An American revolution below the belt

Remember how they never showed anybody get killed on "The A-Team?" Likewise, they never showed anybody having sex in Penthouse. Just as on "The A-Team," there were lots of close calls, implicit understandings, but never The Act . Until now.

Is this sort of pornographic, "counter culture" hoopla really news-worthy? Considering that Americans spend more money on pornographic material than they do on Hollywood movies or on rock and country recordings combined, somebody must be interested. Pee-wee Herman is not the only one leading a double life out there. There is a significant sector of Americans to whom John Wayne-Bobbitt is more popular than John Wayne. There are even some academic feminists who teach classes on porn, and incidentally, who support and produce it. For a people whose morality is thought to be derived from Puritanism, Americans are rather given to not-so-holy scriptures.

But why now? What made the folks at Penthouse take the plunge, so to speak? This question begged for resolution. It led me to a crowded Circle-K with six of my own dollars in hand, true to the mantra of the investigative reporter: the public deserves to know. "Penthouse," I whispered to the attendant, an elderly woman, who handed me the edition from the smut-rack and took my money without once looking me in the eye.

For those in need of a recap, Playboy has always been reserved and supercilious, aimed at an audience of "gentlemen." It's tame enough to be found in a barbershop. Hustler, on the other hand, is self-consciously lewd and low-brow. It is directed toward the "lowest common denominator." Frankly, and this may shock the Puritans, it is more likely to be found under a 16-year-old's dresser.

Historically, Penthouse has occupied an intermediary niche, the moral middle-ground of the industry. It also has the largest readership of all, if we concede that its devotees are "readers." It is a time-tested format, hot enough to attract the post-adolescent pornophile, and tame enough to insulate the God fearing reader from a more threatening type of heat: hellfire. Penthouse is like porno for purgatory.

So why mess with a winning formula? Why does Penthouse believe its readership is ready for the whole nine yards? Is it possible that the success of "The People vs. Larry Flynt" heralds the heyday of hard-core? Has this film, which some Gen-X idiot at Rolling Stone called "movie of the year," convinced the soccer-moms that Hustler is wholesome - as American as apple pie? I doubt it, but it may have helped to loosen the nuts and bolts of what Americans consider decency. Maybe it is just the summer heat, but we seem to see more sex-scandals in the news than ever before. The natives are restless.

The law of the land legitimized Larry Flynt. Afterwards, the movie glorified him. The magnate of misogyny has become soft and cuddly. If there is anything we Americans believe in, it's that justice lies in our constitution, and truth resides in Hollywood. Now, if the contents of Hustler stand for freedom and the American way, Penthouse had better lower itself to the new reigning paradigm in porn. Apparently, it has begun to agree with Larry Flynt's assertion that people aren't reading these magazines to learn how to make the classic martini.

Back to the magazine I bought. As I peruse the pictorial in question, entitled "Silverado," I recognize that Penthouse is suffering an existential dilemma. In the spread, the partners are billed as "performance artists." They are painted silver from head to toe, with impressive detail work. Yes, they have it out, but the photos are dark and shadowy. Next to the most explicit take I find the caption: "Like all art of any significance, [this] conception is controversial, progressive, and ignited by a profound spiritual spark."

Hold it right there ladies and gentlemen, (The editorial board of Penthouse is co-ed.) Are we to believe that "Silverado" is art for art's sake, like a Botticelli nude or Nabakov's Lolita? Is Penthouse graduating from middling to museum-grade? Or, is this just a ploy to ease readers, guilt free, from modest naughtiness to full-blown perversion? In fear of the leap to smutdom, Penthouse has tripped and fallen into a crevasse of kitsch. "Silverado" is reminiscent of two metallic drones from the Intel advertising campaign going at it. Although, it is clear that these drones are anatomically correct.

Penthouse's first half-hearted attempt at hard-core is not only dehumanizing, it is already stale. This is probably for the best. The hardening of pornography represents a fad, in part brought about by Hollywood. It suggests that the dominant American morality is not Puritanism, but supply and demand.

Does the real face of America long to peer out from behind a gimp-mask? Not for long. The truth is, as pornography becomes more explicit, it usually becomes less creative. Ultimately, it is no longer sexy, but boring.

Josh Schneyer is a non-degree seeking geaduate student.