Current TV does “Porn 2.0”

Over at Current TV (I get to say that because they’re just a couple neighborhoods away from me), this week’s Vanguard (link autoplay warning) is called “Porn 2.0” and it’s set to air this Wednesday, Nov. 11 at 10pm. Or you can just watch it on Hulu now.

It’s worth watching. And maybe I’m looking at it a little sideways because I spent yesterday on an indie queer porn set with Eon McKai and Courtney Trouble discussing the death of old school porn, from sexual stereotypes to media distribution, and our ideas of creating sustainable, forward-thinking porn businesses. And hot porn, with hotter business models that engage the viewer, all respectfully. But what you’ll see in “Porn 2.0” ain’t that; don’t let the title lead you to think it’s about tech and porn of the future, or packed with visionary pundits. This is not where you’ll demonstrably see porn incorporating the concept of information sharing, user-centered experience, online porn communities (viewers and/or makers), collaborative or interactive porn experiences — though there are hints here and there of people finally waking up to the idea that us porn consumers are no longer passive (in the Kink segment). They are not showing you the future of porn here, and the snapshot of the present presented in this particular labeling of “2.0” requires context. Like the dated term “2.0” it’s a phrase that signifies it’s time to update, and evolving is already in process. (The term is, in fact, from 1999.)

The first part of this Vanguard episode is fantastic; I love that they really show the day-to-day at the world’s leading online porn empire (Kink), and that they really had many people there talk about their work unscripted, and that Donna got an opportunity to speak about her life. What they failed to do was contextualize the fact that Kink, while an extreme genre of porn, has existed and succeeded outside mainstream porn’s business models. For a long time, mainstream porn — everyone’s perception of porn, where the Jenna Jamesons come from — refused to even acknowledge that Kink, and businesses like Kink existed simply because they did not make DVDs. Also, Kink’s successes lie in not only their ability to quickly move on opportunity but the crucial aspects of being both hyper-tech-aware and sex positive.

On one hand it’s great to see them profile Kink and Peter and Princess Donna, and Tomkat who has lots of great one-liners, which is all a very entertaining way to start the show: with the forerunners of online porn. Sad that the lede intro felt the need to use terminology such as “dirty little secret” in reference to something that’s not any of those three words at all anymore. I don’t think it’s respectful or necessary to dumb it down, you know? It’s festooned with the usual sensationalistic verbiage. Yet, it’s worth watching.

The segment on Kink gets us all excited to see what’s the new new. And then… The letdown. The show goes retro, taking us to Porn Valley to painfully examine the deer in the headlights — but most unfortunately, making it appear as through porn (Kink and dinosaurs like Wicked Pictures) is all one big homogeneous mass. When in truth, porn is not one entity, not by a long shot. Kink and Wicked have nothing to do with each other, they evolved in different climates and attitudes, and Kink will continue to evolve whereas Wicked has no idea how to move forward. Take one look at the segment on how they’re outsourcing their IP enforcement, and you’ll see what I mean. It’s more of the “those damn kids with bittorrent” teeth-gnashing blame game, and none of the “here’s how we’re innovating and making porn more desirable, easier, accessible to customers, or giving viewers what they want.” That’s why this is an interesting show, and maybe not for the reasons Current intended.

It’s important to watch. But consider the context: this is called “Porn 2.0” and not “Porn 3.0”.

Big thanks to K for tipping me to the show. Kudos to Current for tackling such a complex and edgy topic.