Film confronts pornography addiction

OREM, Utah — \"What was I thinking?\"

That seems to be the question those addicted to pornography ask themselves at times.

The answer, according to Dr. Randy Hyde, a clinical psychologist, is \"You weren't thinking. You couldn't.\"

Hyde is one of the people interviewed in the documentary \"Pornography: Confronting the Addiction,\" which was screened Friday at the 8th Annual LDS Film Festival. The film was one of three short documentaries dealing with pornography.

The documentary featured other interviews with people who have overcome addictions to pornography, wives of recovered addicts and a former wife of an addict.  Those interviews were mixed with a bit of drama — actors portraying a couple facing the challenges of the husband's addiction.

Mark B. Kastleman, a recovered addict and author of \"The Drug of the New Millenium,\" says in the film that many people say, \"If you really wanted to get over this, you would.\" That's easier said than done, he says, because of the changes in the brain caused by the addiction. It's those changes that interfere with logical thinking.

Hyde says the saying, \"Once an addict, always an addict,\" doesn't hold true. \"What a bunch of garbage,\" he says.

Interviewees emphasize that people addicted to pornography need to tell somebody about their problem, because that's a starting point toward recovery. They also need to get the help they need by taking advantage of the resources that are available to addicts. Spouses affected by the addiction also have help available to them.

After the screening, Brandon Kowallis, who directed the 35-minute documentary, said his goal was to make a film that could be used as a counseling tool or a resource for individuals who are struggling with pornography. Kowallis made the film as his master's thesis in filmmaking from National University.

Kowallis said each addict he interviewed \"told the same story and experienced the same pattern of behavior.\" Yet each felt alone — and believed he was the only person experiencing the problem. Kowallis, who finished the film about a month ago, is looking for a distributor.

The two other films in the pornography series were \"The Lighted Candle Society\" and \"Virtue and Vice.\"

The 16-minute \"The Lighted Candle Society\" was directed by R. Lawrence Porter as a promotional video for the society, a nationwide community that is trying to eradicate pornography by suing its makers for addicting and damaging people.