PORNOGRAPHY

Way of all flesh

KARL E. MEYER

Now that Parliament seems likely to de- bate a private member's Bill—any play on words is wholly unintended—calling for the abolition of restraints on pornography, earnest delegations will no doubt be troop- ing to Denmark, which last year became the first country to take so radical a step. Some pilgrims may be disconcerted by what they find. The once thoroughly disreputable calling of the pornographer is by degrees dwindling into just another bourgeois trade. Mrs Whitehouse could well be in- vited to sit in on the filming of a porno- graphic film: such exposure is deemed good for the image.

The unquestioned leader of the pro- fession in Copenhagen is Mr Leo Madsen, publisher of the best-selling magazine Weekend Sex and divers other material. He is no more secretive than an estate agent. One calls him up, one makes an appoint- ment, and one gets a lecture from him that could come from a social worker. He sees his mission as that of bringing relief to those who need it; he cites, with civic satisfaction, a decline of 25 per cent in reported sexual offences during the first year in which pornography was openly sold.

When I saw him in April, he expressed shock at the high prices charged in smut shops in Soho and New York. Weekend Sex (circulation: 18,000) sells for a modest eleven shillings; booklets of comparable lubricity, he reported, retail in London for

up to £8. 'It is idiotic,' said Mr Madsen, very business-like. 'I know how much it costs to produce the stuff. There's another point. Suppression creates a demand for extreme things, like pictures showing child-

ren. People are not interested in things like that if you, permit reasonably-priced, pro- fessionally-produced pornography.'

At thirty-seven, Mr Madsen is thorough. ly professional, with six years' experience in his chosen line. He discusses the econ- omics and aesthetics of pornography with disinterested calm. He says he has no trouble finding models, who earn from £12 to £120 for sessions that last up to ten or twelve hours. Most models are Scandin- avian, and the main motive is pecuniary— prostitutes, he remarks sharply, make in- ferior models.

'Would you like to see how it's done?' he asked blandly, motioning to one of his several secretaries, all decorously-clad, who moved among heaps of reasonably-priced, professionally-produced booklets. 'Let me introduce you to Per Gunnsen, one of our chief photographers, and to Giacomo Ganci, a producer.' I was taken to an ad- joining loft divided into stage sets, some of them living rooms, some bedrooms, some equipped with torture instruments (`for the specialised trade'). The cast con- sisted of three models, Eric, Karin and Sylva, all Danes. Sylva was married, with a child, and said her husband gave full consent. Did her parents know? 'Oh, no, they wouldn't understand—they are of a different generation.' Over sandwiches in a canteen, producer Ganci discoursed on the technical problems: 'In the beginning, plots weren't important. But now there is more interest in what happens before. We try to tell believable stories with short captions, so that ordinary people can identify with the models. For that reason, we avoid models that are too good-looking.'

(The identification problem is central. Mr Madsen told me that out of pro bono public.° impulses he is considering a special line featuring handicapped people, so that cripples, too, can more easily join in the fun.)

As the Hasselblad cameras were set up, and as the models disrobed, the 'plot' was explained: 'Sylva lives with Eric, and he's always drunk, and she has an affair with a fellow who works in the office. She does it just for money. Eric also has an affair, with Karin, and one night Sylvia comes home and finds him making love to this other girl.' Gunnsen coached the cast in the grand manner of a Fellini, showing Karin how to exclaim `Ow!' as Eric smacked her bare bottom. Is repetitiousness a prob- lem? The variations are innumerable, I was informed, but the ending must always be the same: 'In pornography you cannot have surprise endings.' And what is the aim of pornography? The Italian-born Ganci, who is married to a Danish girl, gave a reflective answer: in most cases, it is a substitute for sex, but in some in- stances it is used by married couples to stimulate passion. The great majority of customers tend to be lonely, middle-aged men. The medium, to quote McLuhan, appears to be the massage.

Weekend Sex is available at most friendly neighbourhood newsagents; still stronger

stuff is available in the 'porno shops' that line seedy Istedgade Street. It is difficult to find anyone in Denmark who is deeply out- raged by the sale of pornography, though some have misgivings. These are character- istic remarks: 'Please do not write that it is an experiment. We have made a final

decision' (an editor of Politiken). 'In a few years, we will have pornographic films on

television. Why not? If you do not like, you can turn the set off. As for picture books, they cost too much for many of the people who need them. The government should make them at cheaper prices' (a taxi driver). I cannot quote the Conservative Minister of Justice who recommended the repeal of obscenity laws—he is so bored with talking about pornography that he (quite rightly) declines to give interviews. (The minister did attend a church service last January to explain why he favoured the reform—among those at the weekday service in a Copenhagen church were twenty-three vendors of pornography. They had been invited by the vicar.)

According to Madsen, the sales of porn- ography jumped immediately after abo- lition of obscenity laws, but then settled down to more moderate levels. He admits that there is some disquiet about the re- form—for example, he has made a docu- mentary film entitled Are You Offended? in which opponents are given their say. One of them is a leading Danish lawyer who, in tones that would gratify Mrs White- house, condemns the stuff as 'filthy, dis- gusting, indecent . . . If I had the power of decision the law of pornography would be made a lot more rigorous.' Interestingly, this hostile witness is Carl Madsen, whose adopted son produced the film. Surely it is the way of all flesh.