Mar
Was a Porn Star Ever Sacred?
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I wrack my brain, believe it or not, searching for something, anything worth expanding upon these days that might benefit from my point of view. I’ll spare you the details and depressing fact that too often it feels like very little out there inspires me to give forth an expansion of myself. Today, it started when I began writing a comment. That comment turned into this blog entry. Oddly enough, today it’s a little debate that works to dissect one of the more annoying, yet subtle, nuances of the modern adult industry.
Before you watch the confessional below, a little background information. Diesel Washington, you’ve probably have heard of him, is one of the more prominent opinions in the gay porn scene today. Once a Titan Men Exclusive, Diesel was awarded Performer of the Year by the Grabby’s in 2009 – as well Best Porn Star Blog. If you didn’t know of him before, he has certainly forcibly inserted himself into your thoughts in the last year or so. I worked alongside him Jet Set Men’s Getting Levi’s Johnson, out later this month. Photos Courtesy of Jet Set.
Unzipped asked me about what it was like working around Diesel while I was in for a four part interview after filming the movie. And, because I’m dangerously on the verge of making this blog about something other than myself, I’m going to embed the first part of my interview with them:
I know, I have a poor sense of humor, I was merely making a bad joke. I included the clip because I think Unzipped was trying to get me to say some controversial things about Diesel Washington and I wouldn’t take the bait. Just prior to this interview and when I arrived to shoot for Jet Set, Diesel cornered me with his camera. I was less than animated. I probably came off more than a little unenthusiastic. Which, naturally reads as negativity. You know, Diesel does the damn thing and you can’t deny him of that. He’s co-hosting The Grabby’s this year.
It is unfortunate the way the term Porn Star is thrown around; the way society has applied it liberally to almost anyone who has revealed themselves sexually on camera. Even just once. Or someone who has taken on anything and everything that they can just to exploit their body to it’s fullest potential. This is not going to change. It is a widespread habit that is here to stay.
That being said, here is why it doesn’t matter: the porn purveyors, fans, viewers, bloggers and outright lovers of this industry, and that is what it is, an INDUSTRY, know the difference between a model and a star.
In the corners & crevices (all the little places) that these little nobodies are referring to themselves as such – it doesn’t matter. It’s small fish to fry.
Diesel, don’t let it erode your sense of self. To do so is like internalizing & digesting the hateful, mean spirited comments people say about us and storing it someplace so it can slowly kill you. It is self deprecating. Damaging.
Look, this isn’t art. Art is transcendent. Truly remarkable art is timeless. As fans and viewers, you, the readers of this blog – you may not realize that an adult film or scene has a ridiculously short shelf life. They used to only sell 8 or so months after release before they were all but forgotten. Now, with the recession and saturation of what is put out there, that shelf life is only becoming shorter and shorter. In my opinion, this is one of the reasons why stars are no longer created as they once were. You may also deduce in the same why that this is why so many models today can easily get away with branding themselves “stars”.
This contribution a star has to the porn world Diesel talks about is a thing of the past. There was a time when a set group of performers were so great at what they did they stood head & shoulders above the rest in the crowd.
All of this, this debate, the question here – falls to one real question. Did it ever really even mean anything when the term, dare I say honor, of being donned a Porn Star was applied to a model? The industry would have you believe so, but I am not easily convinced. By popular use of the word, yes, I consider myself a porn star. Do I prefer the term? Not really. When it comes up in conversation and I don’t feel the need to hide the details of my profession, I much prefer adult performer. Or adult star. Better yet, I just say I work in the adult industry. It’s funny, because if I neglect to attach the word “star” people see it as a transparent attempt at modesty. But if I use it, they also roll their eyes because they know how widely utilized the term “Porn Star” has become.
It all comes down to labels. I understand the importance we place in a moniker, a category. Our decal. Our seal of approval. It’s a place we belong. The industry conditions us to believe there is status there. It strokes our egos and fluffs our feathers. We like that. We are happy to oblige. It’s part of how we define ourselves (sadly, for some of us it’s the sum of our parts). Is it so hard to understand why some performers are hurt or bothered by people taking their place and calling it their own when they have no right to do so? It cheapens us. It’s an act of degradation if you think about it. It’s bringing us, those of us who have put in the time, effort and made the sacrifice – those of us who have actually done our job – down. The broad, overt use of the term is like inflation. Cheapening our value. Which, once again, many might argue didn’t amount to much to begin with, anyway!
