Pirate porn movie sparks campus debates

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By Dave Larsen, Staff Writer 4:40 PM Sunday, April 12, 2009

DAYTON — The screening of a hardcore pornographic film is raising eyebrows and debate on the nation’s college campuses.

The University of Maryland canceled a student union screening this month of “Pirates II: Stagnetti’s Revenge” after state legislators threatened to cut funding to the institution if the movie was shown.

The XXX-rated film is a $10 million homage to Disney’s “Pirates of the Caribbean” trilogy, complete with computer-animated skeleton pirates. In recent months, “Pirates II” has screened with administrative approval at colleges that include the University of California at Los Angeles, Northwestern University and Carnegie Mellon University.

“There have been no schools in Ohio that have shown the movie as of yet, and we don’t have any definitive schools that are scheduled within the next couple of months,” said Christopher Ruth, spokesman for Digital Playground, the California-based porn studio that produced “Pirates II.”

The film is being offered free to colleges as entertainment, but also has an education opportunity.

“Just showing the film is enough to get people talking both for and against adult entertainment, and people with opposing views on sexuality to engage each other in an academic-related discussion,” Ruth said.

The director and stars of the film answered critical questions about the porn industry at UCLA. An April 2 screening at the University of California at Davis featured a lecture about porn as an institution.

“Any opportunity for learning and to deliberate around issues is important for higher education,” said Sean Creighton, executive director of the Southwestern Ohio Council for Higher Education.

SOCHE will host a legal issues conference in May at Wright State University, addressing when university policy collides with student organization expression.

“When there’s debate on a university, we always support an educational opportunity as a result,” Creighton said.

Contact this reporter at (937) 225-2419 or dlarsen@DaytonDailyNews.com.

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