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Article and Photo by Rob Brownrage
It’s a beautiful spring evening in a pleasant neighbourhood just off Main Street. Inside a typical old East Van house, fifteen people fill the living room, seated in an assortment of second–hand couches and chairs. A 16mm film projector whirs into action, and an old home–movie screen lights up with a film title: Hot Rackets starring Candida Royale. This month’s meeting of the Royal Vancouver Pornographic Society (R.V.P.S.) has begun. The grand tradition of society groups dates back to 1660, when Sir Robert Doyle and other famous thinkers founded the Royal Society in Britain to further the pursuit of science. Since then, countless societies have formed, focused on geography, literature and everything in between. Porn still remains on the outer fringes of polite society, but the R.V.P.S. is bringing porn out of the cultural closet. Upon first hearing of the R.V.P.S., one might picture a group of horny, middle–aged men watching porn in private, and then meeting to discuss it like some creepy book club. Instead, it’s a diverse group of everyday people who make watching porn a tongue–in–cheek social event. The purpose is not arousal, but—as the group puts it—fun. Even more surprising: the person behind the R.V.P.S. is a woman. “Attention everyone. I hereby call this meeting of the Royal Pornographic Society to order.” Twenty–eight year old Robyn Volk presides over the meeting. She wears a dark suit, signifying tonight’s importance. Her trademark fanny pack is, as always, around her waist. Thick blonde curls flow down over a silver beauty pageant style sash with the word “President” in bold red letters. This reminds everyone that Robyn is founder and president of the R.V.P.S. R.V.P.S. meetings are held once a month in Robyn’s home, which she has nicknamed The Manor. The night begins like any other social event, with a mixed crowd gathering at the house: men, women, gays, straights, professionals, artists and students, most in their twenties and thirties. Cookies and tea are served; people mingle and chat. Then the official meeting begins, as Robyn reads last month’s minutes and discusses new business such as upcoming events. Finally it’s time for the main event: watching porn. The film shown tonight is not some modern, no–plot sex video, it’s a vintage 16mm film from the 1970s, and it’s given a comical introduction by R.V.P.S. Secretary Sean Q. Lang. This cheesy film, with its awkward dialogue and bizarre storyline (about a posh tennis club where the term “grand–slam” gets a new meaning), is perfect fare for the raucous heckling that ensues. Attendees call out during the film, making jokes and hilarious critiques. With its cookies and tea, meeting agendas, and official titles such as “founder and president,” the R.V.P.S. makes many ironic nods to the traditions of royal societies. As “secretary” Sean charismatically states, that’s exactly the point. “The whole reason for having a formal porn club was simply the ludicrousness of taking pornography and having an interest group,” explains Sean, a thirty–something filmmaker. “You think of interest groups as organized committees with political objectives. So what more of a ridiculous organization could there be than a society dedicated to the watching of porn?” The humour and irony of the R.V.P.S. is demonstrated by the e–mails promoting their events. A recent invite reads: By personal request of Robyn Volk, serving president of the Royal Vancouver Pornographic Society, we are pleased to present a small historical sampling of gay male pornography. We will view clips from a selection of films, discuss the genre with our panel of esteemed researchers, and of course have tea and cookies. Ah, the history of smut is one of the few things as entertaining as smut itself, so join us—won’t you? If you do join the R.V.P.S., expect a highly organized affair. “Each meeting has a focused theme, so everything we show or talk about relates directly to that,” explains Robyn. Past themes have included the gang–bang, cartoon porn, a focus on a director or star, and anti–porn vs. pro–porn propaganda. Tonight’s theme is hooked–on–the–classics, and the vintage 70s film is shown in its, er, full length. According to Robyn, the focus on 16mm films from the 1960s and 1970s is no accident. “I think the new stuff is boring. There’s so much bad new porn out there. I like a little bit of plot. Plus with the old stuff you have the kitsch factor of interesting outfits and old furniture!” But the R.V.P.S. is not just about watching porn at The Manor; special outings are organized as well. Thus far, they have ventured to the Penthouse for amateur strip night, and have twice paid visits to the Pacific Cinematheque to watch art–porn. The most illustrious outing they have planned is an event they tested at The Manor. “Pornaoke,” explains Sean, “is a cross between karaoke and old porn movies. The film is shown silently, and people volunteer to improvise the words and sounds of the red–hot performances. In true porno style, the scenes range from awkward living–room drama to full–throttle action—often in a matter of mere seconds.” Always the intrepid trailblazer, Sean proudly boasts, “When we take it out to a bar or a club, we’ll have a DJ spinning music for each scene. We’re gonna go international with this. I think the interest is there.” The question remains, how did a nice girl like Robyn end up president of the R.V.P.S.? “Sean has a friend, Dimitrios Otis, who is our Archivist. He bought the entire collection of the Venus Theatre’s 16mm films,” Robyn begins. Sean jumps in, adding, “They had been sitting rotting in a guy’s damp garage for five or ten years since the Venus switched to video. Dimitrios felt he had to save them, otherwise they’d end up in the trash.” Robyn continues, “We talked about how we’d like to watch the films, and I suggested we start a porn club, because I ran one when I was in college in Red Deer, Alberta. Once a week we got together