July 26, 2015 12:48pm
Mindbrowse with Royalle, St. James
Source: Adult Industry News
by: Rich Moreland
Two of porn's greatest female filmmakers, Candida Royalle and her modern counterpart Jacky St. James, recently came together for a Dr. Chauntelle Tibbals' mindbrowse podcast. Article by Rich Moreland.
The feminist pioneer in adult film, Candida believes it took a "generation before we saw young women picking up the camera and going about doing it themselves" when it comes to porn. Her early years as a director were challenging. She was New York based and her "worst critics" were "this sort of gang of outlaws out in California," Candida remembers. Those were the days when the industry transitioned from the East Coast to Porn Valley.
At the time, the business was male-dominated and resisted anyone who made porn into something "that nice girls would watch." Nevertheless, Candida was eventually accepted by her peers and praised for her work. She recalls getting the support of Bill Margold as a rite of passage and states, "I've been treated well by the industry."
Today, Jacky St. James is the benefactor of Candida's legacy and is expanding the horizons of female produced porn. She does not believe in narrowly defining female sexuality "A certain way or it's not pro-woman." That is old-fashioned.
"I certainly think a woman can take a feminist perspective to something much harder core."
When asked about fantasies, each director has her preferences. Candida cites the rape fantasy which is partly related to the double standard women face in our society. It's not that women want to be raped, she says, what drives the fantasy is the idea of being forced into sex. The fantasy allows a woman to be sexual, cast aside her good girl image, and still be in control.
Jacky mentions "fauxcest," today's version of incest porn that centers on step relations. She talks about the legalities of shooting that type of film and emphasizes the disclaimers that go with the movie. Consent is a big concern.
Dr. Tibbals asks about ethics and each filmmaker mentions what is important to her.
Candida's "rule of thumb" centers on female satisfaction. "as long as the woman appears to be enjoying herself and seems to be really into it," the scene passes her ethics test. She reminds the audience that if porn stays ethical, good and talented people will see it as less stigmatized and a career possibility.
From her perspective, Jacky emphasizes preparation before filming begins.
"I live and die by ethics... before the production even happens." The native East Coaster wants talent to understand what is expected of them before they are booked and that they know "who they are working with so nobody shows up to surprises," and, Jacky always communicates with everyone ahead of time.
Both women discuss the state of the industry today and where they see the future. Most important to them is financial survival and that focuses on tube site piracy.
Candida concludes by encouraging women to develop their own vision and start their own distribution company, if possible, "because the market is there."
Jacky adds that consumers will buy porn that is high quality, the kind of film "people want to actually own . . . That's what's going to keep companies alive." She mentions the strength of sales of her DVDs as proof.
As the show closes, Candida and Jacky remind all of us to pay for our porn; otherwise the industry's very existence is threatened.
The entire pod cast can be heard at mindbrowse.com.
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