So, here it is: a grainy, color-ravaged collection of porn loops from four decades past, yet Peepshow Loops 299: Early 1970, part of the impressive collection of retro porn from Blue Vanities, sits among a grab bag of heavyweight Hi-Def titles and modern mayhem that rank among the most-watched titles in our VOD.
But surely there must be some mistake – a one that wasn’t carried to its proper column in the stat sheet or some crossed-up computer code or something, right? On the contrary, there has been a major surge in the demand for these old titles in recent months, which begs the question: why? As mentioned a moment ago, the footage is fairly low quality. The actors and actresses involved are not “stars” so much as just regular people (though there are a few stars in the making). And in this age of excessive physical scrutiny and obsession with outward appearances, the talent is, by today’s standards, downright hideous: chest hair, gaunt frames, atonal abs, unkempt mustachios … and that’s just the women. Kidding. The point is: nostalgia is in more than ever before and this blogger believes there are some underlying reasons for it.
First, our sense of nostalgia always increases during times of chaos. If you’ve been paying any attention at all to current events, you know that things like jobs and the economy have taken their toll on the American public. Underlying it all is a feeling that things may not improve as quickly as hoped or, perhaps, not at all. It’s only natural that people want to revisit places and things that remind them of better times. For many, that includes retro porn.
Second, there is a severe lack of originality anymore when it comes to entertainment. The feeling is that it’s all been done, so why waste time watching a copy of a derivative of a clone, when you can go back and watch the source material?
Third, the art of things has been boiled down to a science. You see it in business, in sports … even in the art world. There is so much money at stake with most endeavors that creative freedom has been stifled to limit risk and control the flow of said money. As such, few are willing to take chances with new and perhaps untested ideas, regardless of how good they are. Instead, everything has to be focused-grouped, tested and polled. In boiling off the art to achieve science, a lot of the personality and impromptu magic of the moment has been removed. Further, with science comes formulas and as anyone with a moderate background in science knows, formulas are rigid and unchanging. In the entertainment world, it leads to oodles of sameness and, ultimately, boredom. To combat sameness, many are going back to revisit eras where anything still felt possible.
Fourth, eventually we all fall into the generation gap. There is a theory out there in the retail music industry that suggests our music tastes pretty much stop developing by the age of 25. That’s not to say you can’t begin listening to jazz or classical just because you’ve been a rocker all your life. Rather, your desire to keep up with current trends slows or even comes to a screeching halt because you no longer can relate to the songs. The same phenomenon occurs in porn. After a certain age, you realize all titles are acted, directed and produced by people younger than you, and that they express different viewpoints and values. In addition, the new generation of stars sport tattoos, implants and piercings, and behave in ways in which you simply cannot identify. It is at that point feathered hair, real boobs and bush suddenly become all that more appealing.
Fifth, first impressions are always the strongest. Thanks to declining fertility rates and longer life spans, the median age in this country has steadily increased. Because older generations had their first experiences with porn during the 70s, there’s a good chance these old clips hold a special significance for them. Couple that with the other factors listed above and it might help explain the gaudy numbers for retro porn.
Sixth, there is too much micromarketing of everything these days. This writer always comes back to one particular example because it’s one of the most extreme, but have you tried to buy toothpaste recently? It’s astounding how long the process takes with the sheer number of choices available. The increase in micromarketing has coincided with the explosion of products that cater to our individual (and very selfish) tastes: iPods, MySpaces and the like. Porn is no different. There are so many subspecialties and subgenres that it has fragmented porn into smaller and smaller parts, which may be confusing or unappealing to older viewers.
Seventh, we exist in a garage sale mindset. With the explosion of eBay and other auction sites, we are more and more aware of the dollar amounts old treasures can fetch on an open market. This phenomenon has put us all into a constant thrift shop/attic hunting mode whereby rare and infrequent items are more appealing and desirable than ever. Watching these old, grainy films perhaps makes us feel like we’ve unearthed some hidden gem that only we know about.
Finally, young people are turning to classic porn too. At play here is the curiosity factor. After all, prior decades had different language, different music and different fashion, so perhaps they had different fucking too. What better place to find the answer to that question than in retro porn?
Mind you, this is all speculation and supposition. The real reason for the surge in retro porn could be all of the above, none of the above or a combination of factors. Take a look at Peepshow Loops 299: Early 1970 and decide for yourself.
Categories: Classic All Sex 70’s
Running Time: 119 minutes
Released: 08/2005
Studio Name: Blue Vanities
Series: Peepshow Loops
Porn spoofs have been around forever, it’s just that they weren’t called “The Official (insert title) XXX Parody” as they are today. Much of that had to do with the fact that the characters and plots were a lot more loosely-based, almost to the point where only flecks of the original concept remained. Still, similar artwork, fonts and enough visual clues were used to hint at some connection however far-fetched.
