Comments on: SEXIST BEATDOWN: What’s Good For the Goose Is Good for Buttman Edition

By: lols

lols — Tue, 27 Jul 2010 01:14:19 +0000

Of course he signed!! Milan Kundera hates women so it only makes sense that he hates the young wimins too.

By: Samantha b.

Samantha b. — Tue, 20 Jul 2010 23:36:47 +0000

Oh right, RK! And would you like to link to this IRREFUTABLE story that you came across, explicating that art is of inarguable concern. Because there was, as I remember it, no shortage of curators and professors arguing for the US to be wary of irreplaceable art objects before the war, you know the pieces that were destroyed and looted. But I’m sure this piece is correct, that our love of art turned the table on a war that is still being fought at phenomenally extravagant expense.

By: Andrew

Andrew — Tue, 20 Jul 2010 19:05:39 +0000

“Often, as in the Max Hardcore case, what’s being prosecuted is sexual abuse of performers. And then people are like “obscenity laws are unconstitutional; why didn’t these performers bring their cases to court?” Whereas if they did, as sex workers, they’d be slut-shamed and devalued and wouldn’t stand a chance of winning.”

But I mean, it’s more than that–acknowledging sex work as sex work makes it illegal in almost the entire country (other than parts of Nevada, I guess). The only reason the creation of pornography is legal these days is because, during the Clinton administration, the performers in pornography were classified as actors rather than sex workers. So the “but is it art?” discussion is the only reason pornography is legal at all these days. If people start admitting matter-of-factly that it is sex work, it establishes necessary precedent to make it illegal all over again.

Where Max Hardcore is concerned, his abusive practice were certainly the reason why he should have gone to jail. Unfortunately, the reason he DID go to jail was because his work was held to be obscene–i.e. not art–and therefore illegal. How he treated the workers he hired had nothing to do with his sentence, more’s the pity.

What we really need is for all forms of sex work to be legalized, so that those who engage in it are given legal freedom to address grievances they have about unethical working conditions. But I don’t see that happening anytime soon.

By: billie rain

billie rain — Tue, 20 Jul 2010 11:22:45 +0000

my favorite quote on this topic:

“Some of the get-out-of-jail-free crowd thinks that the reason Polanski should go free is because he’s a gifted artist. Maybe you’re right. Instead of an Oscar we should let the Best Director fuck your kids.”
— Michael Seitzman

By: Jonathan

Jonathan — Mon, 19 Jul 2010 17:57:34 +0000

most of my off-the-top-of-the-head associations with Artists who we have to Defend Against Charges of Obscenity because they’re just outside the norm have to do with very famous men.

Sady, 50% of the NEA Four are female. Great post!

By: RK

RK — Mon, 19 Jul 2010 14:12:57 +0000

We can agree that art does not excuse violence, but the connection between art and violence feels trickier than that. I just came across another story about how criticism of the war against Iraq really changed when the looting of Iraq’s national art treasures became international news — images of smashed pottery in galleries and fragile archeological sites vandelized by armed bandits. In this case, art (or the love of art) functioned to focus criticism on the warmakers in a way that the violence itself wasn’t able to. Art came to speak for the victims and to start a conversation about justice for the people of Iraq.

It’s easier for me to imagine that Polanski’s non-sentence was a result of the same forces that protect the privileged class generally– namely, that he is wealthy, white, and connected. Art and our love of art is being used to carry the load and distract from this part of the story.

By: Marie

Marie — Sun, 18 Jul 2010 21:58:14 +0000

Bernard-Henri Lévy: total fame-whore. And he’s been so from the beginning of his life. The guy is willing to eff over anything if it will raise his profile.

By: Lynn

Lynn — Sat, 17 Jul 2010 12:42:45 +0000

I’m not so sure it *does* have to do with the quality of the work.

As your prior post pointed out, the Women as Property culture was part of Hollywood from the very beginning.

Not this exact scenario, but coercion and exploitation of Hollywood hopefuls is more or less a tradition.

By: Andy

Andy — Sat, 17 Jul 2010 03:56:20 +0000

“Although folks did rally around R. Kelly during his trial, which makes me think that the question is not how good one is, but how famous one is.”

Are you trying to say R. Kelly isn’t good? Dude is totally guilty, probably insane, and definitely should be in jail. But he can write a hell of a tune. And Chocolate Factory is the best album of his career! Bounce bounce bounce bounce bounce bounce bounce, bounce bounce bounce