Quasi-amateur porn – a brief episode of unceasing carnival

This essay explores meaning complexity of pornographic materials conceived as quasi-private though its true “professional” provenience. The main subjects of analysis are easily accessible ads of various paid X-rated websites. Author treats advertising texts as a source of knowledge about narrative strategies and stereotypes. An interpretative tool chosen for the task is Mikhail Bakhtin’s Theory of Carnival – in particular: concept of “grotesque realism” and four fundamental categories of “carnivalesque” (familiar interaction between people, eccentric behavior, misalliances, sacrilegious). The article is based on the results of research conducted in the years 2002–2004.
 

This essay explores meaning complexity of pornographic materials conceived as quasi-private though its true “professional” provenience. The main subjects of analysis are easily accessible ads of various paid X-rated websites. Author treats advertising texts as a source of knowledge about narrative strategies and stereotypes. An interpretative tool chosen for the task is Mikhail Bakhtin’s Theory of Carnival – in particular: concept of “grotesque realism” and four fundamental categories of “carnivalesque” (familiar interaction between people, eccentric behavior, misalliances, sacrilegious). The article is based on the results of research conducted in the years 2002–2004.