Pornography is a wholly remarkable art. Since it first piqued a lusty curiosity in my youth, porn has become a constant source of study, entertainment, and fascination. That love of porn has led me on a nearly two-decade career studying and writing about the magic of XXX film in all of its glory.
Despite the many hours of porn that I view for work, I still love cozying up to my favorite sex films again and again. For me, porn has always been reminiscent of music. It doesn’t matter how many times I’ve heard a tune; I’m always happy to hear my favorite songs again and again.
Great porn is infinitely rewatchable. I’ve seen a few of my favorites often enough to close my eyes and visualize them in full. In fact, most of my dreams are merely compilations of porn’s greatest hits.
But most people don’t revisit porn, at least not often. That’s a shame, because each viewing offers fresh insights and observations. Porn has a lot to offer, and if you haven’t tried repeat viewing before, here are some techniques to appreciate porn differently and repeatedly.
Table of Contents
Performer Focus
Big group sex and orgy scenes offer a lot in terms of rewatchability. A lot is happening in these scenes, so try focusing on one specific star from start to finish. Seeing multiple stars fucking is a great way to study technique and stylistic differences between performers. If you’re particularly observant, you might notice differences in technique as they swap from partner to partner–always thought-provoking.
Cinematic Focus
From glamcore to gonzo, porn filmmaking requires highly skilled camerawork and on-the-fly decisions. It’s a unique art form that yields uniquely creative cinematic moments.
Sometimes it’s nice to take a top-down approach, eyeing each work of pornography from the filmmakers’ point of view. Observational points include framing, set design, and lighting, but porn offers more than traditional cinema.
Consider the way porn provocateurs use nude bodies for framing, or even as foreground and background elements. Then there’s a whole art to the way you capture each element, from blowjob to the swinging of the breast. And every filmmaker leaves their trademark style on the scene.
Body Focus
As a serious sex geek, I love to revisit pornos from a myopic point of view. Try choosing one specific body focus and zeroing in on that. For example, suppose you wanted to view a film as a pussy study, and in the event of multiple women, I suggest you choose one. Keep your eyes locked on the woman’s pussy, noting how it changes and reacts to each new scenario.
Take note of what gets her wet. Are there lubes involved? Does she cream on the cock, and if so, does it stay, or are there cuts or clever camerawork to wipe it off? How do her lips and clit respond to sex?
Or perhaps another viewing dictates a focus on the breast. Watch for that sexual glow, and note the hue of red and how it relates to each sex act. And don’t neglect the nipples! Often, I’ll spend an entire viewing locked into careful study of how a performer’s nipples react and harden with each sexual scenario.
Learn From Transitions
One of the best ways to stave off that big game-ending orgasm is to change it up. And nobody is better at smoothly flowing from sex position to sex position like a pornstar. There’s a lot to learn – it’s enlightening to see how to move bodies gracefully with or without a loss of penetration.
But it goes deeper than that. Orgasm management is the name of the game for male pornstars, and the astute observer can learn a thing or two about how to throttle back, or how to scale up and regain your edge. Lessons that you can take directly from the porn scene and into the bedroom.
Twenty-five years of porn fandom have shown me that porn is pretty awesome. Even outside of my work as a porn critic, XXX remains my favorite and primary form of arts and entertainment. That comes from a lifetime of study and appreciation of adult film, along with an absolute fascination and geekery with all things sex.
You see, porn is about more than a quick nut. It is an artistic statement rooted in the human condition as it relates to the sex culture of its time. And there’s a lot to see and experience in each work of pornography.
For those consenting adults interested in learning more, try setting aside time to revisit porn scenes more often. Experience porn differently. Think critically, and appreciate porn in more ways than the obvious.
