A Story About Making a Sex Movie

A Story About Making a Sex Movie

Let’s pretend for a moment.

It’s the year 2000 and you decide to shoot a little erotic movie.

You put an ad up and get a couple of responses from people who would like to be in your little movie. Before the shoot, you have them provide their drivers licenses and Social Security cards, you make copies for your files and take a picture of each person holding those documents next to their face.

You have them fill out and sign a model release.

Everything is nice and legal according to federal law.

You do your shoot and it’s way hot. In the editing process, you include the federally-required statement that all performers are over 18 years of age and indicate the name and address of the “custodian of records” in case agents from the federal government want to come inspect and make sure no underage performers were in your little movie.

You sell your video and everyone thinks it’s great.

You’ve since lost touch with the people you put in your little movie. Life goes on, right? Five years pass….

The guys in cheap suits

But suddenly some guys in cheap, dark suits, white shirts, narrow ties and shades show up at your door (you are the "custodian of records," remember?) and they want to see the documentation about your little movie. You show them what you have.

One of these guys inspects the model releases.

"What other names have these performers had in the past?" he asks.

"Huh?" you say.

"As of June, 2005, you must indicate in your records every legal, maiden, professional or stage name ever used by every performer in the sex scenes in your movie."

"That was not a requirement when I shot the footage," you tell him.

"The new regulation is retroactive to 1990," he says. "Do you have that information?"

"No, of course not," you say.

"Charlie, cuff him."

And off to jail you go. Up to five years in prison for you. And you get a big, fat fine.

What this is about

This is not some fantasy future fascist bullshit. This is now the law of the land. Supposedly, this is to assure that no minors appear in sexually explicit movies. But this really isn’t about protecting children.

Come on, no producer in his right mind is going to put children in sex movies. Everyone in the adult business in the United States is very much aware it’s suicidal to do so. And what the fuck does knowing the maiden name of a divorced 45-year-old female performer have to do with kiddie porn?

No, it’s not about kiddies and kiddie porn. It’s all about a group of people who got elected to office who believe that shooting sex movies is a very bad and immoral thing and they want to stop it. They can’t get away with passing a law to make it illegal to shoot such things, so they are trying to remove content from the marketplace by making the record-keeping task impossible, and by jailing perfectly innocent producers who were fully in compliance with the law at the time they made the movies.

The bottom line for you, the guy or girl who likes to watch sex movies, or read X-rated magazines, is that a lot of your favorite stuff will now be seized as illegal and the people who made it will be thrown in prison.

All this over a regulation which is retroactively applied from 2005 to 1990?

Who are these guys?

Certain people in Washington, D.C. seem to think adult magazine publishers and video producers are straining at the leash for any opportunity to exploit children. I’m sorry, that’s crazy. I don’t know anybody in this business who would do that. Everybody I know is very careful about checking identification. And here’s a big shock for you. Most publishers, producers, agents and distributors have kids too. Let’s use our heads, people.

This new regulation, and many more similar idiotic rules, were put in place by United States Attorney General Alberto R. Gonzales. He is relatively new to the post, having been nominated by President George W. Bush and confirmed by the U.S. Senate. They are buddies going back to when Bush was governor of Texas.

About the first thing Gonzales did upon getting into office was tweak that part of the United States Code that applies to adult content record keeping.

As soon as he put the new rules into effect, the Free Speech Coalition, the adult business trade group, sued to block them. The case is pending in federal court in Colorado. A decision is expected soon.

Who is responsible?

You need to understand something. So-called "conservatives" are all about imposing their particular religious and moral beliefs upon you. They will invoke hot-button words like "family values" and "child porn" to achieve it. The people who describe themselves that way are usually Republicans.

Some will say being Republican means fiscal responsibility, pro-liberty, small government and minimal interference in your personal life. Oh please. That kind of Republican died off with Barry Goldwater. The guys in power now are a gang of ideologues (don’t know what it means? Look it up) who are attempting to impose their moral beliefs upon you, whether you want them or not.

Who is responsible? Did you vote for George W. Bush? If you did, then you are responsible. What is happening now is a direct consequence of the action you took in the voting booth.

You say you didn’t vote in the 2000 or 2004 national elections and therefore we can’t pin the blame on you? Doesn’t matter. You are still responsible. By not voting, you let others decide who to have run the country and make these kinds of decisions.

Let’s be clear. If you voted for Bush or did not vote at all, this is your fault. It was you who failed to protect our freedom because you did not do your duty at the ballot box. Do you now have a better handle on how democracy works and how tyranny gets started?

What to do next?

Fortunately, Bush can’t run again for president but there will be somebody from the Republican party trying to take his place in the White House.

Here’s the concept, people. Listen up: DO NOT vote for those who wear their conservatism like a medal. In the name of religion and family values, they will take away your sex magazines and movies and they will throw those who make them in jail.

It is very possible, all in the name of protecting children (of course), there will soon be a regulation requiring you to register at city hall or with the federal government to get a license to read, or play on your TV, material which these fascist fucks consider to be immoral.

Is that clear enough?

GET OFF YOUR BUTT AND VOTE IN ALL COMING ELECTIONS, BUT DO NOT vote for right-wing politicians!

I also want you to click this link and donate a minimum of $10 to the organization that is suing Gonzales to halt implementation of these regulations:
Go here to donate to the Free Speech Coalition

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