No, HBO Isn’t Porn—and That’s Part of the Problem
The music
from this series is just one example how Game
of Thrones is no run-of-the-mill television series. The production values, quality
of acting, and narrative complexities of GOT
(not to mention its plethora of Emmy nominations) all point to the impressive
artistry exemplified by the show’s participants.
Look, I
get it. Game of Thrones, in addition
to other HBO shows, isn’t just all hype. It is a genuinely intriguing drama,
and it understandably has captured the interest of millions of viewers. If not
for its graphic sexual and violent content, I would likely be watching it (and
other HBO dramas) myself.
SEXMANTICS
Those
familiar with my writings are aware that my criticism
of Game of Thrones has been
focused on its sexually explicit nature. Fellow
critics and I have used the term “pornography” in describing some of the
content of shows and films like it.
It is
important, however, to address what some of our detractors have pointed out: Game of Thrones is not the same as porn.
It has professional actors with a legitimate plot, genuine artistry, and
mainstream appeal.
And you
know what? These folks are correct. Game
of Thrones, along with other prestigious cable fare, is not the same thing
as a pornographic film you’d pick up in your local adult entertainment store.
Furthermore,
during the summer of 2018, HBO completely and officially eliminated all of its late-night
adult fare. And while HBO continues to produce material
with graphic sexuality and nudity, it “will not be producing shows
specifically centered on graphic nudity any longer.”
So we
should stop using porn as a comparison, right? Well, not so fast. Let’s
consider one factor I haven’t addressed before.
On
occasion, it appears the producers of Game
of Thrones have hired porn stars to participate in the show. Pop Culture
contributor Stephen Andrew writes,
“There's likely a lot less shyness present on set when it comes time to get down
to the nitty gritty if the actor is already well-acquainted with the content
being filmed.”
In fact, Game of Thrones isn’t the
only show that has relied on porn stars for sexual scenes. True Detective employed porn actresses
for an orgy scene because they would “already [be] comfortable filming sex
scenes.” And another orgy scene in Westworld
involved the contributions of at least four porn stars.
Does this
mean that HBO intentionally relies on porn stars for really racy scenes? Not
necessarily. Sometimes it might be intentional, and sometimes it might just be
happenstance—like when an actor in the adult entertainment industry answers a
casting call for an HBO shoot. (After all, hiring four porn stars for an orgy
scene that involves dozens of actors means plenty of mainstream actors, or
regular extras, still participated.)
Nevertheless,
the involvement of porn stars in mainstream entertainment is still emblematic
of a real and pervasive cultural trend—the merging of art and
pornography: “As western society becomes increasingly liberal, art becomes
more experimental and the distribution of porn, commonplace. As a result art
and pornography continue to merge.” Or, as Beauty
Redefined points out, “Scholars and media experts agree that the line
between pop culture and pornography has shifted and blurred over the last
decade.” And the more we see pornographic material show up in mainstream media,
the more willing we are as a society to accept it.
I would
condemn pornography outright as a societal and moral evil. I would not,
however, condemn mainstream media in general as an outright evil. Many of you,
I surmise, would agree with me on that distinction. And yet, desensitized as
we’ve become by the merging of the two, we more readily accept the former when
it shows up in the latter. It’s as if we view this situation as analogous to Jesus touching a leper and thus making him clean: in the realm of
entertainment, the contact between high art and pornographic material somehow cleanses
and justifies the sexual content.
GAMES OF
PORNOGRAPHY
In Why
HBO is entering the XXX business with ‘Westworld’, former porn star Alia
Janine comments on the orgy scene from Westworld
that required extras to be fully nude and be willing to participate in
hand-to-genital and genital-to-genital touching:
To
me, it’s the same concept [as being naked in porn]. Even if it’s simulated,
you’re selling sexual content and doing sexual things, and this will and can
have an effect on your professional and personal life. . . . I think that porn’s a lot more
mainstream now with the Internet, and HBO may have to compete with that. So
they try to make things sexier, or get more weird or creative, just to get
people to watch it.”
So, according
to a former porn star, mainstream entertainment is in a competition of sorts with
pornography to keep peoples’ attention. In any case, the lines between
mainstream entertainment and pornographic entertainment have blurred. Shows with
adult content on HBO (or Netflix, or even prime time TV) are not equivalent to
the hardcore porn now saturating the internet. Nevertheless, many of these
shows are influenced, whether consciously or unconsciously, by the
normalization of pornography. That is
a problem.
There are
plenty of people out there struggling with addition to pornography. They would
never dream of publicly sharing the porn they watch in secret. And yet these
same individuals would much more likely be comfortable watching—and
promoting—mainstream media with pornographic elements. I will likely never see
a post on my Facebook feed from a friend recommending that we check out Biker Bimbos from Belleview Go Bonkers.
What I do see is plenty of folks posting
on Facebook about this or that raunchy-but-artsy show with giddy excitement.
Now, don’t
hear what I’m not saying. Do I mean that anyone and everyone who watches the
latest HBO sensation is automatically a slimy pervert? No, I don’t. That would
be uncharitable. This situation is serious enough without the need for such
hyperbole.
No, my
point is that we have grown accustomed to promoting pornographic material as
long as it’s properly packaged. As Uproxx puts
it, “The sex and violence can be gratuitous at times…and the motivations of
the characters can veer into the perverse, but that’s all part of [the] Game of Thrones package.” We’re willing
to ignore, or put up with, or excuse, or defend content that technically
isn’t porn because it is packaged in the folds of Art and Acting and Themes and
Whatnot.
PORNSPLAINING
“It isn’t
porn” is a frail and faulty defense of any prestigious art medium. Yes, it may
be populated with distinguished actors, but does that mean dignified actors are
incapable of sexual acts? Yes, it may have high production values, but does
that mean the quality of film stock neutralizes hypersexualized content? Yes,
it may be distributed globally with cultural acceptance and applause, but does that
mean large segments of the global population can’t ever be wrong? Yes, it may
be so much more than mere gratuitous and perverse sex—but it’s no less than
that either.
Films and
plays and shows with porn-inspired content are not identical to bona fide porn.
The
two are not identical, but they are also far
from dissimilar. If you’re fine with porn, then there’s nothing for you to
worry about. Carry on, fellow citizen.
But if you
are saddened by the infiltration of pornography into every aspect of our
society, and if you are sickened by the myriad of ways in which porn has
inspired real-life treatment of our fellow human beings (and women in
particular), and if you are shocked by the ways in which the sacredness of human
sexuality has been carelessly trampled upon by careless and wanton entertainers,
then I suggest you take at least a brief pause and prayerfully consider your
own choices and motives and actions.
Because
you might just actually be a part of the problem. And the more you contribute
to the problem, the more you work directly against what you say you believe.