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Rog Blog: Truth Vs. Honesty

Posted on September 20th, 2006

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Rog Blog: September 21st
Web Site Review Suggestions, Truth vs. Honesty and a TON of Eye Candy
Web Site Reviews: I’m going to be working on more web site reviews in the future. I’ve done several over the years, but it has never been a regular thing on this site. I’ve got a format that worked for me in the past, but I would like some feedback from you. What are you looking for in a website review? Is a lengthy description necessary? Do you want short blurbs about how often the site is updated and things like that? Ideas and input people, I’m looking for both.
Truth vs. Honesty: This goes back to the last rambling thing I wrote about Zupko. Over the years I have had people praise this site for “telling the truth” and others question my enthusiasm (or lack thereof) for performers, directors or projects. These questions often call into question my “honesty” or “integrity.” So over the years I’ve filed these things away and come up with what I think may be the problem. Some people can’t seem to tell the difference between the “truth” and “honesty.”
For the most part, there isn’t a lot of “truth” in a film review. Sure there are facts involved. If I say that Sara Stone stars in the first scene in Jules Jordan’s “Tit Worship” then I am telling you the truth. If I say that Sara has the best breasts this side of Gianna, then am I telling the truth? I guess that depends on how you define “best” breasts right? Since I happen to believe in that statement then I’m being honest. I’m giving you my honest opinion, but is that truth?
I tend to think that all porn is in the eye of the beholder so finding “truth” is going to be a mostly futile effort. What makes your dick hard (or the female equivalent) isn’t going to make mine react the same way and vice versa. What I can’t understand is why more people can’t come to grips with that. Everyone takes it so personally. Just because I think that Jill Kelly looks like a man or that I can’t stand Justin Slayer movies doesn’t mean that everyone will agree.
What used to bug me about porn “reviews” is that not only was there no truth in them, but very little honesty it seemed. I would read the reviews in magazines and every movie was a masterpiece. Every woman was smoking hot and when I would rent the movie I would discover that the movies rarely lived up to the hype. Then AVN came along when I was managing a video store and there were suddenly a lot more reviews to read. They were short, didn’t offer much in the way of details and oddly enough seemed to ignore the fact that these movies were supposed to make me (as a member of the audience) jerk off.
It was against this backdrop that I started writing my reviews. From day one I decided that I would always be honest about what I was seeing. That meant being up front about what I like and what I don’t like. It meant talking about the things that were important to me as a consumer. I was enthusiastic, passionate and honest. Thankfully those qualities seemed to work for the readers and the rest as they say, is history. It hasn’t always been pretty though.
Over the years people have had more issues with that I don’t like that what I do. Few people objected when I praised the early work of Jules Jordan or Mike John. On the other hand I got plenty of shit when I labeled Max Hardcore’s work “porno for pedos.” I understand that of course. It isn’t easy reading someone blasting something as personal as what gets you off. We’re off track again. That’s for another day.
Back to truth vs. honesty. What I didn’t like about other reviews is the lack of either. Since “Truth” is nearly impossible, I am always looking for honesty. It’s hard to come by, especially in print. That makes sense of course. When companies pay huge dollars to advertise in magazines, how can that mag turn around and rip the movies made by those advertisers? I’ve always understand that part though. What I still can’t understand is the tendency among print reviewers to write about porn as if it is something that we aren’t supposed to jerk off to. A number of the high profile reviewers still treat it that way and frankly I find that attitude rather offensive. Porn is porn and if we overlook its primary purpose then I think we are doing a disservice to the readers. I guess that’s my “truth.”
So in the end, I strive for honesty. Hopefully the readers of my reviews have learned over the years that good, bad or ugly I’m going to tell it like I see it. You may not agree with my assessment of who is hot (Kaitlyn Ashley, Aurora Snow, Mika Tan) and who is not (Jill Kelly, Sydnee Steele, Belladonna) but you know that I’m up front of with what I like and what I don’t. Some of you may take issue with the fact that I don’t get turned on watching guys spit on girls, choke them or rub their cocks together in the same hole. That’s fine and I trust most of you can understand that I’m not passing judgment on those of you who do. I’m just being honest.
So there it is. Hopefully everyone reading the site understands that I offer honesty and sometimes that ruffles feathers. It would certainly be easier to say only good things about the people in this industry and the stuff they produce. Everyone loves you when you say they are beautiful or brilliant. Now we’re heading back to the whole “friend” post so let’s wrap it for today. (Rodger Jacobs where are you? I need an editor.)
I can’t promise you the “truth” where there isn’t any. (Though I will NEVER lie to you by saying that something like Buzzflash is where you should go for “news.”) I will keep being honest with you and hope you will be just as honest with me. If you find truth in what I say, then great. If you disagree, that’s great too. As long as everyone understands that honesty is more important to me than being liked or accepted in this business, then I feel like I’m on solid ground even when I’m getting hate mail from fan boys and death threats from directors. And that my friends….is the honest truth.