Key Points in “Hard Core” by Linda Williams Essay (Book Review)

Chapter 1

In the first chapter of Hard Core: Power, Pleasure, and the “Frenzy of the Visible,” author Linda Williams reveals the concepts of “speaking sex” as a feature of pornography and the “knowledge-pleasure” sexuality represented in films (2-3). Aiming to define the genre of hard-core films, the author refers to Foucault’s ideas regarding sexuality, power, and pleasure in the context of cinema and goes on to describe her approach to discussing hard-core pornography as feminist revisionism (5). In this chapter, the author presents a history of pornography and begins her analysis of the stereotypes related to this genre. She also discusses the attitudes of women toward pornography along with the views of anti-censorship feminists. This chapter provides the reader information that facilitates an understanding of the background of the controversial issue of pornography.

Chapter 2

In the second chapter, the author focuses on the prehistory of hard-core films, defining them as a “frenzy of the visible” (Williams 36). Williams uses this term to identify how hard-core films began to represent knowledge-pleasure sexuality with the help of visual means. She also concentrates on the origin of pornography as a result of developing a discourse on sexuality while discussing the associated differences in depicting the bodies of women and men in these films. Even more important, according to Williams, hard-core films developed as an endeavor to present truths about specific bodily pleasure, and thus, these films became a representation related to this type of pleasure (50).

Chapter 3

The third chapter includes an analysis of stag films associated with the primitive pornography of the 1910s to 1920s. In considering this early stage of hard-core cinema, Williams identifies its main features, providing a detailed analysis of several examples (63). She finds that maximum visibility for the act was the key feature of such films, and sexual relations were primarily addressed to the camera. Thus, these films are assumed to be intended for instruction rather than seen as works of art (Williams 59). Furthermore, in most cases, these films were illegal, silent, and primitive, lacking a narrative. In this chapter, the author pays much attention to examining primitivism and specifics of shots in stag films as the first examples of the hard-core genre.

Chapter 4

In the fourth chapter, Williams focuses on the idea of fetishism with reference to Freudian views as well as those of philosophers (95). The author goes on to describe the transition from making primitive stag films to creating feature-length films with adequate plots and narrative coherence in the 1970s. In addition, the author discusses the idea of fetishism in relation to demonstrating the ejaculation of the penis as the “money shot” or key fetish and climax that this genre uses. Williams next turns attention to analyzing details and features of the film Deep Throat as an example of the first feature-length film including important fetishes (94). Specifically, the author comes to the conclusion that pornography’s focus on the male-related “money shot” opened the way for discussion of ignorance about differences in pleasure for men and women.

Chapter 5

The fifth chapter presents an analysis of feature-length films in comparison to Hollywood musicals. In this chapter, Williams discusses how hard-core films became mainstream as well as their particular features, referring to various examples including The Opening of Misty Beethoven (136). Despite pornography’s imitation of other genres, the author describes this particular genre as focused on presenting a real-life sexual act. In that light, Williams describes the role of sound in augmenting a real-life effect and focuses on number of sexual acts in these films (for example, straight sex, oral sex, etc.). The author also draws conclusions regarding the importance of narratives in these works in comparison to earlier variants of pornography.

Chapter 6

In this chapter, Williams concentrates on the representation of women’s pleasure in hard-core films (154). Continuing the comparison of this genre to Hollywood musicals, the author refers to an analysis of pornography in the context of different types of utopias. Thus, in this chapter, Williams discusses in theoretical terms the genre of hard-core films with a focus on representing utopian relations, presenting such notions as separated utopias, integrated utopias, and dissolved utopias (182). In addition, the author also considers the example of Marilyn Chambers, an actress who became associated with the increased accentuation of female pleasure in pornography.

Chapter 7

This chapter covers one of the most controversial topics in pornography: sadomasochism. Here, Williams focuses on the motivation behind the representation of pleasure-in-pain and pleasure-in-power in films with reference to the effects these films have on their audience (196). Thus, the chapter presents a discussion of sadomasochism in hard-core films in the context of such ideas as the presence of violent content, the victimization of women, and the female role in these films. The author describes different types or categories of such pornographic films and states that debates are continuing to play out regarding the relationship between sadomasochism in hard-core films and individuals’ aggressive behaviors (Williams 205).

Chapter 8

In this chapter, the author concentrates on women’s changing views toward pornography. She notes that women began to watch hard-core films in the 1980s and that women’s impact on the creation of these works also increased. The associated changes in content with a focus on more narrative coherence were reflected in sequels to the most popular hard-core films of the past (Williams 239). The approach to representing female pleasure also changed in parallel to the appearance of female film directors in the genre of pornography.

Conclusion

In the concluding chapter, Williams presents her thoughts about the documentary Not a Love Story as related to the question of pornography, stating that this documentary was somewhat ambiguous in declaring anti-pornography ideas (266). Furthermore, the author also offers conclusions about all the key concepts and issues in the book, mentioning “frenzy of the visible,” the separation between eroticism and pornography, fetishes, and other matters. Williams notes that the hard-core pornography analyzed in her work relates more to gender than to sex (277) in terms of the specifics of representing men and women and their expression of pleasure in these films.

Epilogue

This part of the book presents the author’s analysis of new approaches to discussing the problem of pornography in modern society. Williams introduces the term “on/scenity” in her epilogue as an antonym of the term “obscenity” (282). According to the author, some decades ago, people were inclined to associate pornography with obscenity or their feelings of guilt. However, attitudes have changed over time, and now it is possible to speak about on/scenity as individuals’ intention to demonstrate and accentuate their sexuality with the help of certain cultural means. In this part of the book, the author also discusses how tools representing sexual acts have changed and how pornography has found a place on theatrical stages among other settings.

Work Cited

Williams, Linda. Hard Core: Power, Pleasure, and the “Frenzy of the Visible.” University of California Press, 1999.