Interpretations, contests
Pornophiles Sexuality Attacked by Feminist Criticism
The essay is trying to demonstrate
what makes pornography special, although it was primarily
the result of the author’s polemical reaction on Željka
Vukajlović’s analytical essay ’Pornographical Minds and
Reactions on the Film Baise Moi’ published in the
last issue of the Croatian Cinema Chronicle (27-28/2001).
In her essay Vukajlović criticized the way Croatian critics
approached the film Baise moi by Coralie Trinh Thi
and Virginie Despentes. Radić puts aside Vukajlović’s analysis
of the critics and their opinions being much more interested
in the authors basic theses where she claims that there
exists a special female sexuality that includes special
female ways of cognition and particular female artistic
practices. She goes on to say that pornography presents
’domination of the male speech over female, victory of
the male subject over female’, and that female sexuality
is always presented in a stereotypical way. Radić thinks
that all her assumptions are incorrect, unsubstantiated,
and based on a very limited knowledge of wider pornographic
production. Firstly, he finds it impossible to prove that
there are special female ways of cognition and specifically
female artistic practices.
Secondly, contrary to Vukajlović,
he claims that in fact women are those who dominate contemporary
porno film and video. Women carry all the main roles, while
in the scenes of explicit sex woman is almost always the
dominant character regardless of the position of man, which
may be only ’technically’ dominant. It is not easy today
to find a standard porno film (produced within the pornographic
mainstream) that would be at the liking of men and women
searching for the ultimate male domination. As far as the
stereotypical presentation of female sex is concerned,
Radić believes that stereotypical characters, both male
and female, are the key feature of all porno films.
Today’s
porno production consists of films that are focused exclusively
on the sexual aspect, which leaves little room for characters
as subjects. Directors prefer characters as objects that
can be viewed as radical functions of an equally radically
minimalist dramaturgy, if we can use the term dramaturgy
at all. All characters ’suffer’ from this, not only female.
Radić claims that the main motif of a ’porno film’ is
not male sexuality. Its goal is to demonstrate a certain
type of sexuality, which is neither female nor male, practiced
by individuals regardless of their gender. Pornographic
films are mostly about pornophile’s
sexuality. It has been censored for centuries, particularly
depriving the female population.
In the last quarter, and
especially the last decade of the 20th century, prompted
by the revolution in video, we witness the process of
emancipation of viewers with pornophilistic sexual affinities,
following in the footsteps of the liberal emancipatory
efforts that have been conquering more and more space
for individual freedom. Instead of giving due credit
to pornography, antipornographical feminists attack it
with unsustainable sophisms.
Damir Radić |
