Provo film calls porn epidemic

Filmmakers, legislators decry dangers of industry

Published: Friday, Feb. 16, 2007 12:35 a.m. MST
 |  E-MAIL | PRINT | FONT + - 
PROVO — The first time Shelley Lubben walked into a porn studio, she said she felt a sense of evil wash over her.

"You could just feel this darkness," the ex-porn star said. "I remember I wanted to back out of it."

Lubben, who said she was sexually molested as a 9-year-old, turned to prostitution in her late teens to support herself. Three pregnancies and two miscarriages later, she entered the adult entertainment industry and soon sunk deeper into drug and alcohol addictions and contracted herpes.

"I turned my human spirit off and just became this zombie named Roxy," said Lubben in a new anti-pornography docu- mentary "Traffic Control."

The documentary, produced by Provo film company Living Biography, details the rampant increase in Internet pornography today, as well as the fight to stop it.

The film's release coincided with the Utah House of Representatives' decision on Jan. 30 to pass a resolution urging the U.S. Congress to curb Internet pornography. The bill passed unanimously in both the House and Senate and will encourage federal lawmakers to limit the accessibility of pornography for children and employees.

Story continues below

Access to pornography is a major issue for modern society, said Rep. Bradley Daw, R-Orem, the bill's sponsor.

"I can't tell you how many stories I've heard, how many lives I've seen destroyed (by pornography)," he said. "This is an absolute scourge on our society."

Utah's attempt will help push the anti-pornography cause forward, said Ralph Yarro, founder of CP80 Foundation, a Utah-based nonprofit that worked in conjunction with Living Biography to create "Traffic Control."

As for the Utah bill, "it will be the shot heard around the world," Yarro said. "Utah is standing up and saying, 'Porn is a problem."'

Utah is one of seven states attempting to pass resolutions to stop the prevalence of porn on the Internet.

"The most significant next to ours is Oregon's," said Yarro at a recent screening of the documentary.

The bill, if passed, would declare pornography a "public health emergency," he said.

"Traffic Control" reveals story after story of lives affected by pornography, from teenagers on the streets of major American cities to business owners.

The film examines various aspects of the adult-entertainment industry, which brings in more than $12 billion a year, according to estimates made by the Free Speech Coalition, the voice of the porn industry.

Teens interviewed in the film tell stories of their consumption of pornography — from viewing to acting out themselves.

"I know a couple people making porn," said a high school junior in an interview. "They're 14 or 15 (years old) probably."

Comments

You can be the first to comment on this story.

Image
Jason Olson, Deseret Morning News

Melanie Hall, left, and former porn star Shelley Lubben talk before a screening of "Traffic Control" in Provo.

previousnext

Latest comments

Blazers get the unbalanced trade they seek while not signing Millsap away...

Ricky Bobby - THE JAZZ DO NOT WANT TO TAKE BACK EQUAL SALARIES. They want to...

Owls need holes for nest

Despite the fact that logging has all but stopped in the pacific northwest...

My understanding of what FAIR is trying to do, is to provide well thought out...

Jazz will resign Milsap. If they don't it will be ahuge mistake. First off,...

Stadium of Fire flag burning was fake

I was waiting for it to be burned on the big metal structure right by the...

Hey Ute fan... the Utes had a good season. And keep throwing that BCS bowl...

Tyrus Thomas is in the last year of his contract too so what is the point for...

CougarKeith, people don't know how to properly retire the flag, what they did...

It is just talk but since it was brought up: IF we can get Prizbilla &...

Advertisements