Consensual Text

Stop the presses! There is a new movie which actually depicts a character going through with an abortion (gasp!). 

You would think that since abortion has been a legal medical procedure since 1973, this would be a more prevalent theme in film and a less spectacular event. Yet, Hollywood lately only seems to feature characters carrying their pregnancies to full term.  Juno, Knocked Up, even an episode from Sex and the City all feature women choosing against abortion (wait a minute, they choose?? They have a choice?).

When abortion is shown in film, there are usually dire consequences. Take for example Dirty Dancing—set in 1963, ten years before Roe was law, dancer Penny receives an illegal “botched” abortion and nearly bleeds to death. In If These Walls Could Talk, two of the three plot lines end in death. And in Vera Drake, Vera is convicted and actually serves time for performing abortions.

Kudos to Greenberg, starring Ben Stiller, for tackling this issue so non-judgmentally and nonchalantly. The one bummer moment? They refer to the abortion as a “D & C.”  C’mon. If you’re gutsy enough to feature abortion in your film, you should also be gusty enough to have your characters utter the big “A” word. Maybe next time.

We already had our skirts blown up by the amazing Isabella Rossellini’s Sundance series, “Green Porno“.

Now she moves from mating to courtship and seduction in her new series…see the preview below.  Duck, cuttle fish, snake and bedbug courtship can be found on the same webpage.

Suddenly, paying for cable seems pretty good.

We normally don’t bother to post celebrity porns—we’re more into sea creatures or naughty fruits and veggies—but this one was just too bizarre to pass up.  Being his crazy, unpredictable self, we bring you Weird Al Yankovic’s Sex Tape. You’ll never think of mailing a package the same way. And please note his socks—they’re ribbed.

We’re excited to report that Liz Canner’s documentary, Orgasm Inc., is finally getting some much deserved street cred! Back in September, we had the privilege of meeting the lovely filmmaker and her family when Orgasm Inc. premiered at the Roxy Cinema in Burlington, VT.  Now it looks like orgasms and what women want are finally in fashion. Vogue picked up the story and featured an interview with Liz in last month’s issue. 

And more good news–Orgasm Inc. is coming back to northern New England with screenings in Killington, VT; Keene, NH; and Portland, ME. Click here to see a full listing.

Synopsis:
In the shocking and hilarious documentary ORGASM INC., filmmaker Liz Canner takes a job editing erotic videos for a drug trial for a pharmaceutical company. Her employer is developing what they hope will be the first Viagra drug for women that wins FDA approval to treat a new disease: Female Sexual Dysfunction (FSD). Liz gains permission to film the company for her own documentary. Initially, she plans to create a movie about science and pleasure but she soon begins to suspect that her employer, along with a cadre of other medical companies, might be trying to take advantage of women (and potentially endanger their health) in pursuit of billion dollar profits.

The 37^th Anniversary of Roe v Wade, which legalized abortion in the United States, is this coming Friday. To commemorate this landmark decision for reproductive health, we are celebrating with events, factoids on Twitter & Facebook, and dedicating Consensual Text to Roe.

Check out our list of  some great abortion-related films.

There is one, though, we wanted to feature, set in an era when abortion was illegal: Revoluntionary Road.

Revoluntionary Road is based on the 1961 novel by Richard Yates with the same name. Our favorite, hot couple from Titanic reunites for the first time with an intense performance.  Leonardo DiCaprio and Kate Winslet are a young, unhappy couple living in suburbia in the mid 1950’s. Frank (DiCaprio) is a businessman who absolutely hates his job, and April (Winslet) is a stay-at-home Mom who is equally dissatisfied.  Fed up with their way of life, the two hatch a plan to move to Paris and start a brand new life together. However, an unexpected third pregnancy changes everything and examines just how far the couple is willing to go to achieve happiness.

The movie is a powerful, honest portrayal of what life was like pre-Roe. It reminds viewers of the lengths to which women actually went to end unwanted pregnancies, and the sometimes dire consequences that came with those choices. We highly recommend Revoluntionary Road–it reiterates the importance of legal abortion.