Who likes the Die Hard movies? Okay, who doesn't? Bruce Willis plays John McClane, the ultimate hero. He's strong, he's smart, and he can take down an entire cell of German terrorists in his bare feet. Every man has fantasized about saving an entire city through John McClane-ian feats of strength and prowess, where in the end the ex-wife forgives you, again, and your arrogant boss shakes your hand as he realizes he was wrong about you the whole time. However, you haven't run off to join the NYPD. In fact, you've probably broken the law more than you've protected it.

Why? Probably because you know that real NYPD officers' lives look nothing like Die Hard, and that if you ever tried to run a car into a helicopter, you would certainly be killed. So why do you enjoy watching such blatant fallacies? Because it's a movie! You're aware that the audience is meant to suspend reality, and enjoy the adrenaline rush. So if it's obvious that the Die Hard movies don't represent real law enforcement, then what makes you think porn films represent real sex?

Men are extremely visual. They are aroused by what they see. A naked 19-year-old with a decent boob job and an okay weave (yeah, sorry, the hair is fake too) are enough to incite movement in a guy's pants. Now put that 19-year-old on her knees and show her getting penetrated from all angles while she screams in ecstasy, and, well, you know how men react to that. The porn industry predominately produces products that appeal to heterosexual men (although the production of gay porn and porn for women is on the rise). Sexual imagery is their business. The films are made to thrill the straight man, providing him an outlet for his sexual energy. They are not, however, meant as an accurate portrayal of mutually gratifying sexual acts. You don't believe me? Go stick your fist in your girlfriend's no-no hole and see how she reacts.

The mature consumer knows this. Porn is not a how-to manual on how to please your woman. It represents fantasy. The visual stimulation offered through pornographic films can certainly add to the eroticism of a sexual encounter, but your partner may not be physically up to simulating what's on the screen. Porn actresses are professionals paid to represent fantasy. They are meant to look like they are in the throws of sheer pleasure, and they probably have a certain physical prowess not shared by the average woman. Hey, it probably turns on your better half when Bruce Willis escapes the rapidly flooding highway tunnel by shooting out of a manhole 30 feet in the air only to be left unscathed, but she doesn't expect you to be able to do it.

©2009 Michael Webb

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