It’s no such secret as stars most of us don’t walk away with much to show for our time and sweat equity. Money that pays the rent and buys a few fancy pairs of jeans. The smart ones take care of themselves and take with them experiences and memories. When you strip away what little prestige the industry has worked to provide for us, it’s really like stealing the only thing, in too many cases, we have to show for it all.
Your Friend & Lover,
Employee of the Adult Industry -
Brent Corrigan
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I’m counting on some of you who have been lurking in the shadows to wake up and contribute a little bit
. I’m not just curious about your thoughts on the term Porn Star, but what a name or a label means in American Society. Why does it hold such importance, despite a current trend showing an aversion to “no labels” (in the latest generation specifically)?
Hi Brent,
Lurking in the shadows… Alright, I guess that would be me. Must say, haven’t spent a lot of time thinking about the term pornstar. Although the fact that you are referred to as such, is how I happend to become a fan of your blog.
I came across one of your scenes on internet and read the comments. That led me to google you and find out more about you. Your new website wasn’t up yet, but I did start to follow your tweets. And since you’ve been blogging again, I’ve read every word.
Let me just say, the word pornstar definitely applies to you. But it certainly doesn’t define you!
Don’t get me wrong, I love your adult work. And I can certainly see the difference in quality between your work and that of other so called ‘pornstars’.
I’m just saying that it may have been the fact that you’re an adult star that alerted me to your existence, but it’s your personality that shines through in these blogs that keeps me interested! I’m sure you keep a lot of personal things to yourself, and rightly so, but it still feels like I’ve gotten to know you a bit. And it has been a pleasure! I think you’re articulate, intellegent and a lot of fun. O, and gourgeous ofcourse
I’m not an American, so I can’t say what this label, or labels in general, mean in American Society. What I can say? Who cares! Ever see anyone put a lable on themselves? If people feel the need to judge on the basis of a label, that says nothing about you but everything about them.
I believe its all about personal education.
It helps us to better understand and appreciate whats around us.
It is important to learn about what we like so we can fully appreciate its nature and its naturel value.
Would you like to make Art (installation, mix-media,..)?
I wonder what you would and could do
I’ve had a long, long time to think about the term “porn star”. Twenty-two years, in fact.
Whenever I go to job interviews, and a background check is done, the topic just seems to come up.
The most telling incident recently was when I interviewed for a software development position at one of the local porn companies. Went in for an interview, but of course, no job. A friend in the office told me that the owner of the company had run a background check, found my (many) aliases, and then googled one of them…
You would think that a porn company, a gay one, no less, would be somewhat immune to this kind of stereotyping. But no, the owner “knows how porn stars are”. So no matter how skilled a software engineer I am, apparently I’m just a porn star to the owner: cheap, disposable, and of no consequence whatsoever.
I’m very, very glad that bullshit lives in *his* mind, not mine.
It’s unfortunate for everyone in the adult industry that the same people who download our videos, and cache hundreds, if not thousands of our images are generally also the same ones who will argue and fight, sometimes very viciously, to maintain that our social status and overall worth to the world is less than that of even an animal. Hell, there are laws against treating animals the way we sometimes are treated.
Although I’ve accepted that this is the way the world works; by stereotyping in an attempt to not have to think, and by taking out of context in order to dismiss…
…I don’t have to like it.
I’ve accepted the fact that the gay community is not my friend, never was, and never will be. The obvious extension of that thought, of course is: “I am not a victim”. Which is perfectly true. It also means that if people take unreasoned punitive action against me by projecting their judgmental beliefs onto my life or my actions, that I’m justified to respond however negatively to that I should see fit to. Fair’s fair, after all.
In American society, porn stars seem to be both loathed and lusted after. I think maybe the only other job position which possesses a dichotomy that’s even *close* to that would be a police officer. You need them around sometimes, but the rest of the time you don’t want them anywhere near you.
