( t6 O3 O+ T |; f W- D1 n+ Z7 ]我接着问,“那么,健康风险呢?你经常被感染吗”? & b+ Y6 d1 k- X) j" Y7 ~# f0 g7 [" m- D- X# K# z) B" o' p
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。”, r2 }* B) w: n/ Q9 H: b3 h
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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。 5 o' w8 A" Y/ d$ T% W% @6 W9 V& e& F* r- S# R+ m1 F/ h* O8 K' D
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。 $ W+ i5 U3 t6 o% e) \( R5 N不戴安全套的权利: i5 P: D3 R, V: J! y
4 G) a2 v3 \$ k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。 - f# j- s1 ~6 d5 y; j7 c5 S2 b+ V( x0 N, g' j
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”?' E3 q& p7 o5 o
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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。0 q! Q8 ?7 j5 R) d8 X
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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? 4 ^& J2 O2 D4 U3 I. `4 @. y# ^5 b 8 t8 t8 p4 w9 b+ ]# 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。5 t( L1 k7 {3 X# a/ `0 ]' ?
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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。 7 ?' S6 N7 h. o: K# k" T" m j2 q$ \; \! P
一些演员私下告诉我,他们盼着立法赶快生效。 8 [" h: ?, u, s% z6 O, V9 E W9 X, Z
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。2 s. ?0 ]9 M/ |1 z% T- f
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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。 9 g' p7 Y' _* i& G5 x; h! T6 Y% \# i 6 n2 A! L! S$ U+ \' R& I2 M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…….0 V: X7 l+ b$ y3 q5 ?
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Californian porn industry's 'perfect storm' of troubles 8 s3 e# \. c2 _0 D( d% w
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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 V! I; t2 H, r% H8 `( G" a
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Light drizzle was falling as I pulled my car up outside a low-rise warehouse studio in northern Los Angeles. 0 [2 A |4 S( o1 l( T# _ ' t, M1 j7 l+ g7 |I had been told just to pitch up - it would be fun, they had said, to see how we do things. * E0 X- _3 T" p9 S& [: c' p1 N }7 }5 B# F0 B1 r' O
What I did see at first did not quite match my expectations but then again, I was not quite sure what to expect.& ~* i6 s4 x* r
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The porn shoot was Star Trek, the Next Generation - a triple-X parody, billed as a humorous tribute to the iconic TV space saga.7 y8 P% u* r8 p9 q% ~4 }: S- f& O
) Z5 _, s0 A! E% o2 A `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." b' c6 n7 e. x7 q* }0 b! `3 T
$ E4 {! m4 h; i$ ~# vThis 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. + }8 R, Q; \' Y; b8 W) f, T7 o8 R/ c% ?4 b+ o9 B
Only 30 minutes of this two-hour sex film would involve plot, he sighed.8 i" g; t8 b: e- Y6 r
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Fantasy $ q! i8 C& \4 h% `4 g 5 q1 f4 D; q/ N3 B( ]+ a" [8 J6 IThe 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.0 |( X1 r5 R# o7 V( @1 y! r; F
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The problem, increasingly, is revenue.! k; I2 r8 N! @& ]: }, U$ x
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Like the music industry, pornographers are struggling to persuade their audience to pay for what they watch.) ~+ J. s( Z: x9 p3 o% l1 h( S
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DVD sales have collapsed. Online, a great deal of porn can be accessed for free. , o% q0 Y' n! W i8 b* o) i $ B4 |: h1 ` v( \! E7 ^7 }And the economic downturn does not help. O4 O5 Y* P3 o) s5 t; j. H/ U) S
W0 \6 y/ Z0 @, q"What with the recession and piracy, we call it the perfect storm," one leading producer observed wistfully.3 P' S! g1 d/ w* _) d/ `/ p, O; {
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The economic climate also means the industry is even less keen to accept California's increasingly stringent workplace regulations.4 r; s; e' \: K
