Salvation Magazine Issue 1 - Magazine - Page 20
Reviews
As a reader in 2021 who is familiar with terms such as ‘coercive
control’ and ‘grooming’, more
present in the current vernacular,
looking back on this seems horrendous and reading this account from
only 30 years ago we can see how
far society has moved on; although
one of the main instigators for
Springora to write this memoir was
the giving of a literary prize to her
abuser as recent as 2013.
Consent is a well written and
easy to read memoir that deals with
a di昀케cult subject matter extremely well, some credit for which in
this instance must be given to the
translator Natasha Lehrer. It grabs
the young, innocent muse fantasy
and reveals it for what it really is –
predatory abuse. Books such as this
and the recent 昀氀urry of those like
it are reclaiming the ingenue trope
for themselves and holding up a
much-needed mirror to the creative
industries and forcing them to
confront their complicity.
Pippen Ravenscourt
Get Rich or Lie Trying:
Ambition and Deceit in the
New Influencer Economy
Symeon Brown
Atlantic Books 2022
It has been said in several places
over the last few years, (possibly
after a drink or two, these things
often are) that journalism is a
changed creature with the rise of
fake news and click-bait articles.
A sense that the hyper-focused
investigative journalist, who actually
tracks people down and follows
their gut for a story, no longer exists
- except on celluloid. I mean this is
obviously rubbish, and Get Rich or
Lie Trying: Ambition and Deceit in
the New In昀氀uencer Economy is a
fantastic example of a thoroughly
researched, empathetic but still
questioning, in depth exploration of
a subject previously lacking in such
scrutiny, but undoubtedly worthy
of it.
Symeon Brown delves into the
murky depths of the internet,
namely – social media in昀氀uenc-
ers – and the vast and constantly
expanding new tributary of the
economy river in which they swim.
Ask a child what they want to be
when they grow up and apparently
at least 20% of them will say an
in昀氀uencer. Their grandparents
will unlikely even know what that
means, but spend any amount of
time on social media and their
presence will be felt.
And it does look cool doesn’t it?
Becoming 昀椀nancially stable for
telling the world about your dinner
and new hairdo? Sign me up! In昀氀uencers didn’t exist when I was a kid,
but if I was a child now, I’d probably
daydream about it too. However, if
social media has (or should have)
taught us anything, it’s that the
18/Salvation
camera ALWAYS lies, and you really shouldn’t trust ANYTHING you
read online. If you didn’t already
think that, you probably will by the
end of this book.
Brown writes “…the stories of
riches are the exception rather than
the rule and the 昀椀nancial rewards
are only part of the story.”, and it
does appear from his investigation
that all too often with in昀氀uencer
endorsements, the Emperor’s
clothes are drafty at best. There are
few people who can truly say they
don’t choose only their best pictures
to put online, have NEVER used a
昀椀lter, and don’t essentially edit their
lives to appear more humourous
/ exciting /昀椀nancially stable than
they are… We are all playing the
same game as the in昀氀uencers to
some extent, but the vast majority
of people are blissfully unaware of
how much of their feed is essentially
a scam – retail cat昀椀shing by internet
snake-oil salesmen; and many of the
in昀氀uencers themselves have been
sold a promise made of nothing.
Is the key to being successful simply telling the world that you are?
At what point does selling yourself become whoring yourself, and
do you ever really know what you’re
buying into?
Can you even trust a review
anymore?!
The future is here, and it’s kinda
alarming.
Believe nothing.
Lou Hellbaby
Philosophy, Pussycats,
and Porn
Stoya
Pub: Not a Cult Books, 2018
Stoya, if you don’t already know, is
mainly famous for her pornography.
(You can catch her in one of our
Carnal label releases – Talk Derby
to Me.) However, her refreshing
and steadfast views on porn, sex,
relationships, and our human
responses to them are what really
set her on a bit of a pedestal for
me; so I was very keen to read this
collection of her blog posts. Presented not in the chronological order
they were originally posted, but
brought together in a way that we
can journey through these musings
with better perspective, and in
some cases more context alongside
similar musings.
Although separation of work persona and private life is something
anyone in the public eye strives for,
that is particularly true of anyone
with a toe in the sex-work pool.
These re昀氀ections are a glimpse into
Stoya’s inner workings – in a much
more metaphorical way to that
which you may have experienced
watching her on screen… There
are highs, there are lows, and there
are powerfully astute observations,
including a devastating level of
self-awareness, even during times
of heartbreak. One of my particular
favourite moments involving Stoya
昀椀nally letting her Grandmother
know what she does for a living,
and the name she has chosen to
use for a stage name*. Let’s just say
Gramma is super-cool. (*Gramma’s
maiden name.)
