Note: This review was originally posted to my Epinions account.
I remember someone on television saying that Monica Lewinski would never
be able to get a job after her story broke. No man would ever be able
to go home to his wife and say, “Hey, honey. You’ll never believe who I
just hired.” There would always be that stigma associated with knowing
who she is. Likewise, actors in the adult-film industry have a hard
time transitioning to life afterwards. You have the recognizably of
being in movies with the stigma of showing your body for a living.
After Porn Ends shows several people, both male and female, who have starred in adult films as well as a few other people who can offer opinions. The documentary starts by showing several actors and what their then-current profession was. (Examples include stay-at-home mother and artist.) Each recounts their attempts at a life after pornography. Some have started families. Some have tried different careers.
None of the actors have been able to really move on. Asia Carrera moved to Utah in hopes that the illegality of pornography would afford her some relief. (It didn’t. Someone was able to look her up, despite the use of a fake name.) Another actor was fired after being recognized -- a week before being diagnosed with cancer. They all have that moment where someone figures out who they are. Sometimes it ends well, but it usually haunts them.
This is why no one looks at acting in pornography as a legitimate career choice. Many of the actors, particularly the women, were taken advantage of. One was approached right after being thrown out of her house. (The joke is that women strip to put themselves through college, but at least that’s plausible. No one ever says that about acting in an adult film.) Randy West points out in the movie that no one wants money from a porn star because of where it came from.
Asia Carrera seems to be the only one of the female stars that had any sort of an option going into it. She had started college and is even a member of MENSA, although she had to set up a G-rated site for them to link to. MENSA wouldn’t link to anything with an adult connotation. Another actor, Tyfanny Million, is now a bounty hunter. These are the only two female stars that seem to have had a life after leaving the industry.
The movie did seem to drag at points. About halfway through, I considered turning it off. I wanted to stick with it to see what else everyone had to say. Many comment on their experiences working. (And yes, the movie has sex and nudity.) Some of the actors loved being paid to have sex on camera while others were numb to it. Some loved learning everything about how the movies were made while others loved that they could put so little effort into it and still get good money out of it.
I remember coming across a question on a dating site asking if you’d want your kid working on adult films behind the scenes. When I first saw it, I looked at it as knowing what your kids did even if it meant never seeing them on screen. Now that I’ve seen this movie, I have a slightly different take on the question. You may not have the recognition, but there might still be the lingering association. Also, pornography isn’t something you graduate from. It’s not like people write dirty movies, then get picked up to write network television. (I can think of only one adult star that’s made the transition to mainstream acting.)
In some cases, it’s possible to empathize. It’s possible to think in terms of what might have happened. In a few cases, they had some idea of what they were getting into. In others, it was more of a gradual transition from doing something else, like modeling or dancing. There are varying degrees of regret, but it seems that there aren’t too many happy endings.
After Porn Ends shows several people, both male and female, who have starred in adult films as well as a few other people who can offer opinions. The documentary starts by showing several actors and what their then-current profession was. (Examples include stay-at-home mother and artist.) Each recounts their attempts at a life after pornography. Some have started families. Some have tried different careers.
None of the actors have been able to really move on. Asia Carrera moved to Utah in hopes that the illegality of pornography would afford her some relief. (It didn’t. Someone was able to look her up, despite the use of a fake name.) Another actor was fired after being recognized -- a week before being diagnosed with cancer. They all have that moment where someone figures out who they are. Sometimes it ends well, but it usually haunts them.
This is why no one looks at acting in pornography as a legitimate career choice. Many of the actors, particularly the women, were taken advantage of. One was approached right after being thrown out of her house. (The joke is that women strip to put themselves through college, but at least that’s plausible. No one ever says that about acting in an adult film.) Randy West points out in the movie that no one wants money from a porn star because of where it came from.
Asia Carrera seems to be the only one of the female stars that had any sort of an option going into it. She had started college and is even a member of MENSA, although she had to set up a G-rated site for them to link to. MENSA wouldn’t link to anything with an adult connotation. Another actor, Tyfanny Million, is now a bounty hunter. These are the only two female stars that seem to have had a life after leaving the industry.
The movie did seem to drag at points. About halfway through, I considered turning it off. I wanted to stick with it to see what else everyone had to say. Many comment on their experiences working. (And yes, the movie has sex and nudity.) Some of the actors loved being paid to have sex on camera while others were numb to it. Some loved learning everything about how the movies were made while others loved that they could put so little effort into it and still get good money out of it.
I remember coming across a question on a dating site asking if you’d want your kid working on adult films behind the scenes. When I first saw it, I looked at it as knowing what your kids did even if it meant never seeing them on screen. Now that I’ve seen this movie, I have a slightly different take on the question. You may not have the recognition, but there might still be the lingering association. Also, pornography isn’t something you graduate from. It’s not like people write dirty movies, then get picked up to write network television. (I can think of only one adult star that’s made the transition to mainstream acting.)
In some cases, it’s possible to empathize. It’s possible to think in terms of what might have happened. In a few cases, they had some idea of what they were getting into. In others, it was more of a gradual transition from doing something else, like modeling or dancing. There are varying degrees of regret, but it seems that there aren’t too many happy endings.
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