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The Mainstreaming of the Hard-Core Pornographic Film Industry, 1969-1990

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The Mainstreaming of the Hard-Core Pornographic Film Industry, 1969-1990 ABSTRACT Title of Document: STAYING POWER: THE MAINSTREAMING OF THE HARD-CORE PORNOGRAPHIC FILM INDUSTRY, 1969-1990 Stephen Patrick Johnson, Doctor of Philosophy, 2009 Directed By: Professor James B. Gilbert, Department of History When publicly screened hard-core pornographic films first appeared in theatres, in 1969, they generated less than $1 million in annual revenue. By 1990, revenue approached $600 million. By 2000, estimates placed U.S. revenue between $5 and $15 billion. This dissertation examines the hard-core industry’s growth by concentrating on changes in the mode of consumption as well as noting changes in the films themselves. And it ties the story of the industry and its customers to the intersecting narratives of the Supreme Court, anti-pornography activism, and the Federal government. The industry provided a product desired by a large and growing number of Americans. Videotape technology moved hard-core film from the highly contested public space of the motion picture theatre to the more easily defended private space of the home. The more effective the films were in arousing viewers and the more secret their consumption, the more the industry grew. The nature of the debate over hard- core pornography favored those defending consumption. While opponents of hard- core emphasized pornography’s putative harm, evidence for these claims never rose above the anecdotal level. Finally, successful prosecution of hard-core films became increasingly untenable. Even when Federal and state prosecutions increased during the 1980s, a grudging cultural toleration of hard-core films meant prosecutors could no longer rely upon juries to return guilty verdicts. The hard-core industry, buoyed by success and confident that it understood their consumers, employed various publications to create a sense of community, assure customers that the best films were the most sexually arousing, and that arousal was both right and proper. Masturbation is crucial to understanding the industry’s growth. Because of an 18th-century medical masturbation panic that reached its peak in the United States in the late 19th-century and endured, 20th-century American courts grappled with an obscenity doctrine predicated upon a barely acknowledged, enduring belief in the dangers posed by masturbation. Ironically, hard-core film became, after the shift to videotape, an astonishingly convenient and effective fantasy tool. The hard-core pornographic film industry grew in direct relation to its ability to supply a product that facilitated private desire and masturbation. STAYING POWER: THE MAINSTREAMING OF THE HARD-CORE PORNOGRAPHIC FILM INDUSTRY, 1969-1990 By Stephen Patrick Johnson Dissertation submitted to the Faculty of the Graduate School of the University of Maryland, College Park, in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy 2009 Advisory Committee: Professor James B. Gilbert, Chair and Advisor Professor Whitman Ridgway Professor Robyn Muncy Professor David Sicilia Professor Saverio Giovacchini Professor Jonathan Auerbach © Copyright by Stephen Patrick Johnson 2009 Dedication To Danis Kovanda, Maureen Johnson-Guerin, and Alfred Guerin ii Acknowledgements Funding for this dissertation was provided, in part, by the University of Maryland, Department of History and its Center for Historical Studies, the Lynde and Harry Bradley Foundation, and the Lyndon Baines Johnson Foundation. Friends were also essential to the completion of this dissertation. Some contributed materially, in the form of sharing films, magazines, and videotapes from personal collections. This generosity was invaluable because the Library of Congress, while impressive in many respects, is sorely limited in their pornographic holdings. While I thank those who provided such assistance I also feel obligated to do so in vague, general terms. Fortunately, I can thank Eli Murphy and Julie Pock for encouragement, and strategic house-sitting opportunities that allowed me to write two difficult chapters and a significant revision of this manuscript in a level of comfort and style to which I hope to become accustomed. I also thank Ezra Buzzington and Peter Gref for opening their home to me during an extended research trip to Los Angeles. Despite the imposition I clearly visited upon them they made this researcher feel like an honored guest and welcomed friend. Rebecca Gray facilitated my access to many people in the adult film industry. Marie Bain, and George Donaldson, Kyle Johnson and Judith Kindler, Charles and Kris Kusak, Kim Nance, Martin and Terri Peterson, and Joe Sammon and Mary Schiavone, provided encouragement, and always friendship. H. Douglas Kaplan