Stoya o昀昀ers anecdotes about and
insight into things you’d expect,
like the inner workings of the porn
industry, her relationships and hook
ups, and how she deals with fans
and even crazies who may 昀椀nd her
in real life. It also o昀昀ers a personal
side to her – destructive behavious
after a break up, fangirling out
when meeting a favourite artist,
and de昀椀nitely personi昀椀es a many
layered and intelligent ‘strong independent woman’ who ironically has
a career based on objecti昀椀cation.
All these ruminations 昀椀t together
to show us a fun, hardworking, and
dedicated woman who navigates an
industry (within a whole society)
where she is more often than not
seen as less than her male counterparts. Doing so with, perhaps
not sophistication per se (too much
lewd public behavior), but certainly
with 昀氀air and wit.
What Stoya has to say is engaging, clever, witty, and empowering,
and so many of the points could
be expanded on and presented as
books in their own right. PP&P tells
us Stoya has been a pornographer
since 2006 and a writer since 2012,
she’s great at both - If anything
Stoya has, even in journalism, mastered the Art of the Tease.
Lou Hellbaby
What It Feels Like
For A Girl
Paris Lees
Particular Books 2021
It’s quite an art to take something
that’s in reality pretty bleak and
make it humorous. To take a subject
or opinion that divides and make it
accessible to all. To describe trauma
with beautiful words, while sounding naturally eloquent, despite
talking in Nottinghamshire dialect.
So Paris Lees must be an artist,
because she’s nailed all of that. (Not
the only things she’s nailed – No
wot am sayin’ babe?)
I’ve never particularly been one
for a memoir. When you say that
word to me I imagine stu昀昀y white
dudes in suits, telling stories about
getting caned, and essentially no
shared experiences to engage with.
Not the case with WIFLFAG. Early
2000s Midlands and feeling like
you don’t 昀椀t anywhere are two
things I can de昀椀nitely relate to,
and I found I was in fact engrossed
with every anecdote (I am 100%
here for mentions of All Saints,
Spice Girls, combat trousers, FCUK
tees, Nottingham Rock City, Nadia
from Big Brother, speed and cherry
Lambrini). I may hail from about
50 miles south but there’s certainly
common ground: ‘the people are
small minded an’ the streets are
paved wi’ dogshit’. However, it’s not
just a certain amount of similarity
in age that makes me feel an a昀케nity
– There’s such open, earnest and
sincere delivery, that you are right
there with her; through young love
and heartbreak, fun and frivolity,
crime and punishment, loss and a
will to prevail. It is hard not to feel
swathes of empathy, joy, grief, and
eventually pride alongside her as
she 昀椀nds her path and realizes the
self she was meant to be.
We are introduced to earnest
young ‘ucknall resident Byron Lees
with their memory of the vicar’s
thoughts on Lord Byron, Lord
Byron being born on the same day
that years later Byron Lees would
also be born. The name choice does
in some ways seem rather 昀椀tting,
even if ‘everythin’s called Byron
round here.’, Byron being famous
for far more than poetry… ‘OK but
they do say he were bisexual…
Serves ‘em right for namin’ me
after ‘im, eh?’. Like their namesake,
Byron likes to party, and enjoys
hedonistic fun and frolicks, but this
isn’t a book that’s about just the
good times. There are plenty of sad
and dark events, but explained with
a real, winsome, and captivating
quality. These heart wrenching
moments, candidly told, may not
be as fun as going clubbing with the
mesmerizing Lady Die, but overall
the journey was uplifting and full of
humour; leaving you with a sense
of perhaps not joy, but certainly
closure and achievement for Paris
as she 昀椀nally leaves ‘ucknall behind
and 昀椀nds her place.
Worris she like?
Lou Hellbaby
Do You Believe in
SWEDISH SIN
Swedish Exploitation Film
Posters 1951-1984
Rickard Gramfors
Hardback
384 pages
English Language
Sometime during the mid to late
sixties Sweden slowly morphed in
the popular imagination from a
country that was modern, economically prosperous, and law abiding,
to one obsessed with sex and pornography which was coupled with a
Utopian welfare state that allowed
its Eloi-like citizens the freedom to
indulge in almost limitless fornication. This transition was started by
two things, Au Pair girls and a 1967
Swedish anti-war 昀椀lm called I am
Curious, Yellow directed by Vilgot
Sjöman, which featured full nudity
and a couple allegedly having actual
sex. It was a massive International
hit as a result.
European Au Pair girls 昀氀ooded
the UK in the sixties and early
seventies as teenage girls sought
out families to stay with to learn
English, while they in turn helped
out around the house. As a result
these often exploited young women
become a byword for sex in dozens of UK sitcoms and comedic
sexploitation 昀椀lms, but it was the
Swedish au pair in particular that
de昀椀ned the fantasy au pair as blond,
beautiful and available. It was a
fantasy that Swedish 昀椀lmmakers
would exploit again and again for
almost two decades until video and
changing tastes 昀椀nally put an end to
sexploitation cinema.
