As an avid supporter of the art porn movement, I have to acknowledge Larry Flynt’s contributions to the adult industry. With his then shocking sexually explicit imagery, Flynt pushed the limits of obscenity and wound up in court battles over his brand of smut. But Hustler’s front man argued that what he was doing was not obscene, that porn had artistic merit, and that it was certainly less obscene and upsetting than the extreme violence that our children are subject to every day through television and the news. In that way, I have to acknowledge Larry Flynt as one of the original art porn men.
By today’s standards, Hustler’s classic porn might look a little shotty and could even be mistaken as cheap amateur porn. But you have to think of it in context of the time. Cameras were big & clunky and auto-stabilization didn’t exist which made for some awkward filming. And editing without fancy software on your iMac would have been a nightmare!
Classic Hustler porn from the past. A little washed out and a little sloppy on lighting / shadow, but altogether not bad.
Culture was different at that time too. Porn was not as highly – for lack of a better word – respected as it is today. Working in adult film wasn’t something that most people would be proud of and as such, the industry wasn’t attracting the best and brightest individuals. I’m not just talking about the on-screen talent. They just didn’t have a lot of visionaries creating erotic dreamscapes through the marriage of lighting and makeup and set design.
Things were different. And yet, Hustler persevered.
And here we are, going on 2012 and the times have changed. Most people like porn, and those who don’t are the ones who tend to be a bit odd and out of touch. Smart people are filming and performing in the adult industry, and there is a real erotic revolution going on where sexually explicit art is becoming more and more prevalent. Porn is changing.
But when I look at Hustler, they really haven’t come all that far. Oh sure, every now and then they knock it out of the park with a home run. But for the most part, Hustler is sticking to it’s tried-and-true tricks of hastily filmed and poorly acted filth. They make a parody of a popular movie or TV show, throw some sex in and call it a day.
The best photograph from today's Hustler update. An uninspired locker room set and harsh lighting wreck what ought to be an elegant photograph of Alanah Rae
It’s as though Hustler has no soul, in the blues sense of the word. Like Lucas’ prequel Star Wars films, I get the impression that there was no love put into the project. Where’s the passsion? Where’s the vision? Where is that drive to create something spectacular?
Now don’t think that I’m talking about the on-screen talent. Most of the porn stars of today are nothing short of incredible. Many of them are pleasant and well balanced people who are passionate and proud of their work and it shows. They give it their all and it’s a shame that the production crew doesn’t always meet them halfway.
I don’t mean to pick on Hustler alone. Lots of legacy porn companies have failed to step up. And sometimes the folks at Hustler really come through, but I find it to be few and far between. So the question remains: in the changing world of porn, why didn’t Hustler evolve?
Interesting commentary. I’ve been following your site for a while for the pictures and your good taste, but articles like this show your thoughtfulness and aspirations for the site. Good job. Makes me feel sophisticated while I’m trolling for free porn.
I haven’t been paying attention to Hustler but it does seem to be going downhill. In my youth, before Internet, it was synomous with high quality but explicit porn. Not anymore it seems. It’s a shame, as their brand recognition and funding should allow them to contribute to the artform.
I remember there was a Hustler DVD series I did like for the quality of models and lighting… it was a lesbians only thing, Wet Dreams or Wet and Wild or something like that…
You know, every now and then Hustler really does well. Just go back and look at “A Study in Sexual Intercourse ft. Alexis Texas”. That was a Hustler photo set that worked alright. And I know I’ve posted something else from their site that was pretty good.
Like most big companies, they’ve got their sites set on what works to make money. It’s an “if it ain’t broke don’t fix it” mentality. The problem is the denial and failure to recognize when things are broken.
Silly request. I posted on this article and one other one recently. Is it possible for you to change my comment post name in both to just DH?
I want to continue commenting in the future and ridiculously, I’d prefer DH.
Totally understand and consider it done!