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To Choke or Not to Choke: Consumer Choices
posted on XCritic on Sunday, September 7th, 2008
by Don Houston.
Any of you out there that have read my reviews over the past 8 or 9 years
know that I am a huge proponent of consumer choice in what they can
watch (as long as the porn involves consenting adults). This philosophy
is in keeping with the XCritic Mission Statement (paraphrased below):
"XCritic exists for one simple reason. We sift through the choices
out there and help you find the ones worth your time and money. We
do this to help you find the best of what you are looking for."
Pretty straightforward, yes? We're always looking for like-minded folks to
review with this in mind and we do our best to embrace this concept
while so many others pander to the industry, personal interests, or
simply just don't give a f..k about you. Unlike some places, we don't
let industry insiders masquerade as "consumer reviewers" to shill their
latest titles, nor do we expect most of you to simply take our word for
it when we share our thoughts on titles we check out. Because of this
stance to bring you insights on what you want, there are some out there
that get upset, attacking our credibility, our motivations, and least
importantly, our personal tastes in porn. ;)
Recently, I engaged in something of a debate regarding choking in porn
titles. I make it clear in my reviews that I'm not a huge fan of guys
abusing women in porn when the women are not "into it". I know some of
you truly find such porn appealing and it gets you off quicker than a
wad of hundred dollar bills attract strippers and I'm fine with that,
signifying such titles in the body of my reviews as "made for a
different type of audience than me". That said, if a lady likes being
choked or engaging in "breath play" and shows it in how turned on she
looks in her scenes or how passionate she gets during such a scene,
I'm going to acknowledge that too and reward the title with a higher
score. Mutual consenting partners going at each other with a sense of
lust and energy is a major turn on for many people, myself included.
My detractor in all this (a friend who shall go unnamed) was quick to point
out the dangers of choking in his comments to me, leaving no room for
any appreciation of the sex act at all. If a movie has the slightest
bit of choking in it, his rating system automatically lists it as being
one of the worst movies of the year no matter what else it has going
for it (we're talking mere seconds of choking merits such a treatment
too). I find that contrary to the principles on which XCritic was
founded, helping fans find what they are looking for. If I were to take
a similar approach and insist that anyone reading one of my reviews had
to share my personal vision of what makes for great porn, I'd be
rightfully dismissed as a niche character (like the now gone reviewer
elsewhere that insisted all porn women had to be at least attractive
enough to make the cover of Seventeen magazine, only be in a couple of
movies before leaving the industry, and a whole litany of other
criterion most people would laugh at).
Seriously, who is anyone on the fringes of the industry to tell the masses
what they can and cannot like and enjoy? Citing a state law about
simple assault, he suggested that choking as a sex act was illegal
(there is no such provision specifying the act in the law he quoted)
and it led to numerous deaths. Unfortunately, his case was built
around a different kind of choking, a solo act called "Auto-erotic
Asphyxiation" where a guy will literally hang himself for the endorphin
"high" it provides at the point of orgasm. Needless to say, virtually
ALL deaths in the public sector are such cases, a young male, all by
himself, choking his chicken and his air supply off at the same time
to horrific consequences. Extrapolating this plight to the ladies of
porn, the ones being paid to perform on camera with other people
present, he railed about how dangerous such sex is. Yet how dangerous
is it? With thousands of movies released each year around the world
and probably even more internet scenes shot in recent years, how many
deaths or disfigurements have been attributed to a case of choking on
a set?
If you answered ZERO, I suspect you are correct since no such cases
have been reported to date. Contrast this to number of deaths or
ended careers from AIDS (numerous in both straight and gay productions)
and you would think said person would be a stanch advocate of condoms
and ultra safe sex practices. Does his reviewing system lower ratings
for a lack of condoms, unsafe sex, or proven risks? Not one bit since
that all dangerous choking is the focal point of his wrath.
I took a beating on AVN's blogs several years ago defending your right to
watch whatever consensual sex acts you enjoy, most members of the AVN
team agreeing it should be a personal choice, followed by the nice
members of the XRCO, and heaps of others. Make no mistake about it
though, just because I advocate a free market deciding what should be
on sale (with minimal limits) doesn't mean I get off on seeing women
hurt, maimed, or mistreated but let's face it; women in porn are made
aware of what is going to happen on most porn sets and are paid a
premium to engage in riskier behaviors. They are making a CHOICE to
participate, collect a bigger payday, and gain more fans when they get
more extreme in their scenes.
Belladonna, Audrey Hollander, Ashley Blue, and numerous other ladies
have extended their careers years by becoming what I call "extreme
queens". Does their love of being choked encourage others to engage
in reckless behavior that results in death? That was the same argument
some loser used to justify killing people "I saw it in the movies".
Are any of you out there willing to buy into that kind of logic, the
kind where you will relinquish personal responsibility in favor of a
nanny state set out to protect you from yourselves?
Anyway, I like the guy and his outlines for movies have assisted a lot of
people over the years by giving a basic, if quick, glance at scores of
titles where no critical analysis got in the way of his takes on flicks.
