Progressive Wednesday

“Porn” is a Four-Letter Word: Watch

PLEASE NOTE: In an effort to keep it real, let's just say that this Wednesday entry may include graphic descriptions of sexual acts and links to material that some might find objectionable. Much of the content below offends the heart and mind, and we've included it to do just that. Please proceed with appropriate caution. In other words, you might not want to read this at work (particularly if your boss is a “snooper– ) or at home with your wee ones in the room or at all if you don't want to face the ugly truths about pornography.

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Watch:

“American Porn– is a FRONTLINE documentary put together by the generous and somewhat genius folks over at PBS. When I first watched it in 2003, it left me shocked and a little sick to my stomach. Apparently, I want to spread the acid indigestion. But seriously — this film, given the rise of pornography in both our popular and private cultures, is a must see. Just click the PBS logo to be taken to the film.

Here are three of the highlights (or lowlights, depending on how you look at them):

1. AT & T, GE, AOL, hotel chains, and other companies make hundreds of millions of the cash-register cha-ching off adult films every year. The numbers are only rising.
2. Some pornography (and we're not just talking about child pornography) appears to break criminal laws.
3. September 11, 2001 greatly diminished the way the federal government prosecutes criminal pornography.

If nothing else, check out section five, “A Demand Driven Business,– to witness some seriously screwed up shit (pardon our lack of French, but there's really no other word for it).

When you're done watching, please tell someone else about it. Just click the green “Share This– button in the lower, left hand corner of this post, and then click “E-mail.–