Monday, November 10, 2008

Guest Speaker: Robert Jensen

Nov. 6- San Francisco—

Robert Jensen, author of the book “Getting Off,” has sought to change men in this society; he has denounced pornography and its users. Jensen says that pornography contributes to the growing misogynistic attitude that is prevalent in our culture, and pornographic content only manifests this reality. During his November 6th speech at USF Jensen said that the porn industry makes 15-20 billion dollars a year. “The growing number of profits is in large part do to its growing number of consumers,” said Jensen which he says are younger and younger. He claims that younger children, who are exposed to pornographic content before they are old enough to understand its full meaning, seek to recreate what they see on the screen.
This sort of reproduction leads to the demeaning of women, as well as the perpetuation of dangerous circumstances, including rape. According to Jensen, “The porn industry makes over 13,000 films per year, compared to Hollywood, which makes about 600 films per year.” Jensen acknowledged that the numbers were staggering, but said that that the large amount of production illustrates just how large the industry has become.
He spoke to the two different types of pornographic films that were available to the consumer. The first being Feature pornographic films, in which the content appears to be the same as a major motion picture. The second type is gonzo, which is a growing trend in the porn industry. This specific style is stripped of its production value and script, and is more prevalent on the internet. Jensen also spoke to the role of women in wider roles than merely acting in these films.
He spoke about the change in the industry that sees women now directing and producing pornographic films. “Everyone said, ‘this is going to change porn; having women in these roles will change the films.’ When in actuality, the films didn’t change at all. The women realized that their target audience was still men,” he said. Jensen also said that after the conclusion of writing his book, he could no longer watch any pornographic content.

Friday, November 7, 2008

Election 2008

OBAMA WINS! YES WE CAN! WOOOOOO!