At Eric’s suggestion, I visited CNN.com to see what might be news-worthy for the blog. None of the headlines grabbed my attention, the mother cat nursing a baby squirrel was sweet but not compelling, so I checked out this short video interview for my own entertainment: Laurence Fishburne’s Daughter Enters Porn Industry. Porn is an easy mark for sensationalism, so I wasn’t expecting any real ‘news’ here; after all, the lives of celebrities get a disproportionate amount of attention in our culture and that’s not the Planet Waves game.
Why am I posting this then? Because I nearly fell over when I heard the contrast between Ms. Fishburne’s poised, sex-positive, art-positive confidence and self-esteem and the (female) interviewer’s measured attempts to undermine it. The news anchor begins by stating, “I’m not a prude […] I’m not afraid of sex, if it’s part of art.”
Really? Sex needs to be a part of art for you not to be afraid of it? And who exactly gets to decide what constitutes art? Montana Fishburne explains her view of porn as art, albeit a more graphic type of art, full of beautiful people touching each other in sensuous ways. To my ears, she clearly is doing this because she believes in what she is creating.
Given her father’s career, we know she’s not hurting for money or connections if she simply wants to become an actor. I don’t know the family’s dynamics, but her manner of speech does not seem to indicate an urge to ‘get back at daddy’ for anything.
In fact, she sounds like she has a healthy pride for who she is — even if she wasn’t able to find a private, direct way of telling her father about her porn debut. In that light, maybe I am naive about what her actions are really saying; I’m not a psychologist. I just know I reacted viscerally to hearing the interviewer say, “You know this is going to hurt your dad, though. How do you feel about the fact that you’re going to hurt your dad?”
Do we actually know that this will hurt her dad? That may be the typical-dad reaction, but there have to be a few fathers out there capable of entertaining another reaction. After all, is it really necessary to feel hurt if his daughter is making this choice consciously in a celebration of art, beauty and her own sexual power?
Yes, the expected reaction is a reflection of cultural norms. But there are plenty of those that could stand to shift some. Montana is clear that she didn’t do this to hurt him but rather acted with full knowledge that this life is hers, just as her name is, and that she has a right to stand fully in both in all things that she does.
pwoodward,
Enjoyed reading your take on this. On the point of erotic vs. porn – I agree with you – and additionally find it rather astonishing how many people see no difference between the idea of “eroticism” and “pornography”.
I suppose that should come as no surprise, but it always does. Montana seems to lump it all together as well – finding in her mind’s eye a “beauty” that is not actually there. And while there ARE beautiful erotic videos available, I’m not expecting Montana’s to be among them.
Thx.
Hey Eric,
Sorry it took me so long to get back to you about the dead giveaway line. I think she’s pissed with her father. as a matter of fact, I am certain that she is pissed with her father. I have no clue why. She may be a victim in their relationship or she just may feel like a victim. Perhaps she is used to being indulged shamelessly and he has drawn the line. I don’t know what the issue between them is; I just feel in my bones that there is an issue. And she is mad as hell about it, whatever it is. I did not care to watch the little clip. I just read the article. I think she is horribly misinformed about porn movies. I’ve seen more than my fair share and I seldom see “beautiful people touching each other in sensuous ways”. I have to hunt far and wide for those. What I usually see are activities that promote emotional alienation. People rarely make eye contact, they don’t smile at each other, they don’t talk, and in order to get a good camera angle the bodies touch only at the genitals. Now maybe that’s her idea of sensuality, but to my eyes most porn movies could substitute a blow up doll for the woman and nothing would be lost in the video. There are some exceptions of course, but I’m speaking in general here, just as she did.
Why would someone want to be treated that way and advertise it to her parents and everyone else in the world? I may be going out on a limb, but my guess is that precious few of us would want to have sex where our parents could watch us. Or their friends, for that matter. The fact that she does (and has been arrested for prostitution as well) speaks volumes to me. I think she wants her father to see how “low” (notice the quotes) she has sunk and wants him to feel responsible and guilty.
But what do I know?I could be totally off base.
Not prepared to spend a whole lot of time on this but I didn’t find Montana particularly articulate or convincing. And that awful hard-ass woman who interviewed her – jeeeez. Get thee into therapy! It was an interesting dynamic.
I do think television in particular tends to present/frame the actions of the rich/famous/wealthy elite as if they were the intentional actions/choices of conscious and aware individuals. Or maybe we just hope that those people that we deify aren’t just Forrest-Gumping their way through life like the rest of us. What I saw was a pretty little girl post rationalising something that she hadn’t really worked through in any meaningful way. Surely the astrology of the moment demands a bit more consciousness and all I can see is, as Eric points out, daddy issues right down the line and although the overt theme is sex it is also bigger than sex (and doesn’t our attitude to/appreciation of sex need to be conscious too?). It is about self concept and identity and where we get that from. Is it handed to us by someone (daddys’ name/husband’s name/culture) or do we shape it form the inside out according to all that we are?
