Gerard Damiano’s ‘Deep Throat’ and the Golden Age of Porn
Whenever porn is discussed seriously as an artistic subject, automatic distinctions are made between the glorified realm of the arthouse and the filthy ocean of the mainstream. The latter is often dismissed as a cheap Pavlovian exercise, completely devoid of any narrative potential or aesthetic values. One filmmaker who defied those strict categorisations and changed the public perception of the medium was Gerard Damiano.
Most modern studios are concerned with views, advertisements and retention times, operating within a highly rigid framework that allows no room for experimentation with the depiction of sex. However, many of the contemporary conventions that exist within these formulaic projects can be traced back to Damiano’s seminal 1972 work, Deep Throat. While pioneers like Andy Warhol had approached the subject and impacted the public consciousness since the late ’60s, it was Damiano who changed the game.
Made on a shoestring budget and shot in about a week, Deep Throat starred Linda Lovelace as a deeply frustrated young woman who doesn’t understand the sexually hedonistic lifestyle that she sees around her. Despite engaging in wild orgies and doing everything that is recommended to get off, she just can’t hear the bells and bombs that she associates with her idea of an orgasm, prompting a fantastic inquiry from her friend, “Do you want to get off or do you want to destroy a city?”.
Of course, almost all modern pornos with “scripts” still become the subject of countless memes and ridicule. However, that humour is just as codified as the visual language of the sexual acts that are clinically segregated into timestamps by many websites. Damiano was equally critical of the structures of the industry that he helped shape with his work, especially because studios weren’t interested in replicating the charm of the Golden Age of Porn.
He once told Roger Ebert: “I find pornography by itself to be boring on the screen. The only thing that perpetuates it is censorship; people like to feel they’re being slightly daring to go to a hard‑core flick. But sexual intercourse does not lend itself to cinematography. I don’t care what the Kama Sutra says. There are not 101 different approaches to the subject. There are only three or four.”
In rigid contrast to this ironic sterility of pornographic narratives, Deep Throat has a ridiculously silly premise which guides its sexual depictions rather than the other way around. When Lovelace consults a psychiatrist about her problem, the doctor uses his stunning medical expertise to diagnose her real problem: “Your clitoris, it’s deep down in the bottom of your throat.”
Although it became one of the most successful and renowned mainstream pornos in history, it’s also a prime example of the inherent problems that have always plagued such productions. Lovelace later revealed that she was actually sexually assaulted during the making of Deep Throat, and some of the scenes included in the film consisted of real footage of her being sexually coerced.
Lovelace’s quest for “female liberation” in the movie is also painfully misguided, where all problems are resolved by phallocentric solutions. While Deep Throat played a major role in fighting back against censorship, it will always be emblematic of the disgusting and highly problematic filmmaking practices that form the foundations of the pornographic industry.
For help, advice or more information regarding sexual harassment, assault and rape in the UK, visit the Rape Crisis charity website. In the US, visit RAINN.
