Orgasm Inc. is a fine and funny film about a subject that in 2011 shouldn't be shocking, but that still is. The shock factor, for me, was not in any explicit sex scenes, but in the revelation that after Kinsey and decades of feminism, not to mention South Park, too many women and men still have no idea how to find the clitoris! What should be shocking, but is intead business as usual, is how big pharma preys upon our desire for desire in order to pitch us more pills. Orgasm Inc. is playing in several cities this June - including Vancouver's Cinemateque. For details on upcoming screenings click here.
I went to to the film with friend and research associate Cindy Masaro when it was part of SFU's conference "The Medicalization of Sex". Then I caught up with director Liz Canner to do an interrview with her. We'll be posting clips of the interview as part of our Hello Cool World Vlog series. We'll also be talking to Cindy about her research and thoughts on the film. For more about the film, links to the trailer etc. read on...
Extraordinary behind-the-scenes access reveals a drug company's race to develop the first FDA-approved Viagra for women - and offers a humorous but sobering look inside America's cash-fueled pharmaceutical industry.
Directed and Produced by the award-winning filmmaker Liz Canner. Orgasm Inc. is her first feature-length project.
SOME BUZZ
"I Loved Orgasm Inc. It's a great combination of educational, entertaining and angering — perfect" - Gloria Steinem
"Liz Canner ended up making a shocking but hilarious film, Orgasm Inc, which is causing a storm in America as it sets out to expose the drug companies and doctors who are now locked in a race to produce a 'female Viagra' - a treatment that promises women a super-charged sex life in a pill." -London Daily Mail
"[Orgasm Inc.] is a desperately needed antidote to all the hype generated by pharmaceutical companies pursuing their holy grail: a female Viagra." -Newsweek
"A sexy feature-length indictment of big pharma that gives a lot of great laughs." -The Toronto Star
"An extraordinary, revelatory documentary about female desire and the pharmaceutical industry" -The Times (UK)
"Director and producer Canner took a serious, but sometimes comical look at the medicalization of women's sexuality -- from the invention of the Dr. Stuart Meloy's " orgasmatron" for on-demand climax to cosmetic vaginal reconstruction -- all in the name of some new kind of normalcy." -ABC News
"a jewel of a documentary " -The Observer (UK)
"Buzzworthy." -Variety
"Orgasm Inc. is one of the best documentaries on both sex and the medical field ever, witty, clever, informative and timely." -Lisa Derrick, Firedoglake.com
"Orgasm Inc. is a terrific new documentary that delves into designer vaginas and other true life tales of the commodification of women’s pleasure centers. " -JoAnn Wypijewski, The Nation Magazine
"TV Tonight: Five Worth Watching " -The Toronto Star
"Orgasm Inc. hits female erogenous zones that pharmaceutical fixes can't find: your brain and your funny bone. " -Terry Allen, In These Times
"Maintaining a playful tone, Canner's film nevertheless serves as an indictment of greed at the expense of women who have too long been kept in the dark about their own bodies and sexuality." -IndieWire
"Orgasm Inc., a biting new documentary, gives a behind-the-scenes look at the race to develop drugs, devices, and surgery to treat female sexual problems." -Vogue
"Named one of 2009's Noteworthy Documentaries" -Dox Magazine, European Documentary Network
"Named one of "Spring 2009’s Don’t Miss Documentaries" -Rabble.Ca
"Required viewing for anyone with genitals, of either denomination." -Tederick.com
"Definitely arousing." -City News, Toronto
"Illuminating" -New York Magazine
"Orgasm Inc., a film on female sexual dysfunction (FSD) by veteran documentarian Liz Canner, is heartbreaking in a way that no Hollywood romance could ever be." -More Magazine
Katherine Dodds AKA "Kat" is the founder of Good Company Communications and HelloCoolWorld.com. Trained in renegade advertising & branding through her work with Adbusters in the '90s, Kat's early induction into the possibilities of the web-world was inspired by the term hypertext, which she immediately found comforting. She is dedicated to cause-related communication and to the development and use of tools that promote democratic processes.
Katherine Dodds AKA "Kat" is the founder of Good Company Communications and HelloCoolWorld.com. Trained in renegade advertising & branding through her work with Adbusters in the '90s, Kat's early induction into the possibilities of the web-world was inspired by the term hypertext, which she immediately found comforting. She is dedicated to cause-related communication and to the development and use of tools that promote democratic processes.
