to after 1994 and the cat was let lose I don't use the web sites i don't need them but i do have to fight the ones that exploit young people that put out the child porn. the profits in internet porn have drop since those early first days. some of those that i know work on the IT of those early sites have retired with lot of money in the bank and I still happy i didn't do that work..
the money made at the start was much more than just 3 billion but as they said with just any one being able to make a video and get it online and the pirate video sites they will lose more in the end adn will have to give up or find a way to change with out crossing over into the dark to make a profit . as the joke goes Al Gore invented the net.. no he just was the one to take off the leash and let the web run wild and free and changing the intent forever.

More interactive like getting a new kind of virus that transmits from computer to human. Oh yeah baby.

And just because you went to a university or have a degree doesn't mean much. Doesn't mean you're smart. They say it like it makes them legitimate. It doesn't.

Is Vanguard now selling out for ratings as well? Disappointing. One big infomercial for trash.

It was interesting to see how this industry is developing but:
I am also a little disapointed by this. I would have liked to get more insight from the actual actors and actresses. I would have been interested in how they feel about doing this kind of job. And if they don't want to or maybe feel used sometimes.
But the only opinions there were on that seemed to be those two people who were working for "Wicked". And what they talked about sounded just very surface scratching...

meh. That one wasnt as great as i thought it would be.. We heard from all the people behind the scenes but what about the actual models?? Did we hear from any of them?? feels kinda odd so have a whole episode about porn but leave out the stars. :P

Ah well, can't win em all. I still love you Vanguard!!! :)

Im not really surprised that vanguard went this far to do a story about porn. I think vanguard should be an hour long instead of a half hour. There is alot of information and like he said "This is going to be a very new expierience for him."

Besides that....

There is a lot of things missed. - the small companies plus the in depth coverage of how the porn stars really act...However he did touch on one point which leads to technology & media - innovation & creativity.

Everyone can complain about how moral or immoral porn is...that is not the entire issue. What christof is reporting ... it is the fact that porn is this 3 billion dollar industry that is creating new technologies that media is trying to get their hands on for patents plus how piracy effects production. This is good info no doubt, porn is a very broad subject and so is sex all together.

(Superveining social necessity vs. Supression of Radical Potential (Internet, I-pods, Dvd, blue ray):: written all over this pod. Look up Brian Winston - How Are Media Born and Developed...relate that to porn...there.)

I'm just a person who is taking a class & is learning about Media, industries, and how things are financed (Communications TV & RADIO Major).

Christof - I hope this shines some light to your vanguard pod. You did well with the resources that you have gathered. Again, This is a very broad topic.

I am somewhat disappointed with this Vanguard piece. I have grown use to this series presenting new and fresh perspectives on whatever topics they choose and tackling it head on but in an intelligent manner. There was some good research done but I don't feel as if I learned anything new. I would have truly enjoyed it if there was a debate created about the morality of the porn industry. Not a pointed stern finger pointing saying 'thou art filthy' but an open and intelligent conversation with both parties being vocal. I am in a way wondering if maybe this is just a part of a larger piece and that I am just misinformed. Maybe there's a Porn 1.0 or something. Also, what happened to the little guys. You interview all these big named industry giants and accomplished companies but you never took a look at the men and women starting out in this business and the struggling to make it. So many questions I have:

How does one go about taking part in the porn industry?

What are the varying degrees of interaction in the business and how does it affect
your lifestyle.

Do some industry and production people find themselves desensitized to sex, how does it affect heir own sexuality or expressions of intimacy?

Women actresses in the business, are they treated humane and respectfully? Who are these women and men? What makes them do what they do, what drives them?

Socio-economics, Race, Ethnicity?

Why is it that i don't know of any ethnic Wick'd models and actresses?
What is it like for some of these women to be subject to such intense work that is at most times delegated by a man for the pleasure of men? What companies are the exception to this?

I am left at the end of this doc very unfulfilled and with more questions than gained knowledge. Wanna make my own doc know just to close the deficit.

if you're using fog machines to make porn...well profit margins are gonna be tough

I am disappointed in current for practically glorifying the "poor" porn industry. For portraying it as barely hanging on in these hard times -even though it maybe. Porn is trash. This documentary would have been better if it had shown another side of it. It took a strictly economic perspective and didn't even begin to touch on the fact that these people are living shallow, exploitative lifestyles, and perpetuating the notion that women are sex machines and guys are only here to "fuck bitches"..at least throw another perspective into the mix current, even if you do feel bad for porn.

Did anyone else think that by viewing this, it made Christoff or at least the vanguard team, or hell, Al Gore completely sympathetic and "OK," or even fanatical about the porn industry.

Sometimes I wonder what this easy access, and availability of pornography is going to do for our society? When I was a teenager, you were lucky to find pornography. I remember finding an old horribly produced video in the back of my fathers closet, and thinking holy cow I found the Golden Fleece! Who doesn't remember seeing their first Playboy? I would think that most young men would laugh at the idea of looking at magazine in this day and age. I think about those two guys from Superbad (Vagtastic Voyage) and wonder if its really like that now. It's so available currently, that you can just wank it whenever you want. Why leave the house? Why even date? Times are a changing.