Well, we are talking about a mainstream announcement which gives the issue a certain limited perspective.
One can find many examples of writings, arguments and life works that much more eloquently illustrate the artistic nature of porn. From female porn artists, and I mean directors, producers not just winky victoria secret models, — but they are not usually broadcast on CNN.
So, yeah, this thing is packed. Why does it have to be a spokesperson using her dad’s fame to state a point, an unknown in the world? a mere child of the industry? I find this to be problematic. But that is the nature of our society. Superficial media coverage of wanna-be-stars about what many people are already aware of.
But, if the real point of this post is the father-daughter thing. In that respect, yeah, its right on.
The prostitution thing puts a whole nother juicy spin on this extra extra topic….
Late breaking — she was arrested for prostitution recently.
http://carltonjordan.com/2010/08/04/carlton-jordan-exclusive-montana-fishburne-arrested-for-prostitution/
I do believe in the dead giveaway line — but I would appreciate it if you would unpack this a bit please.
Of course we do not know the real relationship dynamics, but apropos of this discussion involving Sun-Nessus, there is certainly the potential that something that he initiated is coming back to him. That’s because he’s represented as the Sun, as father, and Nessus is often about the return of karma, or where the buck stops.
Just the headline of the story tells you something — she is introduced to the public as his daughter, not as herself. It would not be relevant or newsworthy were she not his daughter. When have you ever seen a porn star interviewed on cable or network television?
Actually, Lawrence Fishburne was in Cornbread, Earl, and Me which was released in 1975. He was a child at the time. And of course she’s making porn movies under her legal name to hurt her father. That is a given. How else will all of his friends know to find the movies she’s in? She might not be making porn art to hurt him, but she is advertising it to hurt him. The Statement, “Well, it’s my name too.” is the dead giveaway.
Did anybody else see Laurence and the undercurrent of strange sex on PeeWee?
Montana is way more above board than that. Good for her.
I could use a little “famous name” improve in the porn industry to begin opening some not so famous doors.
I concur, Mr. Len – “sex is its own reason”.
(And Kilts are Kool, fer sure.)
Eric & Amanda,
Bullseye! Right on target. This proves as well as anything i’ve ever seen that sex is an important part of what’s under astrology’s big, uh, kilt. As regards to the story considered separate from astrology (if that’s possible) the question of whether Ms. Fishburne is genuine or not seems to, uh, skirt the matter. She is still young enough to understand that sex is its own reason. i would like to thank her (and all young people of like mind) for helping me to remember that.
Well, I watch one of the “entertainment news” shows pretty often and they have been talking about her wanting to emulate the women who have done porn and then parlayed it into a major “career” of being famous. Kim Kardashian, who is the daughter of one of OJ’s lawyers did a film of herself and sold it, etc. So they’re speculating that Montana is just doing it to become famous that way. It would be interesting if she’s doing it to express herself and change the idea of porn as “not art”, maybe she is, maybe she isn’t. But she seems to be doing what she wants to do, I generally don’t like the way people talk about sex because they make it be something dirty or wrong, which I don’t think it is. Maybe she feels the same, who knows. I like the line from Best Little Whorehouse in Texas where Dolly Parton sings about how it’s just fun, the men leave cleaner than they come in (due to the sponge baths that precede the sex) and that “there’s nothing dirty goin’ on”.
Quick Google quickly finds more video interviews with Montana and Brian PUmper the owner of the company she is working with.
Interesting situation to arise —-
Reminds me that her dad got his “start” on Pee Wee’s Playhouse.
Good call. As part of Amanda’s learning process as astrology-editor, I suggested that she find something apropos of today’s Sun-Nessus opposition — and this definitely qualifies. Sun-Nessus would include something involving sex that comes back to father, directly or indirectly. Sun is father and Nessus would be ‘comes back to’, particularly if a sexual theme is involved.
Aside, she sounds level headed and mature to me — suggesting that she’s willing to “hurt her father” to have her life be her way, which is an essential step that many refuse to take, including “hurting father” by being a photographer instead of a CPA; though that’s the way the interviewer set it up. We have a glimmer into how the interviewer is on her own daddy-pleasing trip and tries to project it on to Dark Girl.
I love how she starts her discourse by saying “I am not a prude.” 🙂 This is one of my favorite lines the history of sexual repression. It’s often the ones who “are not a prude” who take issue with sex.
By the way, how do you find a video like that? My first response was gee whiz, I’ve got to see that. Amazon.com?
… i mean… its great for her really to stand up for what she believes, but
….i mean… there is something that strikes me as not quite genuine about her
…i mean… maybe its just youth…. and given that
….i mean… she did stand up under the pressure of that anchor bitch
i would have liked to see/hear just what kind of work she is doing in the porn industry…