A misleading title and description. I thought we would get a deep dive into the lives of performers, behind the scenes and interesting facts. Instead I got an absolute snooze fest. The majority of this documentary was spent complaining about legal battles, hurdles and legislation that changes the rules. I was not interested in the slightest. I found myself saying so what? What value do I get from watching this? Clearly there is no value for a mass audience. The only audience that might enjoy this are performers in a similar situation. Otherwise it falls flat. The doco should have been called 'Legal battles with PH' and the description clearly saying it documents the legal hurdles performers go through to upload their content. This title was deceitful. Not a good production Netflix, disappointing.
12 Reviews
A Solid Movie
batmanfannnnn18 March 2023
Warning: Spoilers
The best way that I can describe the website that this film is talking about is that the it;s the Adult version of Youtube. With this film dealing with such a mature website it's hard to believe that this film is up on Netflix and not only that is made with a quite clear love and respect for the work that these performers do.
This is something that we need to see more of and this film does it in such a great by giving us both sides of a story that deals with dark and disturbing subject matter all the while not really presenting either side as right or wrong apart from some really obvious stories.
This is something that we need to see more of and this film does it in such a great by giving us both sides of a story that deals with dark and disturbing subject matter all the while not really presenting either side as right or wrong apart from some really obvious stories.
Disappointing Both Sides-ism
atleverton10 June 2023
This documentary is ultimately disappointing. It doesn't do a good job of explaining the rise of Pornhub as a social phenomenon. It is also afflicted with a severe case of both side ism. What I mean by that is that it gives equal time both to the supporters and detractors of the company. And this has been, a surprisingly dangerous phenomenon in modern journalism. It suggests that if you take one extreme position and contrast it with another extreme position, the result is the truth. But in this case, it clearly can't be so. Either Pornhub did nothing wrong and their users abused the system, or Pornhub did in fact violate laws and help in the exploitation of minors. I think you can find better examinations of the Pornhub phenomenon both its advantages, and it's dangerous than this. For example, there's a great podcast series by John Ronson called the Butterfly Effect.
Too prude for a documentary
kyordhel25 March 2023
Straight from the title and before reading any reviews you'd think this is a documentary on the site we all know (it is advertised in the title) from beginning to end. Well... it is not. It focuses a LOT (and I mean a bloody lot) on the latest ordeal to the point it is over 75% of the whole documentary. To the tech geeks like myself, there is not a single reference to the tons of features that were innovated here and then taken by everyone else. There are also no devs interviewed. It focuses a lot more on the other thing... and not what you'd be looking for should you enter the site, but rather the other nasty stuff that came as collateral.
I'd be lying if I said that the documentary does not present the 2 sides of the coin, it does, but one gets far more screen time than the other. The other problem is the perspective. It is not a coin with two sides, but more of a dice where society and law enforcement play a HUGE role, yet the documentary has a strong bias against the object of study from a moral high ground that should be unacceptable in a documentary.
If you already have a strong mindset against the adult entertainment industry or THAT company in particular, you'll grant this production 10/10 stars. Same as if you consider such activities as sinful or morally unacceptable. To the rest, be warned: nobody is innocent here, reality is much darker than it is presented in this "documentary".
I'd be lying if I said that the documentary does not present the 2 sides of the coin, it does, but one gets far more screen time than the other. The other problem is the perspective. It is not a coin with two sides, but more of a dice where society and law enforcement play a HUGE role, yet the documentary has a strong bias against the object of study from a moral high ground that should be unacceptable in a documentary.
If you already have a strong mindset against the adult entertainment industry or THAT company in particular, you'll grant this production 10/10 stars. Same as if you consider such activities as sinful or morally unacceptable. To the rest, be warned: nobody is innocent here, reality is much darker than it is presented in this "documentary".
Eggs sell
kosmasp18 March 2023
No pun intended - and obviously I am not talking about eggs, but something else (no literal or figurative speaking eggs - though some might argue that ... but let's leave this aside). The reason I chose that word was it is close to the actual word, but is not offensive - of course if you are offended by the word that some call "love making" ... you may be on the wrong imdb site and at the wrong movie for you ... well in this case not for you.
Now, since I watched this before anyone was able to write anything about it, I was not aware what this would be about. And I thought it would just be about that ... well site that has a large collection of videos and how it came about - come on, get your mind out the gutter. Although leave it there - not that the documentary is about to entice you and get you ... places you may imagine. For that visit the site or similar sites.
