Celebrating The 50th Anniversary Of ‘Deep Throat’

In the summer of 1972, the first adult film to debut in mainstream theatrical cinema was Deep Throat. Five decades later, it is still a major piece of filmmaking in the industry because of its impact on pop culture, entertainment and society. It was one of the first feature-length films to include hard-core sex with an actual plot, character development, and production values. It pushed the limits of what a film is supposed to be and changed the industry. Without Deep Throat the conversation surrounding adult entertainment as an art form wouldn’t have existed.

A sexually frustrated woman asks her friend Helen for advice. After a sex party doesn’t provide any help, Helen recommends that Linda visit a doctor. The doctor notices that Linda’s clitoris is located in her throat. She then goes on to work as a therapist for the doctor and performs a particular technique of oral sex — also known as “deep throat” — on various men, until she finds the one to marry. Meanwhile, the doctor has sex with his nurse.

It is a film that changed the way many talked about sexuality. On top of that, it broke box office records in the 70s and remains one of the most profitable films of all time. All controversial films come with an angry mob surrounding it. There were Conservative Christian groups and Anti-Porn Feminists who banned together and tried to have it banned. It even became a high-profile case reaching all the way to the Supreme Court. Deep Throat made such an impact on the film industry and adult entertainment that it make Linda Lovelace a household name. The film and even Lovelace have been a massive part of popular culture, whether its through late-night monologues or feature films like Lovelace (2013) and Boogie Nights (1997), Deep Throat became a cultural phenomenon and a pillar for adult films.

To watch the full interview click here.

Amanda: How has your perception of the adult film industry changed from when Deep Throat was released?

Gerard Damiano Jr.: I think it, it bears noting that when our father started making movies and 1960s, there was no adult film industry. There was no such thing. He was an underground filmmaker. This was before independent films and the movement of independent films, anybody who was not working with the Hollywood system was considered to be an underground filmmaker. With the success of Deep Throat, the industry exploded and it’s changed even further in that now. It has moved from studios making content for people, to people making their own content. You know, all, all it takes is a someone willing, and a computer, and an internet connection. So that’s transformed the industry completely.

Amanda: Do you think the sexual expression in like movies and media would ever revert back to that kind of natural state or do you think we’re so far past that?

Robin Leonardi: I think we’re so far past it, that people there they’re not comfortable with who they are. They have to put on this persona. And once you cross that line, you can’t go back because there’s so much peer pressure with women and filters and fake everything that they just can’t be true. My wish is that we do go back to a time where there will be a Renaissance whereby women with wrinkles and just the life that they have lived on their face and on their body becomes something that we honor.

Here is the full interview between myself and Gerard Damiano Jr., Christar Damiano and Robin Leonardi.