This shocking film mercilessly exposes the abysses of the porn industry

I’m not here to find girlfriends. The standard sentence of every bachelor candidate who wants to be perceived as strong, independent and cool, especially by men. Just “different” than the other women. In the drama Pleasure, however, someone else says the sentence – one Up-and-coming porn actress. And it has only one goal: to make it to the top as quickly as possible.

Actually, as the film shows painfully clearly, you need girlfriends, especially in the porn industry. Otherwise only the people who remain make money with your body want. And Pleasure protagonist Bella Cherry (Sofia Kappel) has to find out faster than she would like in Ninja Thyberg’s debut film. You can stream Pleasure now.

Pleasure shows the porn industry in a much more differentiated way than the Netflix documentary Hot Girls Wanted

We know the story of the young woman who wants to make as much money as possible in the scene as quickly as possible and mercilessly underestimates what that does to her as a person. At least since the Netflix documentary Hot Girls Wanted, which Porn industry as a girl-eating content machine showed, in which every new face is no longer interesting after a few months. Unless the performers are willing to engage in increasingly harsh practices.

Watch a trailer for Pleasure here:

Pleasure draws a clear differentiated picture of the adult industry, in which not everyone is a victim and hardcore shoots don’t necessarily have to end in trauma. There are moments of touching intimacy and mutual respect. But they are few and far between. This is also due to the fact that the film builds up a palpable distance to its characters, despite all the nudity.

Bella has no past, no clearly stated or at least honest-feeling motivation. Bella isn’t even her real name. She is a reflection of the cravings of others who, by her own admission, has only two interests: money and penises. There’s no room for real feelings. Or female solidarity.

The pleasure cast consists mostly of real porn stars

The most Bella can achieve in porn is to be a “mirror girl”. So working for Mark Spiegler, one real icon of the porn industry, which helped break out actresses like Sasha Gray and Abella Danger (from the Netflix documentary Rocco). In general, 90 percent of the pleasure cast consists of real porn actors. That Life as a mirror girl would also mean for Bella: there are no more borders. She has to do what her agent tells her. It doesn’t matter if she’s comfortable with it or not.

So Bella, who actually wanted to take it easy at first, races from one hardcore shoot to the next. She wants to impress the stars of the industry and not only sacrifices others, but also herself. Gangbang becomes gaslighting. Can it be rape if the victim was paid to do it? The porn agent says no. What Bella says is irrelevant to anyone. She doesn’t get paid to speak.

The porn drama sheds light on the dark side of the industry that hardly anyone talks about

The most disturbing situation in Pleasure, however, is not the one in which Bella is shown over and over again as a powerless young woman surrounded by manipulative men. Most disturbing are the moments when Bella takes out her frustration about her own helplessness on other women and with it even part of the problem becomes.

Documentaries like Hot Girls Wanted build an easy-to-understand world in which the good guys (young women) versus the bad guys (the porn industry) have to put up a fight. Thyberg’s debut film goes one step further and asks what it means to solidarity and a sense of justice as a woman having to survive in an industry that is so misogynistic at times. And more than once raises the question of who we should really sympathize with here.

Those who feel powerless can only find strength and the opportunity to stand up for themselves in the collective. That’s why the porn bosses are happy about young actresses who are in their colleagues not allies, but competition see – and also support them in this approach. Let’s remember: Bella didn’t come to Los Angeles to find girlfriends. It was probably her first big mistake.

Netflix & Co. – The 22 biggest films of 2022 in the stream

There are a few real highlights waiting for you in the streaming area this year. Netflix in particular has announced a host of promising films. In the podcast stream browsing, we give an overview of which projects the anticipation is particularly great.

With genres such as science fiction, action, comedy, fantasy, animation and more, Netflix, Disney+ and AppleTV+ are guaranteed to have something for all tastes – whether you’re looking for the new film by Martin Scorsese, the next Disney remake or the film adaptation of yours favorite novel.

A notice: We have already published this article in a slightly modified form.

Have you already seen Pleasure or do you still want to see the film?