Introduction Where do we draw the line between artistic depictions of social realities involving sexual morals and pornography?

How can art with its capacity to form popular consciousness and alert the public with realities of oppression and domination be put in the service of deepening ones understanding of moral dilemmas and of the faith rather than in the service of media conglomerates cashing on the publics craving for sex, scandals and controversies? In todays world characterized by moral relativism, the answer can be quite complex and would require deep reflection. Across the world, media institutions prioritize the meager and lusty interest of their consumers or viewers in the name of profit. The result is horrifying: the abuse and objectification of the dignity of the human person. The production, distribution and proliferation of pornographic materials is one sad manifestation. While proceeding from differing sources, traditions and assumptions, social scientists and theologians both agree that pornography is dehumanizing because it turns participants into objects of malice and lust and promotes a problematic sexual lifestyle. In the pornographic act, the human body is degraded, transformed and objectified into a good to be consumed outside of the broader and deeper experience of human relationships. According to the Catechism for Catholic Filipinos (CFC), pornography depicts man, especially woman, as an object of sexual pleasure and arousal. By doing such, pornography is an immoral act which violates the very nature of human sexuality to be creative and ordered towards divine love. Pornography comes from the Greek words pernemi, meaning being a slave; pornos, meaning prostitute; and graphe, meaning written material. In pornographic portrayals of the sexual act, the persons involved, rather than actualizing the freedom that genuine and authentic love expressed through sexual intercourse, are instead enslaved by the act. The definition of pornography, however, has always sparked heated debates among scholars, especially among the theologians for what may be pornography to one might just be an erotica to the other. Erotica is an art: it contains heavy sexual themes, however, it does not objectify the humans. Rather, erotica values the essence and nature of the human being since it does not include racism, homophobia and sexism. 1 This paper will discuss the intricate definition of pornography weaved into the film Live Show by Jose Javier Reyes. It will also analyze the film as an art since the movie embeds the characters in a narrative, in which it talks about the societal ills encountered by the characters. The film was not purely for sexual arousal and pleasure since it conveys the harsh and catastrophic reality that the characters lived in. The film overuses sexually explicit scenes, however, in order to sell itself to the market. Theological Perspective The film Live Show can be critiqued using the Churchs official documents the Catechism for Catholic Filipinos (CFC) and Catechism for the Catholic Church (CCC). These documents will explain the context of the film and explicitly show the difference between pornography and reality (in the movie) as a whole. These documents will further extend perspectives on pornography, its effects to the society and more important, to man. It is through these Church documents that we can truly encounter Live Show in a realistic way. CFC on Pornography Pornography is a tool for dehumanization and exploitation. In the Philippine context, pornography (as well prostitution) is a consequence of dire poverty and destitution. It violates the human sexuality which is a gift that is given to us by God (CFC 1115). These pornographic characteristics are clearly depicted in the film, but it is not pornographic in nature. Through the use of explicit and graphic depictions of sex in prostitution, Live Show allows the viewer to witness how the beautiful experience of sexual relations is dehumanized. This dehumanization of sex and the draining of its holiness and direction towards the experience of the divine enable the viewer to see beyond the illusions of pleasure portrayed by the actors. The portrayals of the actors in the film cannot induce sexual excitement because their actions are little more than pantomimes of the grim reality presented in the film. Indeed, the reduction of the characters into objects of sensual pleasure and excitement are caused by the economic circumstances imposed upon them. Such dehumanization is also depicted through the use of crass language (e.g. puta, kantutan) to describe the main characters. According to the Canadian Conference of Catholic Bishops (CCCB), the objectification effect of pornography goes against the true meaning of human sexuality it does not empower the human person and it degrades men and women. The degradation of the human person is explicitly showed to explain to the viewers how people act under a circumstance as dire as the ones experienced by the characters in Live Show. Modernity has caught up with humanity. In the Philippine context, patterns of change can be seen in man-woman relationships and even in notions of sexuality. Women are no longer the perfect images of Maria Clara mahinhin, malinis, mayumi for they are challenged to compromise the demands of both their own families and of the whole society. But because of the increasing technology and mass media, the influence of Catholic faith has now become clouded and has less impact on the people (CFC 1603). The effect of the sleazy depiction of reality through Live Show proves itself to be beyond a ticklish eroticization.
1

Diana E.H. Russell, Dangerous Relationships: Pornography, Misogyny, and Rape (California: Sage Publications, Inc., 1998), 7.