Now I was wrong with what I was thinking - yes the documentary does tell us how the site started out and what it became. But it does have a deep ... deep focus on the latest controversy. The one that made the site delete a lot of videos. That still does not go far enough for some. They really are quite hard on ... well the site and everyone responsible for the content.
Now we do get both sides - and the question of morality and which side you are on will probably inform how you will view certain things that are being said. It is quite difficult to draw a line - to tell who is right and who is wrong. This is not a a chicken or egg thing - which lets me circle back to my summary line - none the wiser. Though maybe a bit hot and bothered ... and with this pun, I'll come ... to the end.
Now, since I watched this before anyone was able to write anything about it, I was not aware what this would be about. And I thought it would just be about that ... well site that has a large collection of videos and how it came about - come on, get your mind out the gutter. Although leave it there - not that the documentary is about to entice you and get you ... places you may imagine. For that visit the site or similar sites.
Now I was wrong with what I was thinking - yes the documentary does tell us how the site started out and what it became. But it does have a deep ... deep focus on the latest controversy. The one that made the site delete a lot of videos. That still does not go far enough for some. They really are quite hard on ... well the site and everyone responsible for the content.
Now we do get both sides - and the question of morality and which side you are on will probably inform how you will view certain things that are being said. It is quite difficult to draw a line - to tell who is right and who is wrong. This is not a a chicken or egg thing - which lets me circle back to my summary line - none the wiser. Though maybe a bit hot and bothered ... and with this pun, I'll come ... to the end.
Do not use the name of the documentary as a vulgarity
Farzad-Doosti1 April 2023
You can hardly call this a Documentary! From the beginning, the narrators attack those who protest against Porn Hub and by stigmatizing them, they want to insinuate that they are the bad characters of the story.
In the following, they want to convey to the viewer that, firstly, the number of these incidents in this case is small, and secondly, that the company has always been cautious and is attentive to all matters, and with a summary, it says that since these are the minority, the company should continue its procedure, Because of the number of models they work for, they need to be paid.....
The point to think about is that the models (sex workers) are dependent on this platform, which does not really matter what is happening behind the scenes of this company (not all of them, but from what we saw in this video, we can say that the majority of them have the same mentality).
In the end, this is my opinion; This was a promotional video to show PornHub as oppressed (from showing unnecessary questions in the committee of managers or images of burning the CEO's house, which I strongly condemn), this video was not against the PornHub platform, it was just cautious about what In the last two or three years, it took a look and a little compassion for Porn Hub!
In the following, they want to convey to the viewer that, firstly, the number of these incidents in this case is small, and secondly, that the company has always been cautious and is attentive to all matters, and with a summary, it says that since these are the minority, the company should continue its procedure, Because of the number of models they work for, they need to be paid.....
The point to think about is that the models (sex workers) are dependent on this platform, which does not really matter what is happening behind the scenes of this company (not all of them, but from what we saw in this video, we can say that the majority of them have the same mentality).
In the end, this is my opinion; This was a promotional video to show PornHub as oppressed (from showing unnecessary questions in the committee of managers or images of burning the CEO's house, which I strongly condemn), this video was not against the PornHub platform, it was just cautious about what In the last two or three years, it took a look and a little compassion for Porn Hub!
My Review
adevet-6384111 December 2023
This documentary explores the op-ed article that appeared in the Times about SA en CSAM at Pornhub. In doing this, it adds very little, if anything, to the procedings. We get some faces and voices with the article and a bit of extra background but essentially nothing new or groundbreaking. So on that subject the documentary does not go beyond skin-deep, which is fitting.
The added value then, compared to the Times article, is the opinion on the breadth of the industry by the actor and actresses themselves. The difficulty they have monetizing their product, the uncertainty of it al. It's a shame that the lead-in to this actual 'new' material takes most all of the runtime, so it all ends rather too soon and no real resolution or realisation is gained.
For those thinking to watch this for the nekkid ladies: Please don't bother. The whole thing features 3 pairs of naked breasts (6 boobs, if you will) and nothing much more else. So unless your fetish is 'off screen moaning': You'll have to get your rocks off elsewhere.
All in all: Fine concept, subject matter warrants the attention, but the documentary just skims the surface and sits on the Netflix lineup just to draw in people, I fear. Skippable, unless you missed the Times article "The Children of Pornhub" or want to avoid reading it.
The added value then, compared to the Times article, is the opinion on the breadth of the industry by the actor and actresses themselves. The difficulty they have monetizing their product, the uncertainty of it al. It's a shame that the lead-in to this actual 'new' material takes most all of the runtime, so it all ends rather too soon and no real resolution or realisation is gained.
