"The Passion of Chris" is said to be a shoe-in for the title of best Christian-themed adult video at this year's Adult Video Network awards. But the adult entertainment industry's efforts to reach out to evangelical Christians aren't being embraced by everyone.
Adult entertainment industry seeks to tap underserved market: evangelical Christians.
By Deanna Swift
LAS VEGAS, NV—The adult entertainment industry is already a $10 billion a year business. But now the makers and distributors of pornographic films are after the biggest prize yet: the estimated 70 million Americans who call themselves evangelical Christians. This January, for the first time in its 22-year history, the Adult Video Network, or AVN, will award a prize for the best Christian-themed video at its annual star-studded gala in Las Vegas. Contenders for the top award include "The Passion of Chris," "His Left Behind," and "Eye of the Beholder."
Analysts say it makes sense for the adult industry to reach out to Christians; they point out that of the 11,000 pornographic videos made each year, many appeal explicitly to niche markets. "You have films for virtually every segment of the market: gay men, fetishists, people who like fat women, videos featuring transsexuals. I think it makes sense to target Christians," says Peter Hausch, a professor of film studies at Arizona State University. "They're a huge potential market and they've been virtually ignored by the adult film industry thus far."
Exposing a split
But not everyone is happy about the industry's effort to target evangelicals. Conservative advocacy groups including Concerned Women for America, Focus on the Family, and the American Family Association are opposed to pornography in any form, even films that are produced explicitly for Christians.
The industry has also caught the ire of a small group of Christian filmmakers who produce adult films based on scenes from the bible. The films, distributed through Christian bookstores, aren't pornographic, says filmmaker Martin Jakes, but worshipful. "If you go back and read the Song of Solomon, it's an incredibly erotic text. 'Let him kiss me with the kisses of his mouth-for your love is more delightful than wine,' and 'Take me away with you-let us hurry! Let the king bring me into his chambers.' These are profound images and scenes that Christian adults should not feel ashamed of viewing in the privacy of their own homes."
Unlike the overwhelming majority of pornographic films which glorify sex for the sake of sex, the biblical films are explicitly pro-procreation. Films like "Rachel's Blessing," "The Family Man" and "Touched by an Angel" end not with the traditional "money shot," but with the birth of a child.
Now Jakes and others fear that the adult industry's embrace of the evangelical Christian audience could drive them out of business. "Until now, there's been a clear difference between our product and the mainstream adult videos out there. My sense is that's about to change and the biblical end of the business will be submerged." Jakes and a handful of other Christian filmmakers are still holding out hope that one of the larger adult film houses—they mention Digital Playground or Wicked Pictures as possibilities—might buy them out.
Supporting a member
Members of the Spring Hill Baptist Church in Spring Hill, KS are among the last people one might expect to be purchasing blocs of tickets for the AVN awards show. After all, the so-called "Oscars of adult" are better known for attracting porn luminaries like Jenna Jameson and Ashley Blue than avid churchgoers. But this year is different. The star of "Passion of Chris," David Delano, is a Spring Hill Baptist alum; he left his hometown in northeast Kansas eight years ago in search of Hollywood stardom.
Now, some church members are planning to travel hundreds of miles to the Venetian Hotel Resort & Casino in Las Vegas so that they can support Delano as he realizes his dream. "We're doing whatever it takes to get there," says Marcia Robson. "Bake sales, car washes, donations." So far, says Robson, the group has raised enough money to rent a 13 passenger van.
Insiders say that "The Passion of Chris," which co-stars Jessica Darlin and Stormy, is a shoe-in to win best Christian-themed video. The film follows the story of "Chris" (Delano) through a series of five surreal dream sequences in which the star believes he has died and gone to heaven.
For information on obtaining tickets to the Adult Video Network awards, visit https://secure.avn.com/secure_only/avnawards/tickets.shtml.
Deanna Swift can be reached at [email protected]
Resu-erection of the porn industry? Christians dont lick it.
Posted by: Terradeath | December 13, 2004 at 02:48 AM