Live Show has become a harrowing catharsis for the viewers. The movie purges the audiences extreme sorrow and pain through the live show being portrayed by the characters. The harrowing catharsis happens when the characters were in dire need of cash for the sustenance of their basic needs. Such extreme desperation and sadness can be felt by the viewers when the characters started to be an object of pleasure just to give food to their families. The image of the human is no longer important, for the main focus of the movie is to show how humans move in a complex world filled with decisions that are influenced by a plethora of factors in the society e.g. the socio-economic factors. CCC on Pornography There are many facets surrounding the definition of pornography. On one hand, such material form of degradation removes any type of intimacy in the characters. On the other hand, it violates the notion of chastity that it is being upheld by the Catholic Church among its members. Pornography injures the conjugal act between partners because such sexual act is exposed to third parties for the sole purpose of profiteering (CCC 2354). The film exposes the consequences of sexual acts which are not built on commitment and love. Given this, the whole affair may result in tragic consequences to the people involved and ultimately, destroy their dignity. Such scenes could be found wherein the girl, struggling to sustain her basic needs by selling her body, lost her money. The depression that she felt resulted into selffrustration and eventually into self-destruction. The characters in Live Show do just this in the film. Living in extreme poverty and struggling to survive, Rolly, the main character, works as a sex show performer to feed his family. Left with no other means to support his family, Rolly settles on using his body in a most lewd manner as a means to survive. It is indeed a grave offense to violate the sexual act between two partners for the sole purpose of profit to the distributor and perverse pleasure to the viewers. This violation tends to create this fantasy world among them (CCC 2354). In the film, however, it shows the actors disgusted emphasis that their involvement in human trafficking is based not on pleasure but on their socio-economic needs. With a family to support and with little or no options left, the characters are left with nothing else but to allow their bodies, and in turn, themselves as a whole, to be exploited. The movie, however implicit, portrays how the characters are not objectified. As opposed to what pornography does, the movie clearly illustrates how these characters are faced with daily problems. Pornography is pure sex in its sleaziest, worldliest definition. It provides no narrative that contextualizes the background of the characters or the world around them. Pornography is purely for depraved sensual entertainment. The movie Live Show does otherwise. Live Show is not a fantasy filled with sexually arousing scenes. It is a movie that portrays the battle of people as humans against poverty and hunger and the terrible cost they pay in order to survive. Jose Javier Reyes film also encompasses human trafficking, or prostitution, and this makes the film erotic and sexually suggestive. According to CCC 2355, Prostitution does injury to the dignity of the person who engages in it, reducing the person to an instrument of sexual pleasure. The one who pays sins gravely against himself: he violates the chastity to which his Baptism pledged him and defiles his body, the temple of the Holy Spirit. Prostitution is a social scourge. It usually involves women, but also men, children, and adolescents. While it is always gravely sinful to engage in prostitution, the imputability of the offense can be attenuated by destitution, blackmail, or social pressure. Live Show depicts this through the characters living in poverty have limited choices for providing for themselves, and having been immersed in a hostile and sleazy environment all their lives, they know no other way but this. Their destitution is in fact what triggers this lifestyle. The actors in the move sell their bodies because it is the easiest and most feasible way to earn money for their family and themselves. Jose Javier Reyes wants to involve extreme cases of human trafficking so that the film will have a great impact to the viewers, who should feel the emotions of the characters. Live Show embeds the characters in a carefully woven and textured narrative of societal ills and problems. Hence, the viewer encounters not just the pure production and performance of steamy sexual activities but the range and depth of the motivations, personal histories and socio-economic circumstances of the characters that instantiates in the viewers some sense of solidarity and reflexivity on the kind of dilemmas that may be socially shared and experienced. The movie has a story on its own; it does not make people sexually excited but it makes them aware of the social issues that must be addressed right now. The film, despite its pornographic characteristics, makes the people conscious on whats happening around their surroundings. The movie, contrary to what hard line and conservative moralists would claim, does not turn the practices of sexual morality into purely relative issues. It treats them as complex issues that demand not just the defense but the promotion of doctrinal values as well. In the film, the viewer encounters characters that are caught up in the tangled web of human moral decision making. In such a world, issues are not just black and white. Vast tracts of gray areas exist. With this in mind, we realize that it is easy to become morally lost and misguided. While the doctrine may have a hand in the redemption of such individuals, moral decisions demand principles that transcend the doctrinal dogmatism. These decisions require the conversion and pro-activity of the human person experiencing these dilemmas. There is no

single, incredibly grand act of salvation for people caught up in dubious sexual practices. Both the victims and the oppressors face the same problem because these practices have become their lifestyles. Should their desire be saved, there is no better help than their own personal involvement in and by understanding the doctrine and implementing the learned morals.