Evolution of Porn Movies - Then and Now

Evolution of Porn movies 

Pornographic movies are subject to infinite curiosity, there is hardly an average individual in the digital era who is not aware of porn movies or hasn't experienced one in their lifetime. It is also believed that porn movies have been responsible for different sex-related crimes and sexual diseases. However, people with such views are still not able to back their claims with hard facts.

In modern days pornographic movies are divided into two broad categories Softcore and Hardcore depending on the explicitly of their content. Several groups consider watching porn movies sinful given the nature of the content that varies from nudity, partial nudity to sexual acts involving penetrative sex. However, despite the stigma that porn movies are attached to, the genre has come a long way from a 7-minute short erotic film, Le coucher de la mariée (Bedtime for the Bride) by the French filmmaker, Albert Kirchner back in 1896 to VR Porn of the 21st century.

The Frist Porn Movies -

With the making of Le coucher de la mariée, Kirchner laid the foundation stone of the genre, but, it was merely a striptease performed by an actress named, Louise Willy in the bathroom, gradually in the same year the movie The May Irwin Kiss, directed by German-American filmmaker, William Heise featured an 18-second kissing scene, which is believed to be the first onscreen kissing scene, in his movie, The May Irwin Kiss and, the movie soon become the subject of controversy as it was shocked the moviegoers and Roman Catholic Church alike, Roman Catholic Church called for call for censorship and moral reform as kissing in public then was considered to be a legal offense, despite the controversy a slew of filmmakers came forward with several such kissing scenes like - The Kiss in the Tunnel (1899) and The Kiss (1900).

Soon the trend becomes popular and, it spread to several other locations, in Austria, Herrenabende or men-only theatre nights have become popular, where Saturn-Film Production Company, between 1906 and 1911, featured local unclad young lasses, in their 52 odd erotic films. The Saturn Film was dissolved by the censorship authorities in 1911 leading to the destruction of all the erotic films of the company they could get their hands on.  

However, Black and White and Blue: Adult Cinema from the Victorian Age to the VCR, a scholarly work on "stag film trade," by Dave Thompson, an English writer put forward several interesting facts -

- Porn film industry has its origin in the brothels of Buenos Aires and other South American cities in the late 19th or early 20th century

- It soon spread to several parts of Central Europe

- In 1894 the first raid ever occurred in a movie parlor in the New Jersey resort of Atlantic City

- Local authorities banned the circulation of Kinetograph, “Dolorita’s Passion Dance” considering the dance movement of the female performer as sexually offensive

History and Evolution of Porn Movies in the USA -

According to some scholars “A Free Ride,” is believed to be the earliest stage film in the USA that has existed to date. However, the traces of erotic movies in the USA has been found long back during the 1910s, featuring several movies with nude ladies.

While filming A Free Ride, the filmmakers concealed the true identities of the actors, despite the content, was mild compared to the modern-day porn movies or any kind of Requested Porn Videos USA, but, now the scenario has become much different in the USA where pornography which involves consenting adults is protected by the First Amendment since (2002), however, the immunity didn't cover things like child pornography or any illegal practices of a similar kind.

Golden Age of Porn or "porno chic" was the time period between 1969-1984, when the Commercial American porn Industry saw a major boost in terms of both money and fame; the industry got international recognition and got positive attention from the viewers by breaking the long taboo attached to it.

The introduction of videocassette recorders proved to be both boon and bane for the commercial porn industry since it brought porn to the drawing of the viewers, which gave rise to the demand for such films. In contrast, the rising demand gave way to several low-budget pornographic movies with sub-standard prints and acts, which gradually put an end to the Golden Age of Porn, when the actors of the porn industry enjoy a lifestyle no less lavish compare to a popular Hollywood star during that period.

Since the beginning of the 1990s, the videocassette recorders have been gradually replaced by CD and then DVD, which soon cease to exist with the boom in internet porn in early 2000 and, with the emergence of free streaming porn on the internet made access to porn effortless and easy.

Porn in Pandemic -

The government enforced lockdown in different countries around the world triggered by Covid - 19 proved to be the biggest thrust for the growth of the internet-porn industry, according to the findings the most popular porn websites (Porn, XNXX, PornHub, xVideos, and xHamster), have gained an excessive revenue during the lockdown period. The PornHub records a staggering 18% jump in their viewership when they made their paid porn free for 30 days.  

Needless to say, porn movies have come a long way from the 7 minutes flick by Kirchner to Virtual Reality Porn or VR Porn of the 21st century, where the viewer’s themselves could participate in the act. However, despite the leap in technological advancement paired with an ever-increasing rise in revenue, one must not forget the contribution of the early unknown performers and makers of the stag films, who not only created the core of this lucrative industry but, also struggled with the earlier authorities to make the porn a $97-plus billion industry. Nowadays, in the USA porn generates more than $12 billion in revenue and, the industry is protected by the law. Above all the porn-movie industry in the USA is even recognized by the AVN award, which is also considered to be the Oscar of porn but, that cannot match the contribution of the early makers whose works we often refer to as Vintage porn.