The Watford Blue Movie Trial

Regulating rollers in 1970s Britain

Bibliographic Data

ID13086390
AuthorsOliver Carter (0000-0003-3223-1455, Birmingham City University, corresponding author)
Year2021
Volume9
Issue1
Pages82-100
Publication date2021-12-01
Peer ReviewedYes
Open AccessNo
TypeARTICLE
VenuePorn Studies (JOURNAL)
Journal identifiersISSN: 2326-8743 • E-ISSN: 2326-8751
PublisherTaylor & Francis (PUBLISHER • GB)
DOI10.1080/23268743.2021.1947881
OpenAlexW3213267167
LanguageEN
Citations received3
References cited27

This article uses the example of a forgotten obscenity case from 1974 to show the processes involved in the production and distribution of British hardcore pornographic 8-mm films, known in the trade as rollers. It also gives attention to the legal framework affecting pornography at this time, showing how the Director of Public Prosecutions, against a backdrop of increasing tabloid attention on the transnational pornography trade and corruption in the Metropolitan police, used the Obscene Publications Act 1959 in conjunction with other laws to increase the chances of a conviction. The article draws on the findings from a methodology that combines approaches from law with ethnohistory, using court records alongside media reportage. I suggest that such an approach can help further understanding of the legal frameworks for pornography, as well as revealing how the trade has been subject to regulation and control

Art · Censorship · Child pornography · Conviction · Criminology · Language change · Literature · Metropolitan area · Political science · Pornography · Sociology · Subject (documents · The Internet · Computer Science · Gender, Feminism, and Media · History · Law · Sex work and related issues · Sexuality, Behavior, and Technology

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