I have to say we had real discussions a few years ago with a very fine academic (and good friend) about releasing a DVD of historic pornography that was being taught in her course and other people's courses. I was really interested in it until the archivist holding the collection mentioned the possibility that with the a history of exploitation of actors in these films (not always, but frequently), do we want to be exploiting them again? There's not an easy answer.
I also saw a presentation of pornography by the esteemed Linda Williams that was excellent and the first few films were fairly quaint or laughingly bad. But the last one was truly erotic and it made a lot of people uncomfortable. At what point does academic interest turn into voyeurism or worse, harassment? (One professor in Arizona lost his job when he taught a film pornography class.) I'll defend her right to show it 100% and I'm really glad for the experience that made me think so deeply about the meaning of academic study, but again there's no easy answer. This exploitation discussion came up recently with Belle Knox (the Duke student) this year and each case is so different. But without knowing the history of each film, I think you can have an epic pros and cons panel on carrying such titles and whether you're supporting the pornography business. Frankly, what I've seen in this string of emails is exactly what I would have expected -- great reasons for both sides of the equation. And if you say there should be complete academic freedom, what the heck do you do when a professor wants to buy a "real" snuff film? Best regards, Dennis Doros Milestone Film & Video PO Box 128 / Harrington Park, NJ 07640 Phone: 201-767-3117 / Fax: 201-767-3035 / Email: milefi...@gmail.com Visit our main website! www.milestonefilms.com Visit our new websites! www.mspresents.com, www.portraitofjason.com, www. shirleyclarkefilms.com, To see or download our 2014 Video Catalog, click here <http://cdn.shopify.com/s/files/1/0150/7896/files/2014MilestoneVideoCatalog.pdf?75> ! Support "Milestone Film" on Facebook <http://www.facebook.com/pages/Milestone-Film/22348485426> and Twitter <https://twitter.com/#!/MilestoneFilms>! On Mon, Nov 17, 2014 at 1:04 PM, Doug Poswencyk <doug8...@gmail.com> wrote: > But it is. Besides, we don't even know what the film is! > > On Mon, Nov 17, 2014 at 12:26 PM, Catherine Lee <catherinelee...@gmail.com > > wrote: > >> Hello All, >> >> I have been a lurker on this list for quite a while. I feel compelled to >> make a response now...to offer support for Darby and to express my >> appreciation for the thoughtful comments of Gisele and Darby in response to >> a legitimately challenging question by Maureen. "Good librarianship" also >> means being cognizant of the morals, politics, and overall climate of your >> institution and broader community. >> >> When I read the initial posting, I wondered what my response would be if >> I were faced with that situation. I'm not at a UC Berkeley, NC State, or >> UNT. I'm at a community college. Such a purchase--especially with state >> funds--would come under public scrutiny. Since I am not faced with this >> scenario, I don't have to make the decision...but I would hope that the >> decision I ended up making would not be met with accusations from my peers >> and colleagues of censorship or of being puritanical. >> >> Catherine Lee >> Cape Fear Community College >> Wilmington, NC >> >> VIDEOLIB is intended to encourage the broad and lively discussion of >> issues relating to the selection, evaluation, acquisition,bibliographic >> control, preservation, and use of current and evolving video formats in >> libraries and related institutions. It is hoped that the list will serve as >> an effective working tool for video librarians, as well as a channel of >> communication between libraries,educational institutions, and video >> producers and distributors. >> >> > > VIDEOLIB is intended to encourage the broad and lively discussion of > issues relating to the selection, evaluation, acquisition,bibliographic > control, preservation, and use of current and evolving video formats in > libraries and related institutions. It is hoped that the list will serve as > an effective working tool for video librarians, as well as a channel of > communication between libraries,educational institutions, and video > producers and distributors. > >
VIDEOLIB is intended to encourage the broad and lively discussion of issues relating to the selection, evaluation, acquisition,bibliographic control, preservation, and use of current and evolving video formats in libraries and related institutions. It is hoped that the list will serve as an effective working tool for video librarians, as well as a channel of communication between libraries,educational institutions, and video producers and distributors.