Companies are still making porn?
I thought it was all just amateurs with webcams and handhelds now.

Of COURSE folks make money making porn. More power to them, I guess. The problem with porn is, it can be addictive and guys who view porn come to believe that women should all be porn stars and they want to be treated as such. They expect women to behave like porn stars, willing to go through the most degrading and humilating acts to please their men. I've always thought that if a woman had a hole that was big enough, a man would think it was a good idea to screw it.

In my experience, porn turns men into animals.

And if you guys who view porn think those women are really ENJOYING the stuff that's depicted, I have a bridge to sell ya.

the one thing I enjoy about well-made amateur porn is that it's unabashed, its sincere. it transcends "porn" and just becomes sex. and as a viewer, it's enjoyable b/c there's more chemistry b/w the actors and less sense of contrivance. it fits and reflects a simple bidirectional function in our current culture: exhibitionism and voyeurism.

and within the ideals of these 2 sociological movements, i think there's a lot of potential for reconciliation with our sexual and sensual nature. that's why this democratization of the industry is a positive. first of all, wicked pictures is the old guard. and that kinda narrativization and veiled exploitation of sex is passe. we don't need that poorly-made junk. Porn should be straightforward. Leave it to artists and talented folks to make cinema. there's no more place for conventional storylines, stiff acting, ineptitude with color, space and composition, mediocre lighting and production vales... we get enough of that in mainstream cinema. it boils down to: people wanna see people having sex. and if we consummate this truth, then porn & its ripple effects don't become such a detriment to our culture.

so maybe addressing these things will lead to porn stars and amateur porn being more consistently a door into people having sex. and that will lead to less disingenuous sucks and slobbers and annoying oh-my-gods. and maybe that will lead to our society being more sincere as a whole in our communication and expression with and of one another.

lastly, jessica drake is not very attractive, and although her perspective about interaction and community is true enough... her actions are thoroughly the epitome of the downside of a twitter culture.

"tech-sex". "new" "better". sex is a driving force of creation, but so is the undefinable, unquantifiable blanket called love. and what porn epitomizes is the common misconception our culture has with progress. technology is the direct derivative of sex, and that's got us into a lot of shit, hypercapitalism, fragmentation in mental well-being, the decline of american educational systems. all i'm saying is sex and tech are snakes in the grass... necessary to betterment and creativity, but things that we need to learn to compose and tame, not let loose bc they have the ability to hedonistically spiral out of control.

I understand, but don't follow the logic of Wicked's CEO. You don't keep making high budget porns with plots and such if the market is disappearing or demand has shifted to other content like Gonzo. A smart leader of an organization adapts its company to the current or even the possible future market and continues to thrive. If they want to continue to stay rooted in the past, then they will quickly go under. It doesn't matter what business it is, you have to continue to strive to have an edge over your competitors.

Do what you love, I say ...

Maybe some of the 80 people freshly laid off from Current TV can find work in the porn biz.

obviously porn's content is not something i get excited about.

but i have to say, christof, i think your coverage on it is well done, because the reality is ...that in order to pull off such multi-billion dollar industry, it takes intelligent, techy, geeky people who can run the biz and flood the web.

as to the second segment: it's true, the porn industry is losing money, but it's not just b/c of pirated copies: even that is stemmed from the fact that it's one less expense people feel they need to spend money on, when the rest of the economy is at stake, ....family values or survival take over and thus, such an industry becomes almost nil.

ironically, though, as you pointed out in the 3rd segment, like any other business in the world, when sales are down, the companies, the industries are going to find creative ways to get their product back out there.

2.0 is the future of media communication....it's taking movies, television, written form, everything w/ it.

i say yes....... It is the American way....Get it all out...........In a dimly lit back ally in the middle of the night.......I didn't even have to press it to play........tooo early for me
his morning this sort of thing...........

I think that the positive, legitimate business image that the porn industry is given in this documentary really stems from the companies that they interviewed. However, once you leave these large legitimate companies, the picture changes. Outside of this legitimate porn world, pornstars are not feminists expressing themselves sexually with agency in what they are doing. Many of these women are exploited by a male dominated system which uses them quickly and kicks them out of the industry. They don't have the same degree of agency. Drugs are used to keep the women trapped in the system.

I was kind of surprised that this didn't come up in the documentary. I think it is important to give the porn industry a fair shake, but it seems to me that the companies represented are the minority. There is another side of porn that remains to be revealed to the world.

I can't believe this 'industry'. The people in it- from the stars, to the directors, to the people whose job it is to 'promote' the websites on the internet- they ONLY think about the money that it brings them. Not how it is affecting other people.

I think that *possibly* the porn industry might have potential in this world. It's just that the way it is today...it isn't healthy for people. It is exposing people to all kinds of extreme behaviour that isn't normal, it is creating and reinforcing gender and age stereotypes- and it is affecting millions of people's sexualities, not to mention the relationships that go with them.

Until I see a major change in this industry, I won't be able to agree with it or support it in any way. It's not only about the 'quick, easy, money'...we need to consider how people are affected by what they are being exposed to.