For those thinking to watch this for the nekkid ladies: Please don't bother. The whole thing features 3 pairs of naked breasts (6 boobs, if you will) and nothing much more else. So unless your fetish is 'off screen moaning': You'll have to get your rocks off elsewhere.
All in all: Fine concept, subject matter warrants the attention, but the documentary just skims the surface and sits on the Netflix lineup just to draw in people, I fear. Skippable, unless you missed the Times article "The Children of Pornhub" or want to avoid reading it.
Not overly interesting
bgar-8093219 March 2024
Warning: Spoilers
The beginning where it explained why pornhub changed the way people could put content on it's site was semi-interesting. People were getting away with basically putting rape, revenge porn, or underage content which obviously needed to be addressed. They did but made it a little harder for porn actors/actresses to make money on their own content. That in itself doesn't really matter to me. To some people it does I'm sure. Somehow this was a whole topic about porn yet it was uninteresting. Not sure how you do that but they did. It wasn't horrible I guess but I wouldn't recommend it and I only finished it because I usually do.
Good explanations, engaging, but not perfect
marayabidjerano20 June 2023
I found this to be a very good explanation of everything that went down with PornHub, along with OnlyFans towards the end. Overall though, this documentary isn't necessarily just about Pornhub - it's a modern view of the porn industry told by people who are on very opposite sides of the spectrum. What it lacked was that middle-ground perspective, but in that way, it does give space for the viewer to think critically about the points and form their own opinion. What it truly needed was some fact-checking from producers or some narrator, because my research after seeing this showed that some of things said by a few interviewees weren't exactly true. But still - I thoroughly enjoyed this. It's not meant to be watched casually while you're doing laundry, it's a really good opportunity to think about it thoughtfully.
A Well-Rounded Documentary
prestonm199322 March 2023
Warning: Spoilers
This film shows the good and the bad of websites such as p0rn hub. The freedom it allowed of adult performers to break into the industry, and the unfortunate freedom of unverified users victimizing innocent people who did not want to be a part of it.
You learn of the understaffed moderation department and the unrealistic quota they are required to make. Both sides of the legal arguments on what Mind Geek (P0rn Hub's parent company) has been up to and the anti p0rnography movement TraffickingHub.
This documentary makes it a point to get BOTH sides of this debate, and perspectives of the people who suffer from the poor public image this web site and others like it.
Most importantly it includes the perspectives of both male and female adult performers, who are all caught in the middle of and suffer because of this debate.
You learn of the understaffed moderation department and the unrealistic quota they are required to make. Both sides of the legal arguments on what Mind Geek (P0rn Hub's parent company) has been up to and the anti p0rnography movement TraffickingHub.
This documentary makes it a point to get BOTH sides of this debate, and perspectives of the people who suffer from the poor public image this web site and others like it.
Most importantly it includes the perspectives of both male and female adult performers, who are all caught in the middle of and suffer because of this debate.
Very enlightening
embrague24 March 2023
We all know what pornography is...or do we? The porn industry is not just boobs and butts. The actual industry is far more nuanced than that. Pornhub was able to capitalize on the selling of content via the Internet, but like a lot of companies, it forgot who was making the content and why. It allowed non-consensual content from non-performers who were not able to profit from their exposure (and likely had no intention of ever being on its' platform). All the while, actual performers were directly affected and their opinion meant very little to the company or to the religious zealots who sought to bring down the company. Again, someone forgot about who was being shown on the platform and why.
An extremely revealing documentary
maevekundst27 March 2023
One of the only documentaries to show a balanced view of what happened with pornhub. I hadn't realised the widespread implications of their actions and the ripple effect it has had across the broader internet. Zooming out, these effects are truly terrifying when considering the current and developing legal and political environment.
While the documentary was successful in illustrating Pornhub as a company, I do wish that this was a short series. Having read so much about Pornhub's story, and those surrounding it's scandals, like Exodus Cry and NCOSE (previously Morality in Media), there's a lot which wasn't covered which would have completed the picture. Hopefully Netflix consider this going forward.
While the documentary was successful in illustrating Pornhub as a company, I do wish that this was a short series. Having read so much about Pornhub's story, and those surrounding it's scandals, like Exodus Cry and NCOSE (previously Morality in Media), there's a lot which wasn't covered which would have completed the picture. Hopefully Netflix consider this going forward.
See also
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