I’ll the first to admit
that Permanent
Obscurity steals from both tabloid sleaze
and sexploitation. But since the central plot involves
the making of a fetishy “dirty” movie—I’ll say it
tips more heavily toward sexploitation.
So, what is sexploitation?
Generally, sexploitation
has been associated with bland T&A or softcore
movies (and books), which is one side of it.
The other side of sexploitation
is dark.
That form of sexploitation, taking its cue (as the name suggests) from more feral subcurrents,
is devious and subversive. It’s primal. Even cruel.
I associate this
form of sexploitation with filmmakers and writers who
use gratuitous (and “deviant”) sexuality in ways that
challenge audiences and defy the norm. That’s right, fuck
the squares. This makes them—these books and films—art,
in my opinion. Not just decorative “product,” existing
as audience pleasers.
To quote William
S. Burroughs: “Any honest account of human experience
must be shocking. For it is the function of art to make
the reader or viewer aware of what he knows and in most
cases doesn’t know that he knows and doesn’t want to know.”
So, let’s just
say that a function of art is to jolt the audience out
of its “comfortably numb” state.
Like the best
performance art, these works exist to make you uncomfortable
or uneasy. As a member of the audience, it drags you in
as a participant, an accomplice—so, yes, indulging in
this fare implies in
part that
you are a deviant. A sinner. A perv.
Welcome to the
human race.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
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“Richard Perez
has the ears of the angels—lend him yours.”
—Barry Gifford, author: WILD AT HEART, PERDITA DURANGO
“Perez's is an
exciting talent and his work goes far beyond
most of what is published today.”
—Henry Flesh, author: MICHAEL and the Lambda
Literary Award-winner,
MASSAGE
“Ready-made
for Russ Meyer—
assuming, that is, if Meyer was around and still at his peak.”
—Josh Alan Friedman, author: TALES OF TIMES SQUARE, WHEN SEX WAS DIRTY
Dolores & Serena:
“They were young and immoral!...”