I even offered him a guest blogging spot to make his case for ending the
practice of choking in porn here at XCritic (he declined several times)
and I will defend his right to speak his mind about the topic with any
that would silence him but ultimately, fans know what they want and will
find it no matter how many artificial barriers individuals set up to
prevent them from finding out. I suggested he simply refuse to outline
any movie he sees choking in since his stance is as likely to get people
doing the opposite of what he suggests (like when Roger used to hate on
Max Hardcore's titles) but that fell on deaf ears too. That said, I was
curious if this was a major issue with any of you out there? Do you want
to know about choking in porn we review (like some of you insist on
knowing about condoms, for example)? Does the practice automatically
merit a failing grade in your collective estimations? Should the industry
rally to ban the likes of Max Hardcore, Jim Powers, Jake Malone,
Belladonna, Mason, and others that use choking in their movies?
Email me at my hotmail acocunt (houstondon@...) or comment in the forums
so I'll know what more of you think.
Thanks!
----------------------------------------------------------------------10/01/2008
First of all Don, I am very interested in the ckoking scenes that
you thought were so good that you awarded a higher score.
Do you have a list of them for year 2008?
I did a review of Cry Wolf and I was interested in what others thought
of this release. So I visited iafd.com to check it out.
I found 3 reviews for it:
CAVR Movie sex rates 9.00
Extras rates 9.00
Picture quality & lighting rates 8.00
Audio rates 9.00
Overall rating is 8.75
Choking and drugs makes it rate 6.00
Rog Overall Rating B
Female Looks B+
Male Looks B-
Picture Quality B
Extras A-
Plot/Acting A
Sex C+
XCritic Content 4.00
Video 4.00
Audio 3.00
Extras 3.50
Replay 3.50
Overall (XCritic Pick) 5.00
I didn't understand how it got a 5.00?
I sent an email to Don Houston.
This very good review is from Rayvn C.
The overall rating is based upon the
full DVD. The individual ratings are
not part of any formula.
I suggested that if the Final Thoughts
had mentioned that this DVD deserves a
XCritic Pick and given the reason, it
would have been a lot clearer to me.
In subsequent emails with the very
nice Ravyn C, we discussed the subject
of rape. She was disappointed that
I didn't mention rape in my review.
I agreed to modify my review to include
the rape theme.
I suggested that she modify her review
to add XCritic Pick to her Final Thoughts
section.
I also suggested that she mention the DVD
had choking in it in her review.
My changes have been posted.
Her changes have not been posted.
Don and I had many emails on choking. I told him about the 2 wives in
the Dayton area that were choked to death during sex. The guys
got 20 years in jail and gals got 6 feet under.
I did mention to Don that choking was a major problem and that
all three of the major TV stations have run specials on the
how dangerous choking is in general. Don pointed out that the
choking was not the type I was talking about. I think Don was
referring to Houston Press - The Choking Game
I am very happy that there have been no choking deaths on a porn
set. We sure don't need any snuff movies.
My concern is the effect the choking scenes cause to the
viewing public. The ole monkey-see-monkey-do syndrome. Guy
tries choking his wife with tragic results.
'women in porn are made aware of what is going to happen on most
porn sets and are paid a premium to engage in riskier behaviors'.
Great. Just have them sign a Choking Consent Form. It should
explain that she is going to be choked in the movie. It should
be approved by her agent, the director, the studio and explain
the potential dangers of choking.
Choking is illegal! Sometimes it is called assault.
Google search: Charged with Choking:
09/22/2008 Royal Oak, MD Woman Charged with Choking teen daughter.
05/07/2008 NBA Player Charged with Choking Minneapolis man.
09/17/2008 Okeechobee Man Charged with Choking girlfriend.
10 to a page.
10 pages + Next
I consider myself to be Consumer Advocate Reviewer.
I quit reviewing Hustler DVDs because they released too many DVDs
where the Boxcover says it contains a BTS and it doesn't.
CAVR Review - Lowest Rated of Year
XCritic Review - Highly Recommended
I quit reviewing Wicked Pictures DVDs because they will not
answer what happened to Delilah DVD:
CAVR Review - Lowest Rated of Year
XCritic Review - Recommended
The industry should rally to set some guidelines like they did back in the
early days when Rueben Sturman ruled the porn world. The problem is who
to rally around? We are leaderless. I quit reviewing JM Productions,
Max Hardcore and Extreme Associates many years ago.
Mason has been a bad bad girl and should be required to appear
in front of the camera in her BTS. And, she must make at least
6 movies per year!
My CAVR Choking Position is very clear!
It is not fun being one of the few that mentions choking in their
reviews. I want the Consumer to know if a movie has choking in it.
Don is correct that my list of 2008 Movies with Choking
probably does more harm than good.
I know my point of view is not popular and lots of Studios
refuse to send me screeners. I am fine with this.
I attended the AEE 2008 Legal Seminar and I agree with those 4
leading attorneys that choking is not a good idea.
The lingering question is why are some Studio's 100% against
choking and their lawyers will not permit it?
Condoms in movies. I am neutral on this. I don't really care one
way or the other. It should be up to the performers and their
comfort level. I do mention scenes that have comdoms by saying
safe screwing.
Don, you are a great reviewer and we actually agree on most things.
In fact, on some of the blockbuster reviews over the past few
years, you and I were the only ones to point out 'flaws' in
some of them and we did not give them a high rating!
We will have to agree to disagree.
The very best to you Don and keep up the good work.
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