# Why is porn so formulaic? **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [February 29, 2004, 3:34am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-is-porn-so-formulaic/231711 "2004-02-29T03:34:45Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 8\ **Page:** 3
**Author:** ![GorillaMan](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/50afbb/32.png) [@GorillaMan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/GorillaMan)\ **Post date:** [March 19, 2004, 3:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-is-porn-so-formulaic/231711/41 "2004-03-19T15:58:39Z")
> [@Evil Captor](#): > > I remember one about pirates where they ACTUALLY RENTED AN OLD-TIMEY SAILING SHIP for the movie – there were horses and swordfights and extras and EVERYTHING. It was amazing, considering most porn can’t afford much more than a cheap hotel room, an actress and a videocam. That’s nothing compared to hiring Nasa’s zero-gravity-simulating plane: [http://www.space.com/sciencefiction/movies/uranus\_experiment\_000516.html](http://www.space.com/sciencefiction/movies/uranus_experiment_000516.html) (yes, the link is safe for work 😉 ) ---
**Author:** ![RandomLetters](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/8edcca/32.png) [@RandomLetters](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RandomLetters)\ **Post date:** [March 19, 2004, 5:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-is-porn-so-formulaic/231711/42 "2004-03-19T17:25:46Z")
> [@fetus](#): > > Also: Those who think the Japanese are “weird” should notice the odd fetishes that certain sectors of the American porn industry cater to–pregnant, underage, bestiality, incest, rape, “watersports”… Do a search for “Waita Uziga” and tell me the Japanese aren’t weird. ---
**Author:** ![Little\_Nemo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/little_nemo/32/3120_2.png) [@Little\_Nemo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Little_Nemo)\ **Post date:** [March 19, 2004, 5:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-is-porn-so-formulaic/231711/43 "2004-03-19T17:47:57Z")
The fact of the matter is that porn is made cheaply. A porno film with a budget as high as a million dollars would be unheard of; it would be as rare a feature film with a budget as low as a million dollars. Most of the production on porno films is non-union and performed by regular film crews working under the table. And the acting salaries also reflect the restrained budgets of porn. Hearing that top ranked actresses make $5000 a day salaries might seem immense, but bear in mind most porno films are shot within one or two days, so this works out to a few thousand dollars per film. Meanwhile, in the “real” show business world, an actor with a supporting role in a mid-level television series is making about the same salary per episode. A top-ranked actress in the movie business will be getting millions of dollars per movie, not thousands (she’ll also be getting a share of the profits which virtually no porno actress ever sees). So don’t compare porno movies to major studio releases; they inhabit different worlds. Compare them instead to their real equivalent; the grade-z straight-to-video movies with titles like _Attack of the Killer Zombies_ or _Crazy Frat House_. It is possible to find quality work in these movies, but the majority of all of them are formulaic crap that is content to just sell enough copies to make back the budget. ---
**Author:** ![Cervaise](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cervaise/32/16693_2.png) [@Cervaise](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cervaise)\ **Post date:** [March 19, 2004, 6:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-is-porn-so-formulaic/231711/44 "2004-03-19T18:33:15Z")
> [@Evil Captor](#): > > I remember one about pirates where they ACTUALLY RENTED AN OLD-TIMEY SAILING SHIP for the movie – there were horses and swordfights and extras and EVERYTHING. It’s called _Conquest._ Definitely a good porno. Both classy and hot. ---
**Author:** ![JRDelirious](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jrdelirious/32/9531_2.png) [@JRDelirious](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/JRDelirious)\ **Post date:** [March 22, 2004, 2:26am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-is-porn-so-formulaic/231711/45 "2004-03-22T02:26:00Z")
> [@GorillaMan](#): > > That’s nothing compared to hiring Nasa’s zero-gravity-simulating plane: [http://www.space.com/sciencefiction/movies/uranus\_experiment\_000516.html](http://www.space.com/sciencefiction/movies/uranus_experiment_000516.html) (yes, the link is safe for work 😉 ) I thought that would likelier be the _Russian_ vomit-comet they used. > [@Evil Captor](#): > > I remember one about pirates where they ACTUALLY RENTED AN OLD-TIMEY SAILING SHIP for the movie – there were horses and swordfights and extras and EVERYTHING. And indeed it was a revelation… that in the days of the Spanish Main there were large, obvious breast implants on the wenches 😛😃 ---
**Author:** ![Little\_Nemo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/little_nemo/32/3120_2.png) [@Little\_Nemo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Little_Nemo)\ **Post date:** [March 22, 2004, 5:11am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-is-porn-so-formulaic/231711/46 "2004-03-22T05:11:59Z")
> [@](#): > > And indeed it was a revelation… that in the days of the Spanish Main there were large, obvious breast implants on the wenches They must have been the treasure chests pirates were always talking about. ---
**Author:** ![Chotii](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/71e660/32.png) [@Chotii](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chotii)\ **Post date:** [March 22, 2004, 6:11am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-is-porn-so-formulaic/231711/47 "2004-03-22T06:11:36Z")
> [@CheekyMonkey613](#): > > Who makes this shit up? And then I had to do it. I had to find out how big a horse’s dick was. [For your reading pleasure:](http://www.ces.uga.edu/pubcd/b945-w.html) Oh, it gets wierder. When a stallion reaches orgasm, the head of his penis will ‘flare’, increasing in size substantially. If you’ve ever seen a video of bestiality, where a woman allows a pony-stallion to mount her - I’ve seen just one, and the scream at the end was probably not pleasure! - you’ll understand why these things are best left to mares. I mean, they say ‘bigger is better’ but this is ridiculous. [Here’s a picture of the ‘flare’.](http://www2.vet.upenn.edu/labs/equinebehavior/publixs/Papers/89SpontU.pdf) ---
**Author:** ![Cervaise](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cervaise/32/16693_2.png) [@Cervaise](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cervaise)\ **Post date:** [March 22, 2004, 6:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-is-porn-so-formulaic/231711/48 "2004-03-22T18:48:08Z")
Just a word of warning, **Chotii** ’s link is not work-safe, if your boss is a puritanical horse. 😉 [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-is-porn-so-formulaic/231711.md?page=2)