I think with the emphasis on “amateur” type porn, and certainly the dominance of sites like Xtube, the idea of a “porn star” is definitely fading away. I think you may be from the last generation of “stars”–as in, names known throughout the industry, and by a majority of porn fans. Also, I think in general, when the average American thinks of “porn star”, they think of some enormous-chested blonde woman. I’m not plugged in to the straight porn industry, but I’d imagine the number of “stars” is fading fast there, too.
You could say the same thing, in a slower way, about “movie stars”. There are tons of actors and actresses. But Clooney, Depp, Dicaprio, etc. (to focus on the male side) are all in their late 40s. I don’t see a lot of 20 or 30 year olds who would qualify for the term today. Blame TV reality shows for eating away at the nature of celebrity–blame the internet, blogs, twitter, etc. for making people who used to be bigger than life seem just as small as everyone else.
I think the reason you’re a Porn Star has less to do with the number of films that you’ve been in and more to do with your screen presence. Yes, I’m afraid some part of it is due to the way you entered the industry, the notoriety that you achieved after you were able to be honest about that, and even more unfortunately, from the court case you were a witness in.
But for me, what separates you from the hundreds of other guys fucking and getting fucked on camera started with your attitude and screen presence, and even your voice, as well as your looks even back then in your first films.
Since then I’ve come to know you a little better through your many
websites and blogs, where in open, clear, moving prose you’ve laid out many of your experiences, feelings, frustrations, etc. In the audio and video interviews I’ve heard & seen of you, with your clothes on, that “star quality” has come through. Don’t get me wrong–I still love your porn movies, joined your member site, and can’t wait to see more material of you naked and fucking your brains out 
Because labels are easy; stick one on somebody and you don’t have to think about them anymore. You don’t have to work at seeing how complex people are, how much there’s going on in everyone. To understand someone requires effort and time. It’s just easier to label and move on.
I will just lurk here in the shadows for a while as I ponder your question. I am drinking so not tonight. What was Your question?
Well ur always a star to me (never a pornstar tho). Your blogs alone do it for me. I love reading your opinions on current topics becuase they are usually the same as mine but your words get out there. I think a lot of the fans are just… uneducated(?) about the industry maybe. As for the self proclaimed stars, well that’s just what they are. Can they back it up? And we’re still very much into lables, I watch a few hours of tv and I see it (I don’t have a tv btw lol). *shrugs* I think now they might not be as defining as they used to be tho. My friends and call each other things all the time but we don’t take them srsly even tho the lable might fit that person perfectly lol. Words and lables don’t mean much to me cuz I’ve been called so many things that I got sick of listening, I know who and what I am, I don’t need anyone else to tell me.
Idk sorry if I’m rabbling, kinda tired :/
“Lurking in the shadows,” guess that’s not me. I agree more should give commenting here a try. Take a good 30 minutes to and hour and think and write and edit and then post it. I think it’s an enjoyable hobby and communication is GOOD!
All labels get expanded to many who don’t deserve. Hero, Conservative, Liberal, Fascist, Communist, Genius and Leader are some that come to mind. Some are self-described due to the agenda of the describer. Others are used to categorize people by other people who may not even understand fully the descriptor they use and certainly don’t understand fully the individuals they wish to categorize. I guess it’s all part of a gigantic social algorithm that makes the world of people the way it is. Now maybe I don’t understand you fully, as I state my thought in the next paragraph, but I of course have a fondness for my own logic.
I agree with what you have written here except for the part about art. Most Pornography may not be great art nor even good or mediocre but I think its art. You and others like you produce a product with the idea of pleasing consumers enough so that they will buy the product and you can make a decent living. The only thing different between your product and bread is that consumers don’t need porn and bread they do. So at this point I’ll remind you what Andy Warhol said; “An artist is somebody who produces things that people don’t need to have”. So under that very broad definition you are an artist. I will add that I think you are a Fine artist. In my opinion you meet the definition of transcendent: (Surpassing others; preeminent or supreme). Only those in the future will know if you and your art become “timeless”.
Brent, You have great looks, a pleasant personality and I like your voice too. Your blogs are interesting and all of these things make me a happier person. Star? Okay, I think of you as a star,
but that is not the most important thing. Rush Limbaugh is a star, but I don’t care to listen to him or
other “stars” like him. Whatever you do, try to make others a little happier. I like the fact that you and
your actors-models-stars are having fun in your movies/dvds.
