Today I watched this documentary called Hardcore (2001) about a British woman named Felicity who moved to Los Angeles to try to make it in the American porn industry. I know the film came out in 2001, which makes me a bit late for commentary, but in 2001 I was worried about things like coloring and spelling words right for dictation and not so much the American porn industry. Now however, this film strikes a nerve and I feel the need to write something about it and express some of the thoughts I had.
A part of me wants to believe that this film shows only one case of an adult film actress who was mistreated and doesn't represent the norm. However, I know that this cannot be the case. What I witnessed in this movie went beyond degradation of women. There was rape, emotional and physical abuse of multiple kinds and feelings of incredible powerlessness that accompanied all of those things. A part of me wants to believe that the general population is not aware of what goes on in these films, but I know that they are. The fact that the adult film industry is allowed to continue without government regulation while gay marriage and marijuana are banned provokes a visceral reaction that I haven't been able to shake since watching the film.
The woman who the documentary is centered on, Felicity, experiences mistreatment at the hands of her agent who treats her like his property. This mistreatment begins as sexual harassment but eventually the agent, Richard, moves on to more emotional abuse and comes to manipulate her and control her more and more to make more money. He shows absolutely no respect for Felicity's wishes; he is her only support system in the United States and he takes advantage of her and forces her to push her moral limits. There is one part of the movie where Felicity is basically raped and he does nothing about it and doesn't seem to be bothered by it at all. The prevalent attitude among everyone in the movie (besides the camera man filming the documentary) is that by being a porn actress, Felicity no longer had the right to decide how far she would or would not go.
I don't want to give away too much and right now I am still in shock from the film so here's a link:
http://hcdocu.blogspot.com/
Form your own opinions and open your eyes to the cruelty and misogyny that is still allowed in the United States today. We might live in a First World country, but this country is far from perfect.
A part of me wants to believe that this film shows only one case of an adult film actress who was mistreated and doesn't represent the norm. However, I know that this cannot be the case. What I witnessed in this movie went beyond degradation of women. There was rape, emotional and physical abuse of multiple kinds and feelings of incredible powerlessness that accompanied all of those things. A part of me wants to believe that the general population is not aware of what goes on in these films, but I know that they are. The fact that the adult film industry is allowed to continue without government regulation while gay marriage and marijuana are banned provokes a visceral reaction that I haven't been able to shake since watching the film.
The woman who the documentary is centered on, Felicity, experiences mistreatment at the hands of her agent who treats her like his property. This mistreatment begins as sexual harassment but eventually the agent, Richard, moves on to more emotional abuse and comes to manipulate her and control her more and more to make more money. He shows absolutely no respect for Felicity's wishes; he is her only support system in the United States and he takes advantage of her and forces her to push her moral limits. There is one part of the movie where Felicity is basically raped and he does nothing about it and doesn't seem to be bothered by it at all. The prevalent attitude among everyone in the movie (besides the camera man filming the documentary) is that by being a porn actress, Felicity no longer had the right to decide how far she would or would not go.
I don't want to give away too much and right now I am still in shock from the film so here's a link:
http://hcdocu.blogspot.com/
Form your own opinions and open your eyes to the cruelty and misogyny that is still allowed in the United States today. We might live in a First World country, but this country is far from perfect.
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