Pornography in the Movies

While looking at teenage consumption of pornography one begins to wonder what the effects may be on their sexual scripts. The more adolescents consume unrealistic images the more likely they are to attach unrealistic expectations to their current sexual relationships. Growing up I always loved Adam Sandler movies. In particular Billy Madison was one of my favorites. Billy was in this stage of suspended adolescence where he often partook in his fair share of pornography. Many scenes in the movie consisted of him idolizing sleeping with his teacher. The only problem being that in his fantasies she is often idealized and unrealistic. However, it is because Billy himself has not had a lot of hands on sexual experience to differentiate what he sees in his sexually explicit magazines to realistic expectations of sexual gratification.

Although Billy is in his thirties, his suspended adolescence suggests that he has been consuming sexually explicit material for a long time. In fact, studies have found that 42% of U.S. adolescents aged 10-17 were exposed to some form of pornography over the course of the year (Valkenburg, 2009). This sheds light to the fact that at one point in the movie Billy claims that it is “Nudie magazine day,” a predetermined day in which he schedules his sexually explicit content. I am interested in how Billy and many other adolescents consume this media and how they interact with future sexual partners. “Typically adolescents sexual experiences are initially confined to masturbation and French kissing” (Valkenburg, 2009). If adolescents are consuming this media and then going out into the world, they have unrealistic expectations on how to engage sexually with their partners, because everything in the porn industry is meant to paint a fantasy perspective. In the movie, Billy talks about wanting to touch his teachers “Hiney.” His attraction to her is purely physical, and glazes over establishing an emotional connection first.

In furthering this argument “A greater perceived realism of SEIM leads to more instrumental attitudes towards sex” (Valkenburg, 2010). That is to say that the more that Billy Madison accepts the realism of his pornography, the more likely that when he does interact sexually with his real-life crush, the more likely he will expect her to conform to the sexual scripts that have been demonstrated in his pornography magazines.

Works Cited:

Peter, J., & Valkenburg, P. M. (2010). Processes underlying the effects of adolescents' use of sexually explicit Internet material: The role of perceived realism. Communication Research, 37(3), 375-399. doi: 10.1177/0093650210362464 • Peter, J., & Valkenburg, P. M. (2009). Adolescents' exposure to sexually explicit Internet material and sexual satisfaction: A longitudinal study. Human Communication Research, 35(2), 171-194. doi: 10.1111/j.1468-2958.2009.01343.x