~ In the past few years, I’ve been in the Shadows of everyone and everything. Standing on the outside trying to look in and watch and learn how we the gay & lesbian society lives. ~
Appearance is important in a relationship right? But what about friendships? Do you have to own straight hair and vanilla colored skin? What about the color of carmel, brown or even chocolate? You may see from the outside, however the feelings should come from within? Right?
This is what brings me to the this conclusion on Gay men.
I really do hate most gay men. No joke. They’re so obnoxious and pathetic. They go from insecure, scared little boys to rude, selfish bitches and it’s dumb and pointless. They try to act like they’re better than everyone else when really they’re just like everyone else. They spend their money not enriching their own lives, but trying to impress people they really don’t even care about or like, just so that they can feel as though they’re envied somehow. they buy designer clothes with lables plastered all over them trying to show everyone how much money they have when really they make $8/hr. at the Gap, drive some beater of a car and live in their parents basement, suffering from some illusion of inevitable grandeur that they feel they somehow deserve. They need to get their priorities straight and figure out some direction to their life before they try to pass judgement on anyone else.
It always seems like the guys with the least to offer think they’re worth the most. It’s absolutely awful. I just don’t undersrtand why being gay has to mean you’re some bitchy asshole who thinks your better than everyone else. The definition of gay is Happy, not bitchy.
They think they’re hot Ugh, but really they look like every other gay man. They all have the same look, the same hair, the same style, the same brand of clothing, everything. It’s so boring and mundane to go out to gay bars because every guy looks like the one standing next to them. Then, if you try to make any kind of small talk or attempt a conversation, they look at you as if you just spit in their face and walk away. Or they think you’re trying to hit on them or get in their pants, which is even more pathetic. Then they go over and whine to their friends about how no one ever hits on them or talks to them, not realizing that by being so rude to people, they are discouraging any kind of conversation in the first place. Then they start with the self-pity speech which is really just an attempt at fishing for compliments from their friends. I was hoping that once people got older they would become more mature and realize that “fake it till you make it” is not a good life plan and that you have to treat people with respect and dignity before you can expect to receive any yourself.
Another thing I don’t understand is gay men, who are out, saying that they’re only looking for ’straight-acting’ friends, dates, boyfriends, or whatever. if you’re out, then who cares? Are you that uncomfortable with your sexuality that you don’t want to be seen with someone who might not fit the stereotype of a straight man? That’s all you’re doing is enforcing a negative, sexist stereotype that men have to look, dress, and act a certain way, or else! I’ve met plenty of straight men who act stereotypically gay. There is no straight way to act. And really, who wants to ‘act’ their whole life? I personally want to LIVE my life, thank you.
Gay men just need to grow up and stop being so one-dimensional, vapid, uninteresting, shallow, conceited, caddy, superficial, uneducated, materialistic, etc. That list could go on for pages, but I’m sure you get the point. Do something to positively impact the world you live in! Stop thinging only about yourself and realize that you’re part of a community, and that we’re all part of a tribe called humanity. Try treating each-other with a little compassion. It’ll come back to you in the end, I promise.
~ StingMan ~
Porn is not art, Ernie, because it’s based on sex. And sex is nature which is the opposite of art. Art is artificial. Sex is natural. Porn may include artistic elements but the essence of porn is nature.
Dear S.,
if you were a star I wouldn’t be here.
