1 c, E& ?; ^" o/ L% h1 j1 j$ w我接着问,“那么,健康风险呢?你经常被感染吗”?( P5 c$ u, j9 O. X; }
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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。” 5 q% P1 {( d& G5 o! V1 b0 Z. K, a2 m4 g( Z. a+ R
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。1 y4 [5 r) l8 k7 x4 d
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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。 9 `7 o) v2 s1 k) D& Q2 E不戴安全套的权利* `+ T- ~, t/ w$ c
; W W( o& Z# h8 ?5 i) t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。& B) M# N2 B5 q) M- a
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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”? $ H n0 p0 h6 q: z; v% b/ y, C. j/ {6 c( Q4 E
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。 ) z* R# x* c C5 E1 z. l 1 R3 Y8 c* j: x: [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? c6 I/ R2 b% B$ q+ I& |. ]
% d9 O( j7 g& E, ]( R5 z& i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。 . W3 ?& I( A. A( J" m 5 S( @( w/ N8 B W: _" f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。 s% \! F1 E6 Z$ k G
3 S3 E& g. G% e" B1 A一些演员私下告诉我,他们盼着立法赶快生效。9 j; I. P/ x/ }" c y
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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。 6 F5 L( `1 ^6 j* W% e 7 q) }$ r# e; v1 x' j( y2 H( \- o0 G( m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。/ J/ } u% V7 x
. t* I9 F6 l H( A% L3 T5 V4 G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……. * B' |9 |2 s; d3 m2 Y: ^. c9 A / u4 V. O2 {/ I9 I6 ]( e* a) J1 H# {4 {9 I
Californian porn industry's 'perfect storm' of troubles ) I/ B" N$ t. q# x# S
( Q+ x( V1 O& T( f8 V5 q5 LCalifornia'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. ; w) q7 n4 N0 g$ u5 P2 y$ c, c* U8 E [# j( G6 d( k9 @
Light drizzle was falling as I pulled my car up outside a low-rise warehouse studio in northern Los Angeles.$ Y& J% d; r' R1 P9 O3 M! I; j
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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. , B! O0 @- P6 O8 T5 a+ ^5 c8 e4 S ^+ O. F! B
What I did see at first did not quite match my expectations but then again, I was not quite sure what to expect.4 c- Z+ Y6 D b
+ o" D6 A5 y- C( `! ^6 nThe porn shoot was Star Trek, the Next Generation - a triple-X parody, billed as a humorous tribute to the iconic TV space saga. 5 h7 e4 O# Q! z - C0 M7 z; V) }2 O; yPerformers 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. 2 m# M8 m1 X+ g3 M; v3 u! G6 K * p$ Z) c1 U" j+ IThis 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. {+ m! ~8 U6 t3 Y 9 l- O5 o. N/ n4 q+ IOnly 30 minutes of this two-hour sex film would involve plot, he sighed.- E2 j5 _/ i; P4 Y
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2 ^8 D; i3 Q, b9 \5 @. E7 n+ d! L* |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.) ~8 q8 l& ~, a& T" g1 \
4 J' ~& Z0 J0 q" jLike the music industry, pornographers are struggling to persuade their audience to pay for what they watch.1 R* R( j0 l- `( @9 c7 _
, a! J1 E4 C6 R9 |5 KDVD sales have collapsed. Online, a great deal of porn can be accessed for free. 2 M4 g5 G r* s8 G/ D _! C: h- q
And the economic downturn does not help.: {' A! O. {. Y8 C" @. F
% d: N: k+ e! L"What with the recession and piracy, we call it the perfect storm," one leading producer observed wistfully.0 c. E( Y# m6 O( S& @
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The economic climate also means the industry is even less keen to accept California's increasingly stringent workplace regulations. 5 @7 N2 J, w) n9 Q5 I6 ^% u' }/ p7 i$ ` Q& ~" f( X
For years, the authorities have been demanding that porn performers wear condoms., O6 r5 I) [& m$ }2 u" b
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Health scares - most notoriously in 2004 when three actors contracted HIV - have highlighted significant levels of infection on set.- ]. F* m: a. ?) C
