“France in real life: Porn in the head”
France 3 Regions
Documentary
Through his personal view and experience, director Samuel Ruffier questions the evolution of sexuality. The opportunity to question the exposure of younger generations to pornography and the new challenges of sexuality education. “Porn in the head”: an intimate and universal documentary to discover on Thursday December 5 at 10:50 p.m. on France 3 Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes and on france.TV.
The famous La Redoute catalog. The glossy paper pad that sat on the coffee table in the living room. The reference for mail order sales… But also “ the best-seller of erotic literature of the 1990s » for Samuel Ruffier who, like many teenagers of his generation, browsed the lingerie pages with excitement. By diving back today into this “ Everest of eroticism »Samuel is disappointed. No longer the slightest jolt of fantasy. “ I put the directory down with the disappointment of an adult who realizes that he no longer likes the candy of his childhood. »
From the start of the documentary, the tone is set. The director shares, not without humor, his personal and intimate perspective. At 40, and now the father of three children, he wonders about the evolution of his own fantasies… But also about this new generation which, nourished by screens and social networks, “ pass from [ses] cuddly toys to porn videos. By placing his camera in an MJC, at the heart of a workshop dedicated to sexuality, Samuel Ruffier tries to understand what perception these young people have of it. Throughout the discussions, the observation is clear: everyone has already seen porn images (and sometimes from the age of 10), divided between disgust and fascination. X-rated images discovered out of curiosity, by accident or simply to do like the others. A trend confirmed by figures from Arcom announcing that more than 2.3 million minors view videos on pornographic sites each month. It's as if porn, accessible in one click, was imposed on them… We can then wonder what the consequences of this early exposure are on their fantasies and their perception of sexuality.
While the director continues to look at his childhood with his adult eyes (the images of naked women on television, the sexualization of girls in Dragon Ball Z), he questions the values conveyed by our society for years (the power of virility, the hypersexualization of women in advertisements, etc.), with today a dangerous relay on social networks. For the director, it is not porn that influences society, but society that influences everything, porn included.
Throughout his investigation, and his meetings (educator, sociologist, philosopher, directors and actresses of porn films), the director offers different points of view in order to analyze, without ever judging, the impact of online pornography and the new challenges of sexuality education. Faced with his own parental responsibility, and going beyond his modesty as a father, Samuel Ruffier goes to the end of his approach by himself, in front of the camera, opening a dialogue with his children… A rich investigation with the appearance of an intimate and universal film .
France in real life: Porn in the head
Porn in the head is a powerful documentary that delves into the heart of the evolution of sexuality through the personal view of its author. This film traces her first erotic emotions, awakened by the lingerie pages of La Redoute, to the contemporary realities to which young people are exposed today. It addresses the rapid transition from cuddly toys to online pornographic videos, and the consequences of this transition on the perception of sexuality and human relationships.
Through rigorous analysis, the documentary questions the influence of online pornography, now accessible from childhood. Early exposure to pornographic content, often from the age of 11, disrupts traditional markers of erotic exploration and introduces young people to a sometimes biased vision of sexuality. Porn in the head investigates the effects of this massive consumption, without falling into condescension or moralism, and examines its profound impact on social and emotional life. Implicitly, the film also illustrates the quest of the author, also a father, facing the challenges of sexuality education in a world saturated with explicit images. How can we prepare our children to thrive in a society where intimacy is disrupted by easy access to X? This documentary then becomes a personal and universal reflection on the responsibility of parents and the role of society in the education of the youngest.
Documentary (52 min – 2024) — Production Samuel Ruffier — Production Mona Lisa Production et France 3 Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes — With the support of CNCand the Procirep-Angoa
Broadcast on Thursday December 5 at 10:50 p.m. on France 3 Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes
To see and rewatch on france.tv