Heads up, everyone. I’m watching a fascinating documentary on the history of modern civilization told through the eyes of pornographers. It’s called “Pornography: The Secret History of Civilization.” Sounds ballsy, right? Well, I can’t pooh-pooh the scholarship from what I’ve seen so far. It’s incredible. 5 hours of material of erotic imagery and the politics and culture surrounding it all from the paintings in Pompeii to the age of the internet. From French nude pictures exported to London and then to the United States, to peep shows, stag films, magazines, and the advent of video. And, from the erotic images in Michaelangelo’s “The Last Judgement” to the many cathedrals in Europe that attempted to shock believers into sexual purity through pornographic images, to the shocking writings of Marquis de Sade…..so far, I’ve only gotten as far as just past the printing press and barely into the world of photographic images on a grand scale.
Watching the documentary, I’m reminded of an earlier post on this blog where I discussed pornography as an art, and I’m more grounded in my opinion now more than ever. The difference is that porn is a taboo kind of art, where we are skiddish to view it and discuss it amongst our family and friends, and that we continue to this day to share in our Victorian hangovers……somehow sexual imagery is supposed to remain separate from plain view. That if we were not only to view nudity in all it’s grand form, but images of explicit sexual activity, that we know that WE won’t be corrupted by it, but what about our kids? Our neighbors? Our colleagues, or our boss, or our assistants? We still act as if we need to quarantine the imagery for the safety of other people’s minds.
It’s crazy, isn’t it? If you really really really REALLY think about it.
Anyway, just a heads up of what Thalia has been up to. Dear Husband has been getting into it, but I also think when I mentioned that there was a lot of pussy in this DVD, he felt more enthusiastic to sitting down with me in support as well as his own enjoyment.
