Pornographic
films, or sex films, are films that present sexually explicit subject matter
for the purpose of sexual arousal and erotic satisfaction of the viewer. The porn
movie present sexual fantasies and usually include erotically stimulating
material such as nudity and depictions of sexual intercourse. A distinction and
geeksperhour is
sometimes made between "erotic" films and "pornographic"
films on the basis that the latter contain more explicit sexuality, geeks per hour focus more on arousal than
storytelling, but the distinction is highly subjective. geeks per hour
Pornographic films are produced
and distributed on a variety of media, depending on demand and the technology
available, including traditional film stock in various formats, video for home
viewing, DVDs, Internet download, cable TV and other media. Today, pornographic
films can be sold or rented on DVD, shown through Internet streaming and
special channels and pay-per-view on cable and satellite, and in rapidly
disappearing adult theaters. They are generally permitted to be shown in
mainstream cinemas or free-to-air television.
Films with risqué content have
been produced since the invention of the motion picture in the 1880s.
Production of such films was profitable, and a number of producers began to
specialize in their production. However, various groups within society
considered such depictions immoral, labelling them pornographic, and attempting
to have them suppressed under obscenity laws, with varying degrees of success.
Such films continued to be produced but could only be distributed by
underground channels.
Because the viewing of such films
carried a social stigma, they were viewed at brothels, adult movie theaters,
stag parties, at home, in private clubs and also at night cinemas. Only in the
1970s, during the Golden Age of Porn, were pornographic films semi-legitimized;
and by the 1980s, pornography on home video achieved wider distribution. The
rise of the Internet in the late 1990s and early 2000s similarly changed the
way pornographic films were distributed and furthermore, complicated the
censorship regimes around the world and the legal prosecution of obscenity.