I think the relation between a “star” and a “fan” is a relation between people who do not have enough self-confidence. A star is someone who tries to get attention and love (or what he thinks was love) and who does not realize that most of what he gets is flattery. Sheer flattery. And many fans try to make their own boring lives more interesting by projecting their own wishes and hopes on someone else. It’s a symbiosis. And in both cases it’s a result of lacking self-confidence and maturity. The star needs to be assured that he’s precious and the fan needs to look up to someone who he thinks is supreme. Many people seem to need that, especially when they’re younger (with a few exceptions, of course…). As a porn actor it must be very difficult to handle this flood of emotions and compliments. And many people who get that much attention simply get lost in the role they play and forget who they really are. This very blog is a good example. There are many people around here constantly telling you how perfect you are. We both know that this is not true. You’re not perfect. Perfection is not a state, it’s a process of becoming better, a process that never ends (you’re a perfectionist, you know what I’m talking about:-)))
However, I can imagine how tempting these compliments must be and so it is vital that you are able to protect yourself from our emotions. You’re not a star, just a… a nice guy? And I don’t think stardom is desirable. Sometimes you refer to yourself as a star and sometimes you sign buttcheeks, and especially the latter is very….irritating, but I have the impression that your bad experiences with Cobra made you stronger and more able to resist. This is not “American Idol” and you are not Kent Brorrigan, oops, I mean….ah, you know… And I will not bow to you. Well….at least not in a metaphorical sense…
You’re not fiction, you’re real. And that’s fine. Just keep that in mind.
Quantz, your statement to me above is unconvincing. That a work is based on nature cannot negate the end result being art. Didn’t Winslow Homer create art? His landscapes and seascapes are considered art and they are based on nature. My thought is that Porn not being considered art is mostly a cultural bias based on the old idea that sexual enjoyment is dirty.
I didn’t say that nature cannot be something art can base upon. But art does not mean that something real gets depicted 1:1. An artist uses his imagination to transform the raw materials into something that makes the audience think. Art is a product of thoughts and ideas that go beyond what you can see. Have a look at this picture:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Winslow_Homer_-_Artists_Sketching_in_the_White_Mountains.jpg
This is not just nature being depicted: The painter plays with light, colours and forms and creates something new. Art is when imagination steps in. This picture is a wonderful example. Look at all those painters who are part of the scenery. The audience can imagine how each of them is painting a slightly different picture, the audience is inspired to imagining that this queue of painters will never end and that in the back of the original painter there’s another one. That’s art. Imagination. Fantasy.
I can give you an example: Think about photographs. They depict life and nature but in order to become art they must be more than that. Professional photographers don’t need brushes anymore, but they still work with light, colours and angles which make the image more than just a “reality show”.
I can imagine that if a porn movie develops an own language of colours, sounds or even some intelligent diaolgue it can be considered art. But usually, porn is not made with such care. Porn is shot within a few days to make the audience jerk off (that’s why self-made porn stars just need a webcam). That can be very beautiful and stimulating, but it’s not art. There is no deeper idea behind porn than offering sexual pleasure. You have to raise money, you can use the camera a bit differently than usual, you have to cut the movie – but that is rather technique than art.
Here’s an example of porn that can be considered art, I already posted this some days ago:
http://www.sundancechannel.com/greenporno/
This is also based upon sex but it’s very different from usual porn:
I) It does not stimulate the viewers sex drive unless you’re a zoophile
II) It includes a message
a) about sexual behaviour of other species
aa) …which offers new perspectives for human sexuality because it questions the
human black/white pattern of straight/queer
III) It includes a sense of humour
IV) It has an own language of colours and forms (some of the props are just made of paper)
Normal porn just doesn’t offer that. It’s “just the sex”. I would love to see Brent making such little movies or something similar because this is really art and this is where he can show his talents and not just his undoubtedly sexy butt.–
I know this is a minority opinion:-)) But I wanted to outline my point. I hope it’s more clear now, Ernie.
My critique of your examples is that the Homer painting is of course a great example of art in that media and the second is a very poor example of art in the form of a pro-ecological video advertisement.
Since you mention “Just the Sex” I will state that I see art in that Brent Corrigan DVD. You may not see it but the scene with Luke Hass was art. Nothing was said to explain the situation but the moves of the actors lead the audience to make postulations about the individuals portrayed and what lead up to the act of sex we saw.
So I’ll just end this by saying that I disagree with your view of art and I just see art in things which you do not.
“getting better”, of course. Could you correct this?
I strongly disagree with Quantz on both the art vs nature statement and the pathetic nature of the star-fan relationship. Both claims seem utterly commonsensical and trivial to me. However, I said all I have to say about those matters (of porn being a form of performance and not the representation of “nature” and of fandom being a valid part of culture, with special reference to Brent) on my blog lana-e.blogspot.com (It has been renamed and will be re-launched in the near future.)
