Schools find redeeming value in pornography
Jennifer Harper
The ivy-covered halls are tinged with scarlet this semester. And maybe a little purple too.
Some of the most hoity-toity universities in the nation are offering students an unusual distraction from the stress of academic life. In recent weeks, "Pirates II: Stagnetti's Revenge" - an X-rated swashbuckler with hundreds of special effects - has been screened in campus theaters at the University of California at Los Angeles, Northwestern University, Carnegie Mellon University, Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute and Southern Connecticut University.
The University of California at Davis will show "Pirates" on Thursday evening, the University of Maryland at midnight Saturday.
"I'm always impressed by the open-minded attitude in our country's universities. Sex is a topic which should be discussed in the open. It is no longer taboo," said Ali Joone, who wrote and directed the film and serves as chief executive officer of Digital Playground, a California-based adult-film studio that has produced more than 300 titles.
The company is mainstreaming its racy fare, offering films to student activities offices around the country. Though policies vary, campus officials do not forbid pornographic materials to be screened for the most part, though some administrations stipulate that attendees must be older than 18.
"Numerous colleges published reviews and stories on 'Pirates,' sparking the healthy debate as to whether adult entertainment has a place in academic studies," Mr. Joone added.
"Parents don't shell out thousands of dollars for porn to be adopted into the official curriculum. Students can get that for free, with an Internet search," said Jason Mattera, spokesman for Young America's Foundation, a Virginia-based group that monitors the cultural and ideological bent of the nation's colleges and universities.
"Perhaps college officials should concentrate on beefing up their students' abysmal knowledge of American history, civics and free enterprise," Mr. Mattera added.
Most of the screenings for "Pirates" include educational frills of some sort.
When some 800 students settle in with their popcorn to view "Pirates" at UC Davis, they will also hear a lecture on pornography as a cultural institution - drawing on the fact that X-rated films such as "Deep Throat" began appearing in the lecture halls of American universities more than three decades ago.
The University of Maryland will offer "Pirates" at the Hoff Theater on campus, complete with an introduction by Planned Parenthood representatives.
"They're going to talk about safe sex. We think it's important to contextualize the film before we show it," theater manager Lisa Cunningham said.
Porn, however, does not create much of a fuss.
"Four years ago, we showed 'Deep Throat,' and nobody spoke up. No parents protested. Maybe they would have 30 years ago, but not any more. We also operate on our own income. We use no student activity fees to screen X-rated films," she said.
Parents appear to be worried about other things, perhaps.
Theater personnel will be on their toes, meanwhile.
"We're very good at manning the doors. Nobody under 18 can get in, and we require a state-issued ID. When we showed 'Deep Throat,' it sold out. But I'd be shocked if this one were to sell out. It's really more of a fun event, a chance to hang out before the stress of exams start," she added.
She compared the experience to attending the "Rocky Horror Picture Show," a 1975 British musical parody of the horror genre that has built a solid following of obsessed fans who know every lyric, and often attend dressed as their favorite character from the film.
Showing posts with label Pornography. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Pornography. Show all posts
Friday, April 3, 2009
Sunday, March 1, 2009
As Lent Begins, 3 Prominent Catholic Universities Celebrate Porn, Promiscuity
MANASSAS, VA, February 26, 2009 (LifeSiteNews.com) - As Christians worldwide kneel in prayer to begin the holy season of Lent, students at three Jesuit Catholic universities are busy celebrating extramarital sex, homosexuality, cross-dressing and pornography, the Cardinal Newman Society has revealed.
From February 23 to 28, Georgetown University is hosting "Sex Positive Week," sponsored by feminist and homosexual student clubs.
On Monday, the event "Sex Positive … What's That?" featured a speaker from Black Rose, an organization "which provides a forum for the many different expressions of power in love and play. This can include dominance & submission, bondage & discipline, fetishism, cross-dressing, to name a few."
A talk on Ash Wednesday, "Torn About Porn?" was advertised to include "discussion about arguably alternative forms of pornography that are not supposed to be exploitative, but rather radical and empowering."
On Saturday, February 28, pornographic film director Tristan Taormino will speak at the university on "Relationships Beyond Monogamy" - one day after speaking in downtown Washington, D.C., about "Anal Pleasure 101." She will discuss her book "Opening Up: A Guide to Creating and Sustaining Open Relationships" with Jenny Block, author of "Open: Love, Sex, and Life in an Open Marriage." Taormino is also the author of "True Lust: Adventures in Sex, Porn and Perversion."
On Tuesday, the Student Diversity and Cultural Affairs Office of Loyola University Chicago presented the film "Brother to Brother," about a homosexual African-American who is transported in time to cavort with the allegedly homosexual writer Langston Hughes.