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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. % P9 `0 \0 }* Q) N5 F6 f1 D ) G( Z( R+ r2 X! jGonorrhoea & Z$ y- d c! k! N7 z) c. r( ?9 N. S; \1 y6 i5 i
Back on the Star Trek set, I talked to Bobbi Starr, one of the lead performers.% o6 _3 U8 N! r
( w. m; o, d1 O% p: S% ?& ?A college graduate, a former national standard swimmer and professional oboist, she seems to have packed a lot into her 27 years. + i( ]6 Y2 t9 |- g' Q( h5 V3 r( ]" a$ O8 T( P3 o6 Y+ d' D+ c$ Q
She turned to porn, she said, out of a sense of sexual adventure.4 i W$ L- b; X7 x" N4 u6 Y+ D
1 _9 n# J( A: B"It's just fun," she said, "and when everyone around you is having fun too, what's not to love?": c" s9 j: r6 \& u
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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. 5 ]# Z, d" n: F% m& ]3 i: W ) ^- C7 ?$ [, E. Y) Q9 x2 H$ K& HEach day would be 15 hours long. % n+ l: ?4 Z# g! a, C" K8 ~9 F% z2 J' Q3 I7 y8 O
"Wow, you must be exhausted?" I suggested.( K, M4 g ]# `& v2 V' |7 U) o! A
9 I% w; }, x3 |9 p5 K: r% _0 h: p6 W"You get used to it," she smiled. $ A1 |( [% N3 H: Z1 a8 I * ^4 t$ g( L9 [ e& d$ B"And what about the health risks," I asked. "Have you had many infections?" ( U; P4 V5 [1 ^! H, b 6 S% V$ R, a: {6 @( \8 t"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."7 U7 j+ J6 }4 ]0 r9 q6 K- K& h; _! K
8 o! E) M4 x! T O) j0 b* [4 T" D, QThere was something very Californian about Bobbi, I decided. $ _9 A! g, Q" Z$ W2 Q$ d# U) E5 J3 W4 u6 q: s% `
Expensive lawsuits9 K/ l9 v$ S2 i$ c) x! u
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In fact there was something very Californian about the entire business. ' X4 m1 Y$ D- f: K # @" t) q; C' |, Q# L, JA combination of determined enthusiasm, combined with a rebel attitude, a sort of libertarian defiance towards the forces ranged against it. 2 l8 S3 m0 W" @* R' T4 }- U ( p* S" j2 B3 }, L- A E ~6 Q2 uIt 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. 3 C' A- \8 ^7 J0 |0 S, m/ ]( ~. g( h# o% e6 x
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.) Y: f( u! M4 O8 w
% k1 B) U7 u2 G"How can I express myself as an artist," one producer said to me, "if you're going to clothe my performers in rubber?" - w" t% ]! b) f; }% v) X 0 P7 J3 r: y- p0 eI struggled to picture Benjamin Franklin or Thomas Jefferson having this in mind as they penned the First Amendment. : n0 W$ v# M+ }$ x) Z: V2 q 5 V5 f2 {4 U/ ^/ 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? ' e$ {: }, W, v" q) p9 f$ j5 K% Y1 R F' N
The authorities though are adamant. Construction workers wear hard hats, miners wear masks - these actors have to have suitable barrier protection.4 H9 L! c* U5 p% t
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It 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. 8 r! h/ j' v- R5 {% {" t, I' U' l# ]9 y8 ?# q, {9 e
A number of actors told me privately that regulation could not come soon enough for them.8 `7 e: l- \ L6 P0 f p
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The producers say this will not help workers but will only force production abroad, or underground - the public always gets what the public wants. Y5 a* l- R# \5 k% A7 L( c/ g9 D! G/ _: h. {6 z/ m( F, W( L8 M6 E
That view was echoed by Bobbi Starr - her parting words, in fact, as she began to disrobe for her epic sex scene.6 Z ] D! h5 k' y L9 E/ T4 O" }
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I decided I had seen enough and slipped back out into the rain. ; |1 d$ x8 I# |# I* U( P2 t3 l) u* x X( m* |; i 2 N! ^/ j0 E6 a" H5 o7 m7 l
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Calls for greater safety increased after actors tested positive for HIV in 2004