Ambiguous Landscapes of the San Pornando Valley

The San Fernando Valley is renowned as the center of adult film production. While the industry accounts for a significant share of Valley employment, revenue, and land use, it remains virtually invisible on the physical landscape (although its webscape presence is overwhelming). Each phase of the industry’s history has been driven by technology: from the 1970s of the first studios in Van Nuys producing shot-on-film movies; through the 1980s and 1990s heyday of studios in Chatsworth utilizing VHS modes; to the more diffuse distribution of today’s digitally oriented production. The Valley has retained its dominance of the industry, though other locales in this and other countries are gaining ground; likewise, the industry’s labor force remains largely in place, though female talent is increasingly moving to more upscale southern California locations or even to other states. The industry has not functioned in isolation: from the beginning were talent agencies, which supplied the performers; warehousing and duplication facilities; retail outlets; adult toy manufacturing; and gentlemen’s clubs, where performers find employment before, during, and after their movie careers. Currently, adult movie production is becoming more global, as is consumption of adult entertainment.