I had never really thought about the use of the term “porn star” until I read this blog entry, Brent. I guess to me what makes someone deserve the appellation “porn star” is a certain degree of recognizability. If I can mention the name of a certain adult performer to a friend and they immediately know who I’m talking about, that puts someone a long way towards being a “porn star” in my book. I think a person also needs to have a substantial body of work (no pun intended), not just a few videos.
As for society’s need to affix labels to people, well I think it’s just human nature. By constructing these artificial little boxes, we allow our brains to more easily process information. These boxes bring with them a set of assumptions that, rightly or wrongly, permit us to take shortcuts in our evaluation of an individual. Take the word “gay,” for example — that label brings with it loads of connotations and assumptions that people make. When applied to me or numerous other homosexuals out there, those connotations and assumptions are frequently inaccurate, and it becomes our challenge to overcome them.
Not too sure if that made much sense, since I just woke up, but I wanted to listen to your instructions for us “lurkers” (another label) to post some comments here. Besides, when a true PORN STAR tells you to do something, you better do it.
Hey brent, thought I’d comment. As a Brit, the porn star idea is a professional who is in the porn industry, whereas a person who does porn on an amateur basis is just an amateur.
Like you, you are a true professional
Seems like there’s two sides to this: craft and celebrity. You’ve got people like yourself and Diesel who’ve learned their craft, paid their dues, maybe had a lucky break here or there, but ultimately proved themselves in a competitive industry, and achieved that level of name recognition that makes someone a “star” rather than an “actor.” Thing is, there’s a glamour that goes with that name-recognition, both star and fan bound in the sort of mutual emotional investment Quantz is talking about; from the outside having people who look up to you as Someone Important looks awesome. The label is important to many, I think, largely as a signifier of that glamour (even where it’s not actually attached to real fame.)
One of the things I dig about your blogging, by the way — hell, your whole approach — is your self-awareness and openness about the realities behind that glamour, how weird it is to be on a pedestal — literally and figuratively. While you present yourself as Brent, and some fans no doubt just adore that image, it seems like there’s a lot of Sean comes through, the you that isn’t at all defined in the gaze of others, that won’t let yourself be defined that way. As a writer with a bit of name recognition in my own niche, I see a lot of my own experiences reflected in the weird disjunctions of public and private life — not just in terms of flying round the world one week, worrying about rent/mortgage the next, but at a deeper level. Actually, I love the way your own experiences seem to have given you a deep sense of a responsibility to ensure that young guys don’t get seduced by the glamour, to let would-be “porn stars” know exactly what it is they’re getting themselves into. Talking/thinking about yourself as an “adult performer” is just one small part of this, but an important one, and I think it’s hugely laudable.
Anyways, like Diesel talks about with XTube, or with reality shows, or with the new media in general, people who don’t really care that much about a craft but totally buy into the glamour — they can now take a short-cut and get some token exposure that gives them their 15 minutes of “fame”. As with a vanity press novel where the writer pays to publish and sells a few copies to friends and family, this isn’t really about the craft and speaking to an audience of strangers; it’s just about having some token that validates the label — “writer” or “porn star” — so they can play that role to themselves. It’s not just that this detracts from the prestige that’s a palliative when you’re scraping by; it’s that the disregard of the work put in by yourself or Diesel to get where you are is sort of a disregard of the skills it takes time and toil to learn, and thereby a disregard of the *craft itself.* There’s nothing more guaranteed to piss off a craftsman than insulting the craft, and when someone presents themself as a master of it when they’ve made one godawful amateurist botch-job of a work and they can’t even see the flaws, that’s exactly such an insult.
So, yeah, I totally get where you’re coming from here.
In terms of porn as art/not-art… to be honest, most novels have a similarly short shelf life, so I wouldn’t base an evaluation on staying power; the greatest art can languish in obscurity, forgotten a few months after it was made. Sure, the narrative in porn is largely irrelevant, and that means there’s an absence (generally) of thematics; so when you compare it with cinema in general, porn looks like it’s lacking the requisite depth that would make it not just a craft but an art. But it seems to me as if the craft of porn movies is otherwise that of any other type of film, and if you compare it to instrumental music… Well, there’s nothing being “said” in most symphonies, nothing communicated thematically in terms of words and images. But in pushing our emotional buttons in a pattern of tension and release it’s still art, even if its aim is to give us an experiential journey rather than explore an idea intellectually. Working with sexual imagery rather sound, porn doesn’t seem that different to me; I think you’d be quite entitled to class it as art. It’s just that some art is designed to invoke a visceral rather than cerebral response.
