Wikipedia article
'Not a Love Story: A Film About Pornography' is a Canadian documentary film about the pornography industry, directed by Bonnie Sherr Klein and released in 1981.[Jay Scott, "Not a Love Story: sleazy peek at women and porn". 'The Globe and Mail', September 7, 1981.]
It remains one of the landmark works from Studio D, the women's unit of the National Film Board of Canada. The film was banned in the province of Ontario on the basis of its pornographic content, a decision that was later reversed.[Janis Cole, [http://www.thecanadianencyclopedia.ca/en/article/bonnie-sherr-klein/ "Bonnie Sherr Klein"]. 'The Canadian Encyclopedia', January 18, 2012.]
The film premiered at the 1981 Festival of Festivals.[
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Synopsis
Film-maker Bonnie Sherr Klein and stripper (later journalist) Lindalee Tracy explore the world of pornography and build a case against it. They interview porn actors, sex workers and notable feminists such as Margaret Atwood and Kate Millett.
Participants
* Margaret Atwood
* Kathleen Barry
* Edward Donnerstein
* Susan Griffin
* Bonnie Sherr Klein
* Kate Millett
* Robin Morgan
* Kenneth Pitchford
* Suze Randall
* Marc Stevens
* Lindalee Tracey
Critical response
At the time, the local Canadian reviewers were hostile. 'The Globe and Mail' called the film "bourgeois feminist fascism" and the 'Toronto Star' judged it to be "a one-sided tract of outrage that only feminists and moral majority believers will take to their bosom". Writing in the 'Village Voice', B. Ruby Rich dismissed the film as anti-porn propaganda.
Later reviewers and analysts have criticised the film for relying upon graphic sexual imagery, for focusing upon sex work rather than the porn industry and for not differentiating between straight and gay porn.
References
Further reading
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