allowed me unfettered access to his archive of materials related to hard-core film. As this massive and iii absolutely unique collection has since been donated to the Kinsey Institute, I deeply appreciate Doug having given me the chance to explore virgin territory. Archival materials are the lifeblood of any research project. The staff of the Manuscripts Division of the Library of Congress, in Washington, DC, made my time there both productive and enjoyable, and I extend special thanks to Hugo L. Black, Jr. for granting me access to his father’s papers. At the Kinsey Institute for Research in Sex, Gender, and Reproduction, at Indiana University in Bloomington, Shawn C. Wilson eased me into the world of the stag film, and proved to be a limitless source of information and advice. The Lyndon B. Johnson Library, in Austin, is a researcher’s dream. The staff went out of its way to make my visit fruitful and pleasant. The sales and rental shelves at Capitol Video Sales, G Books, and the Leather Rack, in Washington, DC, were invaluable. I also wish to thank Tai Brown, from the office of Congresswoman Eleanor Holmes Norton. The history of hard-core is peopled with partisans. Robert Peters, President of Morality in Media, graciously provided me with complete access to a wide range of that organization’s publications and founding documents. The amazing Dr. Sharon Mitchell, Director of the Adult Industry Medical Health Care Foundation, and the remarkable Nina Hartley, iconic figures with adult film, answered questions concerning the current industry and its early days with high competence, absolute candor, and enduring charm. Filmmaker Ernest Greene and Mark Kernes, Senior Editor at Adult Video News, also gave extended interviews which I appreciate deeply. I appreciate Mitchell Neal and Bentley Morriss, of Knight Publishing Corporation, who granted permission to reproduce certain images. I greatly appreciate Lance iv Blundell and Steve Goldberg, of Adult Entertainment Broadcast Network (AEBN), for advice, and for granting copyright permission. Mr. Goldberg was especially forthcoming in a frank, wide-ranging discussion of hard-core film, technology, and masturbation. I am profoundly indebted to former Justice Department officials Patrick Trueman and Judge Bruce A. Taylor, as well as to Jeffrey Douglas and Reed Lee of the Free Speech Coalition, for their generous contributions of time and information. It is unlikely that any of these individuals will agree fully with all my conclusions or characterizations. I hope that I have been able to disappoint and please, in something approaching equal measure. I particularly want to thank Joseph W. Slade, Ohio University, Mireille Miller-Young, University of California Santa Barbara, and Whitney Strub, Temple University, for their advice and encouragement at various stages of this dissertation. I would remiss if I failed to note the support of my fellow graduate students at the University of Maryland. They supplied a vibrant and congenial atmosphere on the third floor of Francis Scott Key Hall. Casual conversations, brief discussions, prolonged debates, and the opportunity to present material in colloquium, improved this dissertation in ways too numerous to list. I will be forgiven, however, if I single out Askar Askarov, Herbert Brewer, Harvey Cohen, Malia McAndrews, Luc LeBlanc, Giacomo Mazzei, Christy Regenhardt, Paul Schmitt, Daniel Stotland, Ingo Trauschweizer, and Jon White for special thanks. Similarly, faculty members provided an example of collegiality I will never forget. In particular, I want to thank Herman Belz, Miles Bradbury, Marvin Breslow, Bernard Cooperman, Robert Friedel, Gary Gerstle, James Henretta, Jeffrey Herf, Ken Holum, Paul Landau, Emily Landau, v Clare Lyons, Sonya Michel, Alison Olson, Keith Olson, Marsha Rozenblit, and Madeline Zilfi. Arthur Eckstein and Jeannie Rutenburg, present at the creation, helped craft the initial idea of doing a dissertation on the industry; they remain close friends, and are my idea of consummate intellectuals. My debt to Jon Tetsuro Sumida is huge and continues. I was extraordinarily fortunate in my dissertation committee; all of whom supplied incisive criticism and unwavering support. Jonathan Auerbach and Whitman Ridgway joined the project in its latter stages, bringing gimlet eyes to bear when fresh perspectives were most essential. David Sicilia, who chose to stick with my project even after reading two early, abysmal chapters, was endlessly supportive and consistently challenged me to be a better writer, and a clearer thinker. Robyn Muncy has been a stalwart friend since I arrived at Maryland; her always perceptive questions and relentless curiosity sustained me. Saverio Giovacchini’s passion for film, gift for friendship, and capacity to leaven keen criticism with fervent encouragement were indispensable.
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