Actually, given that you’ve talked about Shortbus and other movies that ignore the art/porn divide in using real sex, I’m curious if you’ve seen Michael Winterbottom’s Nine Songs. If you haven’t, I highly recommend it, as a film which basically uses real sex (straight) to replace verbal communication, with a series of sex scenes separated by nine gig scenes. It charts a relationship, shows the way two individuals relate to each other and how that changes over time — but does so almost entirely via the way they have sex. Personally, I think it points to an untapped potential in the porn idiom, and from things you’ve said about your own approach and ambitions… well, I reckon you might find it interesting in the way it explores just what can be done in a sex scene.
But that’s kind of sliding off-topic. Just thought I’d throw it in as a mark of how non-simulated sex doesn’t necessarily disqualify a work from being art.
hey Brent
a very interesting blog
but i agree the term ‘porn star’ is very widespread with ppl uploading pics or even just pics then calling themselves porn stars when really they are not
But as you say labels are not seen as the right thing within our generation so hopefully there will be fewer and fewer labels soon and their meaning will diminish so you will just be a star in the adult industry and hopfully one within mainstream film too and maybe a producer or director in mainstream films too.
neway theres my views
until next time
David (london, england)
All great points, everyone! I am really impressed! And I feel a jolt of empowerment knowing there are intelligible beings reading and connecting with what I am writing here. It makes me want to share more! Bravo!
Hal, I appreciate very much the way you draw connections between art and the adult industry. I think you are very right in saying not all art, actually few noteworthy pieces, invoke a completely discernible cerebral response.
iuspankerboy, it is true what you say about labels. They are applied for our convenience. This, naturally, is why they hold such an important place in the fast paced, modern world.
Quantz, thank you for your comments on stars and the people who gravitate their direction. People are expected to just inherently understand why we idolize others or how stars are created. What you are saying here seems to sum up much of why I am both drawn to and away from entertainment in general. As contradictory as that may seem: part of me uses the flattery and compliments as fuel. When that fuel burns quickly and converts to less energy altogether (which is does), I’m left standing there with the reminder that I need to search for a more efficient, renewable source of power that will move me forward in my life. True, I know working mainstream isn’t the final source of that. But it may take me one step closer to where I ultimately want to be in the grand scheme of things.
In the end, a label or title or stereotype is an easy way to fit someone into a neat little box that can be categorized. It spares a lot of people the time and effort needed to consider the entirety of a person, as if a certain feature or set of characteristics can be used to sum up an individual.
A mainstream actor (or actress) walks on set and for a movie or television series becomes someone else on the screen. If their portrayal moves the audience, they’re celebrated for it, but at the end of the day gets to “hang up” the role so to speak. Someone who works in the adult industry though, doesn’t have the luxury of putting away the role they take on even when the shoot is over. It seems to me that the audience often expects that persona created for the screen to be an accurate representation of everything that makes up who they are in reality. And that is the true tragedy of throwing the term “porn star” around – it sensationalizes and titillates, but in the end still falls short in allowing you to be who you are.
There’s always the danger of burning bright and burning out, in reference to adoration as fuel. But to truly be satisfied with your experiences in the entertainment industry, adult or not, I think you want to find a way to burn steadily, and mix in the reminder that you as an individual will always surpass whatever category anyone else tries to fit you into. After all, you know you better than we ever will.
…I know I had a point somewhere in there before the philosophical rambling started. Suffice to say that success or stardom isn’t a sure means of guaranteeing satisfaction (which you probably already know). The most sacred thing about all of this? Holding on to your sense of self and not letting the label of Brent Corrigan define who you are in your off-screen life.
Hello Brent!
I´d like you tu know that you are my favorite porn star, although I´ve been watching just a few of all ur videos I admire ya a lot.
Right!
Wish ya the best always!
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