Synopsis

Fenton Bailey’s Pornography: The Secret History of Civilisation offers a comprehensive, detailed examination of the origins and transformations of adult media. This six-part series contains commentary from a multitude of sources, including art historians, social critics, authors, collectors, and adult stars themselves. The film tastefully tackles the taboo subject by focusing on pornography’s implications of human nature, the impact of technological advances and social evolution.

Featuring

The Road to Ruin
At the site of Pompeii, once buried under the eruption of Mt. Vesuvius, archeologists were astonished to find obscene adult paintings on the walls of each villa. These first forms of pornography were once not considered a form of vulgarity at all, but rather tasteful works of art found in any refined home. The Road to Ruin examines the controversy over the public exhibition of these ancient artifacts that were long hidden in undisclosed museum archives. Featured experts Dr. Simon Goldhill, Prof. John Clark, Dr. David Gaimster and others argue that our present-day conception of pornography did not descend from the sexually accepting Greeks, but rather the more conservative Victorian culture.

The Sacred and the Profane
The arrival of Christianity led to the condemnation of pornographic images and sexual acts. Images of copulation and phallic symbols in art became associated with demons and sin, resulting in firm censorship. The discovery of the printing press further complicated the circulation of adult images among those who were deemed ‘unworthy’ of them. The Sacred and the Profane details the historical events that led to selective distribution of pornography due to class differences and religiously driven cultures of the Medieval and Renaissance periods. Roger S. Wieck, Edward Lucie-Smith, Paula Findlen, and others disclose their research in the artistic documentation of sexual condemnation.

The Mechanical Eye
The invention of photography in the 1830’s brought fantasy to a new level. The capturing of nudes was both used scientifically and erotically. Glass plate negatives allowed photographic copies to be inexpensively attained, which exposed pornographic stills to the lower class. The Mechanical Eye follows photography’s transition from a blossoming innovation to a vehicle for the production of pornographic magazines reproduced for the mass market. Anne McCauley, Uwe Scheid, Linda Williams, and other experts explore this important period of pornography’s history.

Twentieth Century Foxy
Pornography was revolutionized by the arrival of motion pictures. The erotic nature of adult media became accepted by the free-spirited attitude of the hippie generation. Adult stars were revered and celebrated for their work. Twentieth Century Foxy covers the radical transition of the industry in which pornography became a mainstream phenomenon. Directors and actors of these timepieces such as Georgina Spelvin and Marilyn Chambers provide a personal account of their experiences in the rise of the adult market.

Sex Lives and Videotape
The introduction of videotape marked the dwindling popularity of adult cinemas. Pornography had become a more personal media, one that could be viewed in the privacy of one’s home with pause, fast forward and rewind features. Sex Lives and Videotape explores the rapid changes that video brought about, pornography’s ultimate controversy for directors who opposed it for its low aesthetic value but were forced to compromise for its enormous profits. With the huge commercial success of tape, directors pushed the boundaries with “tasteless” pornography, shock value videos with spectacles of extreme fetishism. Directors such as Mark Kearns, Eddy de Roo, Ron Sullivan, and Bill Higgins share their stories of a time when pornography no longer had moral limits.

Pornotopia
The Internet pushed any boundaries ever set on pornography. With the marriage of digital media and adult entertainment, viewers could gain access with complete privacy, and achieve instant gratification. Pornotopia examines the enormous impact of the World Wide Web on the way in which we respond to adult media, and how it affects our personal lives. Experts including author Bernard Arcand, social critic Con Isshow, and adult star Seymore Butts, comment on the effects of the Internet pornography trend from an economic and social perspective.

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