Kink - The 51st Shade of Grey

I am not personally aroused by BDSM experiences but I know people who are into that kink. I watched this documentary to learn more about it and try to understand it.

This film shows all the complicated aspects involved in making porn about this particular kink and shows how a porn company operates when it wants to work with the people doing these acts on film in a respectful way. That was all very interesting. I would have never known about some of these things so I feel much more well-informed after seeing it.

The film does not really get into the psychology of people who are into this kink, so if that's what you are looking for, you'll have to go elsewhere. But if you are basically curious about how pornography is created and how BDSM porn in particular is done, this is a good introduction. Be warned that there are many graphic scenes that are quite intense, so if you are not into this kink, you might need to fast forward....

I saw Kink billed as a film about a much-maligned and misunderstood community of people into an alternate lifestyle, and thought it might have something insightful and interesting to say about people into BDSM -- and there are many such people, if the huge amount of interest in such books as 'Fifty Shades" are any indication.

I was disappointed to discover that Kink is not about that at all, but rather about the fetish porn industry - and one particular fetish porn provider: Kink.com. A company that actually has a bad reputation when it comes to safety and the handling of actors - regardless of what is said in the movie.

Soliciting the producers and directors of fetish porn for insightful and meaningful observations about BDSM is like trying to make a film about romance and sexuality featuring only the views of prostitutes. This isn't a value judgement on morals -- don't care about that. But rather an observation that if one wishes to make a film about the BDSM community, one might consider actually contacting people in that community and finding out what "real people" are doing and why, instead of going to the people doing it for money.

Very revealing was the interview with one very fetching model. When asked what she liked about doing bondage porn, she might have replied with something like: "I really enjoy BDSM, and doing in on camera adds to the thrill. Plus I get paid good money for doing it." No no, instead she replies that the challenge is in enduring the shoot, pushing herself to get through it. This is is a major clue as to the nature of fetish and bondage porn: the makers and actors, for the most part, are not personally into it. They're only in it for the money.

Unless you would be intrigued by a "behind-the-scenes" look at how kink.com makes their fetish porn videos, this is not worth watching.

This film gives a surprisingly lucid view of what goes on at Kink.com studios. Even more interesting are the interviews with the staff and the actors, who describe their motivations and what it's like to work in the BDSM porn business. Actors for the most part don't stay for longer than a year or two, and many profess to be exploring an inner need in what they do.

There are a enough explicit sex scenes to give a feel for what goes into the staging. A given scene may change drastically if an actor has misgivings about the sexual demands of the script.

The overall impression is of a business run in a professional manner by decent, reasonably sympathetic people who happen to find themselves or at least their jobs to be on the kinky side of the sexual spectrum.

It's no surprise that this documentary will upset some people. As one of the participants in the film notes, sexual fantasies and taboos are all over the map. The tacit message is that you're free to judge, even if it's pointless to do so.

Yes, it's sufficiently well-made to be watchable. Even if the subject is not particularly of your interest (it isn't mine) and you cannot relate (I cannot), it is still a good thing that such documentaries are being made and it is a good thing to be able to experience them at one's leisure.

It's not a great documentary, of course. After all, it simply records a collection of individuals doing their work and, at times, saying their piece. They don't have any "answers" and, frankly, don't need them either. But it is interesting to hear them struggle to explain themselves.

It is also good to see these young people engage as they are on an activity that not long back would have been dangerous, not pretend/consensual dangerous, but really dangerous, as in their lives could have been destroyed on a whim by the narrow-minded. Nowadays, especially the women involved, are no more than simply reluctant and this only due to the caricature that political correctness has made out of feminism. They are on their back foot, yes, but not running away.

Which reminds me, I particularly appreciated the absolute lack of politics. No lobbying, no proselytism, so suasion. This is rare.

Last, Franco has planted a flag with this work. One of a few, by now. Good for him.

I'm giving this documentary a 6. Hope it pleases a little and hurts a little.

This is a fascinating view of a well managed business. A widely misunderstood part of the porn industry is given a human face. Even if BDSM is not your cup of tea, Kink will expand your understanding of sexuality.

Among the fascinating details covered in this documentary are: Rules film makers and actors observe in scripting, creating and filming these films; Rules that are observed to assure actors safety and comfort; How actors are selected, hired and cast; and Differences between fantasy and reality.

Not for every viewer. For those comfortable with HBO's Real Sex, this is a must see.