Pornstars Go Mainstream

There is no denying that we are living in a visual age. As such, the various technological mediums have capitalized on our need for entertainment. There are more movies made today than ever before. That is not to say they are any good. These movies are studio quality, back lot quality, back yard generated and Internet uploads. They come in all shapes and sizes. Most of them are terrible.

Even Hollywood seems to be quick now to go low budget, low calibre and sometimes no talent whatsoever, if they believe there is a quick buck to be made. So what's new? Sure it seems like an old strategy with new things but come on. A lot of the stuff coming out now is pure garbage. Most of it goes straight to video or into the recycling bins. It is no wonder that a really good movie can stand to make a king's ransom today. My uncle who used to sell watches would bring them all out in a display case and purposely litter the case who junk watches to the good ones stood out. Today, Hollywood's junk case runneth over.

That being said, it would appear that any avenue of performance art stands as a good audition piece nowadays. Just recently another porn actress has been chosen for a mainstream film. Sasha Grey has been chosen by Steven Soderbergh to appear in his upcoming film The Girlfriend Experience.

It is far from the first time a porn actress has crossed over. You may have noticed I am calling them porn actresses not porn star. I don't understand how you can appear in a porn film and immediately be referred to as a star. You should have to appear in a certain number of films at least before you are a star. Mainstream actors are not immediately referred to as stars. They are actors. It should be the same for porn.

Anyways, Traci Lords is probably one of the most famous porn actresses who crossed over. She received a considerable amount of attention considering the controversy surrounding her porn career. Most of her time in adult film was while she was under age. Now Ms. Grey, I'm sure that's not her name, will have a shot. No pun intended. It is interesting that girls going into porn can honestly believe now that they could have a shot at becoming a legitimate actress if this crossover tendency continues. It doesn't seem as though acting ability seems to matter. This seems to be the new mantra of Hollywood. Who cares if somebody can act as long as they look the part on film.

This is unfortunate for so many reasons. For one, the quality of film drops tremendously. If anybody can do it now, I might as well just go over to family members' homes and watch them wash dishes. It really isn't that much different. The other concern is that it may encourage more people, specifically women, to enter porn as a stepping stone to what they think will be legitimate acting careers. I'm not much of a pornologist, but I do believe most girls who enter the field disappear quickly into anonymity. The same could be said about the "legitimate" film world but what you leave behind is just a little different.

This isn't to say that a film can't be good just because a porn actress is cast in it. It just means the doors seem to be opening wider to different calibres of film and the likelihood of it being good is probably a little smaller. I suppose this will make watching a really good movie, with really good actors that much more enjoyable. Especially since not to many really good movies seem to come around much anymore.