Rickard Gramfors’ book is essentially a visual record of the posters
produced for Swedish 昀椀lms, and
Swedish sexploitation 昀椀lms in particular. There is no real overall de昀椀ning
Swedish aesthetic as one might
get with horror posters, or with
posters from speci昀椀c countries like
Poland or Italy for example, which
often have a distinctive design style.
Rather this is a visual mishmash
of genres and design that varies
from the dull and bland, through to
the amusing or titillating, to a few
standout posters that are genuinely
striking and powerful artworks in
their own right. As such it can be
tricky separating the wheat from
the cha昀昀 in this massive tome.
I actually adore 昀椀lm posters,
but found this book incredibly
frustrating in that it is page after
page of single posters, beautifully
reproduced but with no caption as
to what 昀椀lm is being represented;
so unless you can speak Swedish or
are familiar with the 昀椀lm you are
forced to 昀椀nd that section’s chapter
introduction, which has a brief
overview of the posters reproduced
in that chapter. It also lacks an index, so 昀椀nding or referencing 昀椀lms
is not possible.
For me Swedish cinema is not
Ingmar Bergman but Christine
Lindberg, and the 昀椀lm Thriller in
particular, so although it was nice
to see four posters represented for
it, it was also a bit disappointing
that not one of them was Swedish;
instead there were two from the
US and two Italian ones… However,
there were some standout Swedish
posters on display including one for
the 1956 Swedish/French co-production The Witch, and the poster
for the 1969 昀椀lm, Sixty Nine, also a
Swedish/French co-production.
Overall though, while this is a
comprehensive record of the 昀椀lms
produced in Sweden between 1951
and 1984 I couldn’t help but feel
that, rather like the sexploitation
昀椀lms themselves, this book promised more than it actually delivered.
Lorem Ipsum
Nigel Wingrove
Bloodsisters – Leather,
Dykes and Sadomasochism
a 昀椀lm by Michelle Handelman
90’s San Francisco was seemingly
a riotous celebration of di昀昀erence
and alternative lifestyles, but within
the lesbian community was a
shunned tribe – viewed as patriarchal, the ‘SM leather dykes’. Essentially this group were ostracized
from the wider LGBT community
– but if the kids are united, they
will of course, never be divided; and
stronger bonds formed within that
community.
Interviews, footage from events,
SM stage performances, and
monologues showcase the pioneers
of the trans community, and the
spokespeople and mentors within
the lesbian SM community at
what would turn out to be a pivotal
moment, just over 25 years ago.
Michelle Handelman’s portrait of
a movement documents a subset
of a subset of a subset – and you’d
be brie昀氀y forgiven for thinking that
means any messages within are
not relevant to YOU, or even not
relevant anymore. But you would of
course be wrong.
25 years may have passed yet you
will 昀椀nd it o昀昀ers a great deal still in
terms of social relevancy, and has
many facets beyond being simply a
documentary about leather dykes
in San Francisco. Feminism, our
views on gender, and the queer
scene itself have all evolved, but
many of the issues raised and feelings evoked are as applicable today
as they were then; and are worth
re昀氀ecting on from many di昀昀erent
perspectives, irrelevant of yours.
In the time since its release our
entire view of gender has shifted
perceptibly, and bondage has
been brought to the ‘mainstream’,
following the release of things like
50 Shades of Grey. Some trans contributors are now living their true
lives, names having been updated
for the re-release, something hardly
discussed in the media back when
this documentary was conceived.
Internet shopping means toys,
straps and restraints can be delivered to your door.
Though we may have a long way
to go for true acceptance of bodily
and sexual choice, we have de昀椀nitely made progress. However so
many of the messages, and indeed
arguments and battles are still
relevant. These women found their
lives politicised simply because of
their preferences, and still today
people 昀椀nd their lives politicised
due to sexual preference or gender;
and dominance in the bedroom is
still often misunderstood, misinterpreted and misplaced.
This Kino Lorber release includes
an array of extras – including audio
commentaries and conversations
with the majority of the people
featured in the original documentary – Handelman included. If you
would like to understand SM on a
more authentic level then this is a
great starting point.
With an exceptional punk rock
soundtrack from Frightwig that
will tick any riot girl boxes you
may have (we found them on
Spotify very quickly after, and they
feature in the extras), some very
thought provoking, empathetic and
beautiful moments, and the tease
of dark humour this is a chronicle
of women in the eye of a storm that
tears down barriers of sex, gender
and what you can achieve if you can
make your voice heard.
Lou Hellbaby
Something Is Killing The
Children (Vol 1)
Published by Boom!
Studios 2021 and ongoing
Writer: James Tynion IV
Illustrations: Werther Dell’Edera
Colorist: Miquel Muerto
Comics have come a long way since
the ‘funny books’ you may think