The film is part of a semester-long "Color of Queer Film Series" sponsored by the university. Upcoming films include "Blossoming of Maximo Oliveros" about a 12-year-old boy who falls in love with a male police officer, and "I Exist: Voices from the Lesbian and Gay Middle Eastern Community in the U.S."
This week is "Transgender Awareness Week" at Seattle University, which includes a session on allegedly transgender Bible heroes and heroines and "Criss-Cross Day," where students are encouraged to "come dressed for the day in your best gender-bending outfit." The events are sponsored by the university's Office of Multicultural Affairs and the student Trans and Allies Club.
"These obscene abuses of Catholic values come just as Christians begin a holy season of penance, fasting and almsgiving," said Patrick J. Reilly, President of The Cardinal Newman Society. "That Catholic universities would permit these events on their campuses at any time of the year is unthinkable, but to do so during the holy season of Lent is unconscionable."
"The saddest part of this story is that there is no indication that these universities are ashamed or embarrassed by what is taking place on their Catholic campuses. Parents and potential students might begin to wonder how these universities can in good conscience consider themselves Catholic when they allow such perverse distortions of Catholic values to take place."
Visit the Cardinal Newman Society at: http://www.cardinalnewmansociety.org/
Contact:
Georgetown University
President John J. DeGioia
Office of the President
204 Healy Hall
37th & O Streets, NW
Washington, DC 20057
Tel: (202) 687-4134
Fax: (202) 687-6660
Seattle University
President Sundborg SJ, Stephen
President's Office
901 12th Avenue, P.O. Box 222000
Seattle, WA 98122-1090
Administration Building 109
(206) 296-1891
SUNDBORG@seattleu.edu
Loyola University
Michael J. Garanzini SJ
President
mgaranz@luc.edu
Phone: 1 - 312 - 915-6400
From February 23 to 28, Georgetown University is hosting "Sex Positive Week," sponsored by feminist and homosexual student clubs.
On Monday, the event "Sex Positive … What's That?" featured a speaker from Black Rose, an organization "which provides a forum for the many different expressions of power in love and play. This can include dominance & submission, bondage & discipline, fetishism, cross-dressing, to name a few."
A talk on Ash Wednesday, "Torn About Porn?" was advertised to include "discussion about arguably alternative forms of pornography that are not supposed to be exploitative, but rather radical and empowering."
On Saturday, February 28, pornographic film director Tristan Taormino will speak at the university on "Relationships Beyond Monogamy" - one day after speaking in downtown Washington, D.C., about "Anal Pleasure 101." She will discuss her book "Opening Up: A Guide to Creating and Sustaining Open Relationships" with Jenny Block, author of "Open: Love, Sex, and Life in an Open Marriage." Taormino is also the author of "True Lust: Adventures in Sex, Porn and Perversion."
On Tuesday, the Student Diversity and Cultural Affairs Office of Loyola University Chicago presented the film "Brother to Brother," about a homosexual African-American who is transported in time to cavort with the allegedly homosexual writer Langston Hughes.
The film is part of a semester-long "Color of Queer Film Series" sponsored by the university. Upcoming films include "Blossoming of Maximo Oliveros" about a 12-year-old boy who falls in love with a male police officer, and "I Exist: Voices from the Lesbian and Gay Middle Eastern Community in the U.S."
This week is "Transgender Awareness Week" at Seattle University, which includes a session on allegedly transgender Bible heroes and heroines and "Criss-Cross Day," where students are encouraged to "come dressed for the day in your best gender-bending outfit." The events are sponsored by the university's Office of Multicultural Affairs and the student Trans and Allies Club.
"These obscene abuses of Catholic values come just as Christians begin a holy season of penance, fasting and almsgiving," said Patrick J. Reilly, President of The Cardinal Newman Society. "That Catholic universities would permit these events on their campuses at any time of the year is unthinkable, but to do so during the holy season of Lent is unconscionable."
"The saddest part of this story is that there is no indication that these universities are ashamed or embarrassed by what is taking place on their Catholic campuses. Parents and potential students might begin to wonder how these universities can in good conscience consider themselves Catholic when they allow such perverse distortions of Catholic values to take place."
Visit the Cardinal Newman Society at: http://www.cardinalnewmansociety.org/
Contact:
Georgetown University
President John J. DeGioia
Office of the President
204 Healy Hall
37th & O Streets, NW
Washington, DC 20057
Tel: (202) 687-4134
Fax: (202) 687-6660
Seattle University
President Sundborg SJ, Stephen
President's Office
901 12th Avenue, P.O. Box 222000
Seattle, WA 98122-1090
Administration Building 109
(206) 296-1891
SUNDBORG@seattleu.edu
Loyola University
Michael J. Garanzini SJ
President
mgaranz@luc.edu
Phone: 1 - 312 - 915-6400
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