Lines in the sand
Argh. I'm not shy about calling myself a social conservative, and yet I'm often embarrassed or uncomfortable when social conservatives go too far. I think they did so here:
WASHINGTON — Ten years after Congress banned sales of sexually explicit material on military bases, the Pentagon is under fire for continuing to sell adult fare, such as Penthouse and Playmates In Bed, that it doesn't consider explicit enough to pull from its stores.If you follow the link, you'll find that a commission determined that Penthouse is "not pornography" as defined by the laws that govern military bases. And I'm just not ready to deny someone whose going to pick up a rifle and fight to keep me free the opportunity to buy a magazine containing pictures of nekkid women, if he wants to. I don't think hardcore porn ought to be sold on military bases, either, but while I don't think that Penthouse is a good magazine and I wouldn't want a member of my family, especially my daughters, working for them, I don't think the best use of Rev. Wildmon's time is knocking these magazines out of military PX's.
Dozens of religious and anti-pornography groups have complained to Congress and Defense Secretary Robert Gates that a Pentagon board set up to review magazines and films is allowing sales of material that Congress intended to ban."They're saying 'we're not selling stuff that's sexually explicit' … and we say it's pornography," says Donald Wildmon, head of the American Family Association, a Christian anti-pornography group. A letter-writing campaign launched Friday by opponents of the policy aims to convince Congress to "get the Pentagon to obey the law," he adds.
Now, that said: I see Greg Gutfeld's guest list for tonight's show included "Vivid girl Savanna Samson". I assume, though don't wish to google, that "vivid" refers to pornographic video company Vivid Video.
I like Greg Gutfeld. I like his writing, I like his blog, and I wish him every success with his show. But I'm not impressed with his decision to bring harcore porn stars into his mainstream show.
Back in the day, the courtesans of Paris and Rome were renowned for being able to carry on witty and erudite conversations on current events, and populated some of the great political salons of Paris. Geishas in Japan were likewise trained to be charming, knowledgeable, and fascinating. Among the arts these courtesans studied was the art of conversation. I might tune in to see someone like that. Although if I were watching with Mrs. Seedub, I'd probably change the channel pretty quickly and aver that no, that girl was not attractive at all.
Perhaps I am slandering Vivid Girl Savanna Samson. Perhaps she, like Ernest Tubb, did some post-graduate work in semiotics at the Sorbonne under Jacques Derrida. Perhaps she combines the biting wit of Ann Coulter with the erudition of Hannah Arendt and hangs out with Aung San Suu Kyi on the weekends, scheming up ways to subvert the oppressive Burmese regime in between takes in Naked Sluts In Heat IV: The Sluttening.
But I doubt it. I think she's probably just a bimbo who gets paid to have sex with oily guys in mullets under hot lights.
See, here's the thing: unless Gutfeld is courting a massive FCC fine to put Fox out of business or something, Vivid Girl Savanna Samson is not going to exercise those particular talents on Red Eye. I predict that instead she'll just wear something revealing and giggle and make double-entendres.
Which is great and what late-night TV is all about. But, do you need a porn star to do this? There are any number of smart, attractive women who can sit there and crack jokes and look cute, who don't make a career of acting out the Kama Sutra on camera. Or, heck, forget smart. You're in LA. There's no shortage of hot actresses to round out your panel and play straight man, er, woman, to your intros. I can even see Greg having on a Penthouse Pet, but not a "vivid girl".
I'm not talking about censoring anyone here, and there's no reason Greg can't cast who he wants for his show. And like I said, I want him to succeed. But there's still a thin barrier of illegitimacy between the porn industry and the mainstream. And I don't see why Red Eye is in a hurry to tear that down, especially when the same sort of ornamental giggle bait can be had without the porn industry's considerable baggage.