It’s really odd- I’ve seen about my share of hard core porn (gay, in my case). The guys are, at least most of the time, every bit as gorgeous as any Hollywood star, the bodies are firmer than a Michelangelo carving, and there’s full frontal, full “backal”, and full on nudity all around. On the other hand, a love (or just sex) scene with less attractive actors on Queer as Folk or even the completely asexual clips of Kyan in bikinis on Queer Eye are incomparably hotter.
So, while I’m gay, I’m guessing there are many straights who can relate as well. What, in your opinion, makes mainstream sensuality hotter than porn? Is it the imagination, the fact that there’s a storyline, some other factor, or do you actually prefer porn?
Well, the one thing I can think of is that the sex in mainstream movies is more sensual and erotic, rather than just ‘get to it’ porn. Since they can’t show as much, they make it more sexy. Interestingly, if you’ve seen Boogie Nights they actually talk about pornos becoming less ‘sexy’ with the advent of videotapes. Now, I’m not sure how accurate that is, but it seems to make sense… porn now being an industry to see body parts and who cares about the eroticism, which is the really sexy part.
In mainstream movies, we learn something about the characters and probably identify with them to some extent. (At least, in good mainstream movies we identify with them at least somewhat.) Therefore, when they are getting it on, it’s like we are getting it on. Or at least more like that than in a movie where the character development consists of, “Uh, I’m da plumber. Want me to clean ya ‘pipes’?”
In most pornos, it’s like watching cartoon characters get it on, not real people.
To add to what BlackKnight said, in addition to there being no identification in porn, there’s also no suspense There’s no “will they or won’t they?” Of course they will, and as soon as possible.
In a proper story, like a real relationship, there’s a great deal of tension leading up to the deed, and then of course, after the deed there’s tension about What Happens Next.
An odd thing to me about porn is this: I honestly think that if you selected 10 random people from any supermarket in the country, most of them would probably be at least passable actors (not Brando and Jolie, but good enough for supporting roles in say a little theater production) so long as the script wasn’t too complicated. However, I’ve yet to see a porn movie that has even two decent performances (other than the athletic kind). Odd.
Also, if a sex scene in a non-porn film is shot right, it can be sexy in what it doesn’t show. Hinting can be a lot sexier than showing, in the same way that flirting can be more attractive than saying “Let’s f*ck,” or that catching a glimpse of a woman’s breast through her shirt as the light catches her just right for a second can be sexier than seeing her walking around topless. (I’m sure there’s an equivalent experience for a gay man, but I can’t really think what it might be.)
According to one of his autobiographies, the explorer Richard Burton was the guest of a bedouin sheikh while enroute to Mecca. While he was standing with the sheikh, the sheikh’s young wife, whom he was told was a woman of great beauty, came riding into the camp, veiled and wearing an ankle length robe. As she dismounted from her horse, her robe caught on the saddle and revealed her naked from ankle to neck and Burton was sure that either he or she was going to die for her having been naked in front of the stranger. The sheikh seemed completely unconcerned.
Later, Burton felt comfortable enough to ask him “why weren’t you furious?” and the sheikh answered “Why should I be? She never showed her face.”
Maybe it’s the same thing with porn/mainstream- that one thing beneath the veil that’s only for you.
Because most mainstream films worry about set design, writing, plot, lighting, etc. It’s not just “Well, we have a living room for three hours, then my cousin’ll let us use his patio, so what can we do with that?” And I think expectations have something to do with it. Like if I’m watching porn, I already KNOW they’re going to do it.
In his autobiography, The Brass Ring, the cartoonist Bill Mauldin talked about studying art and having a live model for nude drawing. On one ocasion, a spectacularly beautiful woman turned up to be the model for the class. She disrobed behind a screen, walked out and took up her position, and everyone sketched away as though she were a bowl of fruit. At the end of the session, when she went back to dress, several guys noticed that the screen was slightly parted and provided a view behind it, and soon the entire class was trying to find vantage points from which to ogle her as she dressed, despite having spent an hour with the opportunity to see her from any direction, totally nude.
On top of what’s already been said, I think the thought of seeing a well known celebrity at least partially in the buff is more exciting than say, seeing Jenna Jameson naked for the bazillionth time.
Well, there’s a tape they’re advertising of “Hollywood’s sexiest love scenes.” I gather from the commercials that they’re sex scenes from mainstream movies. Obviously, there must be SOME raw lust factor in them, or they wouldn’t have bothered…