Film Analysis: Buying Sex

In a decade that will be surely known as one of grand feminist success it seems worthwhile mentioning that prostitution is a new feminist issue. According to “Women Have the Rights” many sex workers and feminist activists see the decriminalization of prostitution as a human rights initiative for women to regain control over their bodies. These third wave feminists find sex an issue that should be more widely discussed. Large leaps in pornography such as female filmmakers and feminist porn stars point to an ideal that consensual sex work is just another fore front in the battle for gender equality. Legalization of prostitution leads to more government oversight requiring

Often called the worlds oldest profession prostitution has existed for centuries, despite this many people look down upon prostitution especially people who hold conservative and religious views because prostitution is the sale of sex for money these people believe that it is a sign of societies moral decay. Different societies hold different views and opinions on prostitution some object the thought of legalization while others go aboard with it. This topic is very broad

Prostitution is a well-known act of offering sexual service to an individual in return for payment. In the documentary “Very Young Girls” it explains a candid perspective of prostitution and sex slavery in New York City. This film allows the viewers to see the works of a former prostitute Rachel Lloyd. Rachel Lloyd started an organization called GEM (Girls Education and Mentoring Services) to meet the needs of victimized young women who escape their handler and find an alternate route of life. It shows teenage girls during different stages of their transition. Although this program would hope for a successful turnout some girls are sp psychologically damaged by their owners that they feel obligated to return. Using the material from the previous class periods, it will further explain the theories of human behavior. The eight perspectives from chapter two and the trauma/ maltreatment effects on brain development.

Most street prostitutes have common backgrounds; they are women and men who come from the lower socio-economic strata, and who are or were greatly dissatisfied with some aspects of their home life (Lowman, 1992, p.54).

The telling of a story is never easy, especially when the topic is racy, emotionally charged, and highly taboo. Rachel Moran deftly covers all aspects of her life in prostitution in “Paid For: My Journey Through Prostitution”, from addiction to abuse, and every moment in between. Moran utilizes macro level structure by dividing her memoir into three parts, and further dividing her book by chapters organized by topics concerning factors that contribute to prostitution, all in order to create a cohesive story that is compartmentalized for easy access to specific information, and creates a story that is used as a support system for a deeper message about the need for social and legislative change regarding prostitution.

Exit Through the Gift Shop is critical of how our culture values and judges artwork because of the degree to which expectations and others’ beliefs manipulate our interpretations of reality. The documentary demonstrates this phenomenon concerning art, but it also applies to all subjective experiences. Through Thierry’s opening gallery Life is Beautiful, Exit Through the Gift Shop shows how expectations and conformity manipulate our experiences.

I liked the video on the hookup culture. Everything she said spoke truth, because I can identify with the world of dating and how vacant it is. When I first got in my relationship, we hardly dated. I am not a romantic by any means but some one on one time can do some good for a relationship. I want better for my daughter and son. It is nice to know that we can teach them differently and show them that it is more meaningful to communicate and relate beyond sex.

I remember watching this film for the first time back in 2001 when it was released and having not watched it in over a decade, I feel I can say that this film is still solid. The Others holds up so well due to the film relying on storytelling, atmosphere and sense of impending doom to create its tension. The Others is one of the rare big budget, well cast horror films that seem to pop up every couple of years and I love it when they do. I feel horror often gets the short end of the stick when it comes to Hollywood.

In addition, prostitution would increase the criminal elements in society as many young girls and children will be forced into it or others will unknowingly be pushed into it through disguise such as employment, hence being smuggled and trafficked to engage in commercial prostitution. Such children would be mentally affected and would have quashed their aspiration.

A Touch of Sin is not simply an action-based film documenting modern day exploitation, but an angry, violent, satirical representation of what Jia Zhangke clearly sees as a “wasteland” in China. A Touch of Sin is Jia Zhangke’s attempt to present China as a globalized economic power suffering due to the new and aggressive Cultural Revolution of consumerism and money worshipping. Jia Zhangke’s A Touch of Sin is a pessimistic, but truthful, representation of the social and human price of a ‘successful’ economic reform. Jia’s film tells the audience the world is not a pretty place, and the modern Chinese world requires more than “a touch of sin” to survive.

The dominant contrast in the second shot, shown in exhibit 2, is Cesare in his cabinet. At this moment was the mystery of Cesare being the killer. Although, the film is in opaque colors, in this shot by the frame of the capture it is noticed the small ratio of black and characters dressed in black as though make the white color stand out. Which creates dominant the shot by the size, the focus, and the characters being the largest object of the shot. This shot has a low-key lighting, reflecting the atmosphere of mystery, silence, drama, and anxiety. Since the four characters are shown in the center with a high resolution, makes it a medium shot, and eye-level angle. This shot is seen as a highly dramatic and mystery shot expressing the atmosphere of trying to find the true to the deaths going around the city by the new Cesare telling the

“Sex work.” It sounds harmless enough, attempting to make the sale and purchase of women’s bodies as legitimate as any job. Sex work, we are told, represents a feminist response to the masculine hold on the traditional job market. We are further led to believe that it is empowering, that these women are taking control of their sexuality and using it for their own purposes, turning the tables on the patriarchy. The problem with this mindset, however, is that it is not based in reality. The term “sex work” is meant to make exploitation of women’s bodies through their commercialization seem natural. For the purposes of this discussion, it should be noted that sex work covers a wide range of different practices. Most notably, it covers prostitution and the sale of sex, but it also extends to the strip club industry and the porn industry, as all three of these feed off of each other and emerge from the same broken system. The effects of the sex industry on women, however, differs across racial and class boundaries, especially in prostitution, where women of different ethnic backgrounds are often treated as commodities, to attracts certain consumers’ interests for “exotic” tastes. Although the exploitation of women through sex work takes different forms for women of different backgrounds, the sex industry as a whole is a fundamentally harmful institution that profits from the commercialization and objectification of women and women’s bodies.

“The sex industry is not only characterized by different sectors but by status and economic hierarchies across them. Generally speaking, women working on the streets are among the lowest paid and socially stigmatized, with the recent expectation of women engaged in sex-for-crack exchanges and/or work in houses. Women working through escort service or as call girls are at the high end” (Miller & Jayasundara, pg. 466, 2002).

Perhaps the most disturbing, yet intriguing parts of the film were the interviews with the Cambodian male clients who justify their desire for sex with young virgin girls because of their cultural beliefs about maintaining their youthful appearance and health. Participating in sexual activities with virgins is also believed to be a way of avoiding the risk of contracting HIV/AIDS. The film delicately explains the cycle of young girls who are destined to remain in prostitution because there are no other options for them to earn money once they are forced into the

Commoditizing sex is not a novel concept, it has been around for much of our history, and yet there is much more talk of the sex industry in modern society than it has been in the past. Part of the reason for this has been the oversexualization of Hollywood and the belief that fame is a commodity. Even fleeting fame is idolized, and people ignore the means of achieving fame at the prospect of earning those alluring so-called “fifteen minutes of fame”. The film Hot Girls Wanted exemplifies this concept. Both this film and Don’t Shout Too Loud display the dark side of the business; the two films to varying degrees. The latter film explored human trafficking as an institution and focused more specifically on the impact the World Cup made on South Africa’s human trafficking problem. Each film impacted my personal understanding of the sex industry.