to either watch porn or see strippers. Anyway, Dimitrios got these films so we started the R.V.P.S.” But does Robyn think it is significant that she, a woman, is the leader of the R.V.P.S.? “I think it’s very important. I am the founder and president because in the end, what I say goes. I wear the sash. I tell Sean, the secretary, what to do and he does it. Besides, if Sean were President it would be badly run,” she quips. In a more serious tone, she adds, “When I tell other girls that I’m the president, they’re less threatened, definitely. Girls like to watch porn too, and when they hear how we do it they want to check it out.” This view is echoed by R.V.P.S. regular Cecile Neff, a 29 year old from France who’s in Vancouver working in animation. “I went to the porn club because I knew it wouldn’t be sleazy. It’s more of a fun time. It’s great to have Robyn as President because she makes the girls feel comfortable—and the guys too. It’s usually 50/50 guys and girls, and she puts everyone at ease. It’s great to have another approach to pornography, something that’s not taboo. It’s a bit liberating as a woman to have this.” As tonight’s screening of Hot Rackets wraps up, I ask Robyn the classic question: what’s her response to critics who would say the R.V.P.S. is contributing to the exploitation of women? Well, it is clearly a non–issue for her. Without the slightest hesitation or concern, she replies, “Even my own mother knows about the R.V.P.S. She not only knows, but also approves and sometimes sends cookies—she’s a very good baker. You see, there’s too many good cookies and tasty teas served for it to be wrong.” With that, she returns to her duties as founder and president of the R.V.P.S., seeing tonight’s guests out the door after a night of good, dirty fun. To contact the Royal Vancouver Porn Society, email them with your internet device at pornclub@telus.net
Robyn Volk, president of the Royal Vancouver Porn Society, prefers vintage porn to the "repetitive and ugly" modern version. Photo-Dan Toulgoet
Society thrives on porn From The Vancouver Courier By Cheryl Rossi-Staff writer On a warm spring evening in an East Side house, a group of people in their 20s and 30s prepare for a meeting. Steaming teapots, mismatched cups, strawberries and homemade lemon-lime squares deck the coffee table. At 8:30 p.m., Robyn Volk, identifiable by her beauty-queen-style sash, calls the meeting to order: the proceedings of the Royal Vancouver Porn Society have begun. Minutes are reviewed and new business is discussed. Then it's down to tonight's activity: watching spoof porn films. Formed two years ago, the society meets once a month to watch and discuss pornography. But according to Volk, the three women and 10 men who've shown up for the meeting are not part of the usual porn-theatre trenchcoat crowd. "There's no creepiness because it's not sexual," says Volk, a 29-year-old theatre worker. "I see it as a social club. It's like bridge." Past meetings have focused on gay porn, cartoon porn, celebrity porn crossovers, the work of director Gregory Dark, who also directed a Britney Spears video, and pornaoke, where members turn the sound down on films and fill in the dialogue on their own. The society has also attended an amateur stripper night at the Penthouse and art porn screenings at Pacific Cinematheque. "Porn isn't a bad thing, used responsibly," says Volk. "I like to share the porn experiences... We can all appreciate it together." Tonight the videos for view are what member Robin Bougie, a journalist who publishes Cinema Sewer, an indie magazine about porn and cult films, calls "spoof porn," or porn films popular in the '80s that were takeoffs of Hollywood films. Most bear little resemblance to their Hollywood originals other than in name and box design. The first video is a take on the Johnny Depp movie Edward Scissorhands. Instead of scissors, Edward is equipped with hands that look like large turkey-drumsticks. "Is anyone aroused yet?" calls out one society member as ridiculous scenes like Edward trying to eat pasta with his instruments ensue. Many of the group work in film and Volk works in theatre, so much of their attention and comments are about lighting, effects and dialogue. During intermission, photos of the first meetings at the end of 2003, a booklet entitled "How to Make Love," and Mexican porn comics are circulated. A film called National Lamporn's Frat House is projected amidst critiques of the music, close-ups and Volk wondering if waterbeds continue to be manufactured. Volk and the society's secretary, Sean Q. Lang, started the club after their friend Dimitrios Otis purchased 200, mostly 16mm porn flicks from the owner of the Venus Theatre on Main Street. "I guess we could have a film society," Volk says, "but we don't have a friend with, like, 250 old films. He's got porn films. If Sean had said, 'Oh Dimitrios has got all these old films,' yeah, sure we'd watch those if they were just old [conventional] films. It's kind of just what happened." Lang insisted on "royal" being part of the society's name. Volk doesn't support the moniker. "First of all there's no queen. I'm the president. There's no king, there's no royalty. I'm wearing a sash, not a crown. I made [the sash] especially. I made it myself so that people would know who is the president. We get a lot of new members, so there's no confusion about who is in charge." Volk is intrigued by porn from the '60s and '70s. "I don't like to watch the new stuff. I find it very boring and depressing and disgusting because it's repetitive and ugly. I mean there's nothing interesting to look at. "At least with the stuff you're watching from the '80s it's like, 'Look at that hair! Look at those clothes! Oh my god, that guy's got so much jewelry on,'" she says. "Production values were a little higher and now, because it's just video or it's digital, there's not enough attention to props or costumes or lighting. These are the things I notice." |
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