Madison Young Brings 'Political As F**k' Film Fest to Oakland

OAKLAND, Calif.—Anyone who's been involved in the adult industry for more than about a week must have caught on to the fact that porn and politics are virtually inseparable—and not always for the benefit of porn. But plenty of adult creators have woven political messages into their productions, and director/performer/activist Madison Young is bringing a selection of political porn productions to Oakland's New Parkway Theater on Thursday evening, July 20, at 9 p.m. Though the show is only scheduled to run for 40 minutes, it promises to be one hell of a film fest. "Porn is a truly powerful cinematic medium," Young, the author of DIY Porn Handbook: A How-To Guide to Documenting Our Own Sexual Revolution  and curator of the "Political As F**k!" show, told SF Weekly. "It’s the only medium in which we graphically depict and document sex, and sex is highly stigmatized. Bodies are highly stigmatized, policed, and political, so inherently, porn is a very powerful artistic medium in which to work." While a full lineup of the films to be presented was not available at press time, the show will include at least James Darling's and Andre Shakti's The Spaces Between (Young: "It addresses some really important issues around racial tensions within a queer relationship."); Burka Barbie by Narcissister, whom Young described as "an absolutely brilliant artist, performance artist and video artist who is fearless in addressing really crucial topics of racism, sexuality, feminism, pornography"; and Make America Cum Again, a short film about a Donald Trump supporter who learns better, created by Young's students at her Erotic Film School. "Porn has the ability to document authentic sexual connection and provide a graphic modeling of consent, communication around sex and desire, and shift the way we think about bodies and sexual identity," Young stated. "Porn can assist in giving us language around how we can talk to our own partners about safer sex, our desires, our kinks, our fantasies, and it has the ability to really smash the stigma that surrounds sex and conversing about sex. All of this is perhaps more important now than ever." We couldn't have said it better ourselves. The New Parkway Theater is located at 474 24th Street, Oakland, CA 91642; a complete schedule for the incredibly eclectic theater can be found here, and tickets for the "Political As F**k" film festival can be purchased here. Pictured: A scene from Narcissister's Burka Barbie.