Editorial: Porn screenings at CMU just naughty fun

Movie night at Carnegie Mellon is about to get a hell of a lot sexier on April 26. Instead… Movie night at Carnegie Mellon is about to get a hell of a lot sexier on April 26. Instead of showing the latest comedy or action flick, participating CMU students will watch ‘The New Devil in Miss Jones’ — a hardcore porn film.

The student-run activities board at Carnegie Mellon University shows 48 films per semester, and in the past, the viewing of blockbusters like ‘WALL-E’ and ‘Iron Man’ drew sizeable crowds to the school’s McConomy Auditorium. While students are offered a range of movie genres, a porno is shown once per semester, according to the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette.

When the activities board showed ‘Pirates II: Stagnetti’s Revenge’ — the fairly mainstream, massively popular adult movie — attendance rates tied those of ‘The Dark Knight’ screening. Clearly, there appears little doubt of porn night’s popularity.

At first glance, some are bound to feel that something as lewd as pornography shouldn’t be exhibited at an educational institution. Perhaps such material is inconsistent with a learning environment.

But we shouldn’t forget, the activities board’s movie showings probably aim to provide its audience with one thing: entertainment. The board isn’t showing educational videos, it’s mostly showing movies we’d go and see in theaters to be, well, entertained.

Though adult films obviously intend to arouse viewers, CMU audiences have paid little heed to the sexual side of the content. In the past, the student audiences adopted a light-hearted, airy mentality reflecting the absurdity of the situation. It’s most likely that CMU students will take their seats on April 26 ready to jeer and laugh more than anything else.

While admission to other films put on by the board cost students $1, pornography showings don’t use student activity fees because the producers don’t charge for their screenings on campus. Because no university funds are involved, even if critics don’t agree with the content displayed, neither their money nor the university’s money is used to support these exhibitions.

While it seems the majority of students at CMU aren’t very agitated by the prospect of porn films, opponents can simply remain absent from the showings. And should a viewer find the film disagreeable, he can walk out without feeling ripped off.

Pornography’s presence is hardly confined in today’s world. It runs rampant on the Internet and cable TV stations. Even without adult film exhibitions at CMU, students’ — or anyone for that matter — access to pornography is but a click away.

Again, the real basis of going to the board’s adult film night revolves around entertainment value. Just as we laugh at oftentimes crass or politically incorrect jokes of a comedian, the ability to find humor in a ridiculous setting provides a similar joviality.

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