Reply #210: Your simple criterion

[thucythucy]

doesn't cut it for me. Let me be clear: I'm not advocating for censorship or for in any way criminalizing behavior that is consensual and takes place between adults. That's not what Im saying.

Let you give you an analogy that you might find helpful in understanding my point of view.

"Birth of a Nation" is a film that depicts black men as either childlike simpletons who are lost without a white master to guide them, or as evil sex crazed monsters who are a threat to white women. It depicts the Ku Klux Klan as a civic organization of Christian do-gooders organized to protect white women. It was in fact based on the novel "The Klansman" and the hero is a member of the KKK.

Would your sole criterion for judging whether or not such a film was degrading to African Americans, and harmful to the struggle for racial equity, be whether or not the actors in the film were consenting adults? If Mel Gibson announced tomorrow that he was doing a remake of the film--with the same basic themes--would it bother you if I objected to the racist content--even though all the actors, black and white, were consenting adults? I mean, why should progressives care if a film depicts the KKK as being a bunch of really swell guys looking out for their womenfolk?

It puzzles me how some progressives can deconstruct media for its racist, homophobic, and even some of its sexist content and impact, but think all such analysis should end as soon as porn enters the picture.