Hustler in the canon’s shadow

Let us consider Larry Flynt. Part invalid, part eccentric hillbilly, part founder and operator of hardcore porn magazine Hustler.

Flynt’s graphic (and often political) depictions of everyday human life transformed into sexual acts has earned him one of the longest lists of personal enemies in the country, ranging from liberal feminists to evangelical conservatives alike.

From its origination, the magazine has sparked controversy for its explicit features on all bodily functions, sexual political satire and the fact that each month’s issue is sent to each member of Congress free of charge.

All this has earned the magazine a social position of complete revile, with many people thinking it is one of the most disgusting publications in contemporary media.

What is rarely taken into account, however, is that regardless of one’s opinion of the publication, one only has to look through Flynt’s legal proceedings surrounding the magazine to discover he has done a tremendous amount of work for the First Amendment and for fueling the idea of the artist’s position in the world as one of the provoker.

Flynt, in essence, promotes the idea that humans need to acknowledge their darkest places, and it is the artist’s role, in whatever capacity, to raise that awareness.

Flynt’s legal troubles are many, but perhaps the most frequently cited example is the U.S. Supreme Court case, Hustler Magazine, Inc. v. Falwell, in which Protestant minister Jerry Falwell sued Flynt over a satirical photo used in the magazine regarding Falwell’s sex life.

The Supreme Court eventually sided in Flynt’s favor on the grounds that one could not be inflicted with emotional distress based on parodies. In doing so, the Supreme Court decided, however distasteful, that satire, a form of expression aimed at sarcastically revealing societal truths, was above claims of libel or slander.

What this suggests is an understanding that the First Amendment is not just a protection of expressing beliefs, but also gives the right to use that freedom of speech to point out the incongruities between belief and behavior in our society.

What we observe as obvious falsehoods and hypocrisies would go unchecked if it weren’t for the artist satirizing, smearing and bringing people off their pedestals and back to the human world we all share.

However uncomfortable and unpleasant the subject matter of such a cause might be, it is important to not immediately overlook such material as garbage. Sex, politics and even human excrement are a big part of our lives, and the constant struggle to clean it up, sweep it under the rug and hide our human forms and flaws in the public sphere are only hurting us as a society.

Just as the artist is responsible for highlighting all the beauties of our existence, so too is it the artist’s call to point out our opposites.