NEW YORK — Former adult performer Aurora Snow describes how “Video Killed the Porn Star” in her latest column for the DailyBeast.
Beginning with a short tutorial on the prominence, and in some cases prestige, of XXX theaters and the porn stars that graced their marquees in the 1970s, Snow then explains how the advent of VHS technology changed the landscape. She points her finger at the then newly gained ability to fast forward as the primary culprit.
She quotes porn icon Kelly Nichols, “There weren’t that many porn stars at the time. We were getting closer to Hollywood. It probably all would have merged on a more eloquent level had not the whole VCR thing come along and made it dirty again.”
The dirtiness, Snow says, was a result of men being able to skip the entire plot to get right to the erotic action, which eventually gave rise to gonzo porn and clips.
“The way it was consumed also had an effect on what was being created,” Snow writes. With money pouring into VHS production, theaters shuttered and people moved their porn viewing to the privacy of their own home.
Porn stars were also affected: “As soon as it went to video they stopped needing actresses, they didn’t need the acting anymore, they just needed people to have sex on camera,” Nichols said. Without the time and financial investment necessary to produce film on 8mm, porn star qualifications dropped and the number of girls entering the business and movies being produced skyrocketed, Snow says.
“Nowadays anybody can be a porn star, but nobody’s really a star anymore,” Seka said, echoing Nichols.
To read "Video Killed the Porn Star: The VHS and Fast Forwarding Revolution" in its entirety, click here.
Snow is a regular contributor to the DailyBeast. She is currently writing her memoirs and splits her time between her career and fundraising for her brother, a recent quadriplegic.