$ x2 T5 J o: S6 `1 D$ _4 dFor years, the authorities have been demanding that porn performers wear condoms. ) n7 C; |7 |1 A7 Y/ m9 s0 S! I/ ?0 |1 L2 u# h4 X
Health scares - most notoriously in 2004 when three actors contracted HIV - have highlighted significant levels of infection on set. 1 p; I/ C4 E; @+ k X S9 }' Q% h6 o j& c9 L3 {
But the industry says wearing condoms on-screen is a turn-off. The public do not want it, it will kill the fantasy, they say. 9 T! b# G) h: B( }5 i# u4 B) t! u" f/ C) d& C2 w8 l' ~! M, V
Gonorrhoea, }) w r' h* r6 B! T5 B6 H: x' Z
% z3 S* ~& B* z% zBack on the Star Trek set, I talked to Bobbi Starr, one of the lead performers.& K, K" m# o8 n( n: ]2 C
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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.3 {( |6 i- O$ V2 Z) l2 M0 o: [+ `
/ C9 R" ^: M# V6 ^7 lShe turned to porn, she said, out of a sense of sexual adventure.5 Z# d# v9 P* u- ]2 H
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"It's just fun," she said, "and when everyone around you is having fun too, what's not to love?" ! J$ H5 S, C. C& U: Q- H+ D0 d4 i/ Z. u. l+ b: ^
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. ) L0 H. Q- @" q* K0 O6 l' I0 s3 |: _" l* d, q3 p! j
Each day would be 15 hours long. ; I) E- D, E* V: A( [/ ~4 ]' D, a+ o 4 x( C8 B; K$ n# u9 c+ ]; S1 n"Wow, you must be exhausted?" I suggested.7 o2 v; ^3 ~( E) k; U8 [
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"You get used to it," she smiled. $ ~% d" N* R; H9 y4 l 4 P( F/ B$ `# H, `"And what about the health risks," I asked. "Have you had many infections?" + V7 t4 u3 v! `% B& O; a+ M4 p" k" B/ I. I8 H- P
"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." 0 U6 m/ M# V7 t1 ~3 R0 b" b " a. O1 L. `$ i d- B$ ^There was something very Californian about Bobbi, I decided.' P* }6 S+ L4 N* q# O- S3 J
8 |1 g Z" @! Z- D. fIn fact there was something very Californian about the entire business.. t1 F# j: {6 E s" j! J( M+ z7 O( Y# \
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A combination of determined enthusiasm, combined with a rebel attitude, a sort of libertarian defiance towards the forces ranged against it.3 z, \8 t, I& ]/ H; [
7 w8 j+ {( B! B2 i& a- wIt 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. - J# q$ s: j4 f. G * h: r: \9 x: x' cNow, 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.* m8 L( T9 m; E
. t: I& V$ a) `5 y7 I m; ?/ h"How can I express myself as an artist," one producer said to me, "if you're going to clothe my performers in rubber?" " Z+ e) {/ ^6 z9 v- ~ U/ Y- D% N. [% i$ O/ R
I struggled to picture Benjamin Franklin or Thomas Jefferson having this in mind as they penned the First Amendment.- |+ n0 `$ @+ m3 ~2 Q
5 Z0 n9 b' T2 P' W) b# g! BBut 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?# L' Y- h5 {9 A" i8 e
; Z' i+ R" G# n8 _; |# c1 Z4 r' mThe authorities though are adamant. Construction workers wear hard hats, miners wear masks - these actors have to have suitable barrier protection.! u4 J6 l- I) J% S! I& c" ?
# L6 {% f3 P) a' { fIt 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. 0 W2 W- l: t( l/ n0 H3 A 8 @+ X. y* k! e" Q h/ Y4 V6 YA number of actors told me privately that regulation could not come soon enough for them.! O; q* f/ t. U5 i# N" I' P, ?
8 `, t% j; v* n+ ]The producers say this will not help workers but will only force production abroad, or underground - the public always gets what the public wants./ S$ ]* c& ^; s5 m' B) h: t# ~3 {
' T5 Y+ g% h& ^/ M; y5 sThat view was echoed by Bobbi Starr - her parting words, in fact, as she began to disrobe for her epic sex scene.. M2 m1 |7 @' t {. O' T
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I decided I had seen enough and slipped back out into the rain. 4 f1 J* H' V& P+ V% l) X- H2 o- `6 p3 p( F+ ?/ n, e4 F1 { * b5 e: o% Y% c# Q2 I 2 n. J4 I; v" v3 e% Q2 |% j' y( ]: z7 N* E+ f: b3 ~
Calls for greater safety increased after actors tested positive for HIV in 2004