PORN REVIEW: "Taking the Blame"

As promised, here is my first review of material available from Pandora Blake's spanking porn website. The review is mostly safe for work, since the video doesn't involve sex, it's "pure punishment" in that sense, and because there were some interesting musings on gender roles and BDSM that came up as I thought about the video. Without further ado, here's the review (hey, that rhymed!):

Taking the Blame (11'37")

Starring:

• Jimmy Holloway
• Pandora Blake
• Zoe Montana

Available from Dreams of Spanking

At just over ten minutes long, this scene feels like it has more in it than you might expect. There's some classic "show, don't tell" plotting/backstory set-up (about the only thing we're told outright is what the misdeed is for which Zoe is punishing Pandora and Jimmy), and the story/punishment arc is also sketched out deftly in the short timeframe. It feels longer than it is, in a good way!

The title of the piece reflects that initially Jimmy confesses to the misdeed, despite his girlfriend (played by Pandora) having been responsible. Zoe plays Jimmy's strict aunt who thinks that both the misdeed AND the lie need to be punished; Pandora tried to save Jimmy's backside by confessing herself, a gambit that (of course) proves futile.

Enough plot! On with the spanking...

First, I have to compliment Zoe Montana on her technique and arm strength. That's some really nice spanking I saw in that video - great rhythm, timing, impact, and "oomph". Seriously, both she scores a 10 for me on both style and technical merit: that's what a spanking should look and sound like.

As noted above, emotions and reactions are a big part of my kink as a top, and speaking from that perspective it is plain to see that Pandora knows how to sell it to her audience. I'm not meaning to imply that she is faking her reactions, because I think they are genuine. But she clearly knows how to make her genuine reactions obvious to the camera and microphone, which means that the sadist spanking fan gets to see just how much she's feeling each blow.

This video is apparently Jimmy Holloway's first for the site and he lacks the expertise that Pandora shows. Nevertheless, he is a very expressive bottom and the viewer gets a lot from him to tell the story as well as the impact of the spanking he receives.

From the point of view of my masochistic side, this didn't quite engage me at first: maybe it was Pandora's fabulous acting, and maybe it was my envy of Zoe's spanking arm, but initially I identified myself more with Zoe than either of the bottoms in the scene. (I would have loved to spank either of them myself!) The point at which that changed was when the punishment changed from over-the-knee spanking to bent-at-the-waist tawse. Both Pandora and Jimmy were now bent over, presenting their bottoms for Zoe with her tawse. Jimmy, being nearest the camera, we could also see his inverted face more clearly.

As the first strike of the tawse found its mark on his backside, I felt myself imagining being in his position. A couple of blows later, I was feeling it with him (or imagining it - I really have not had anything like the amount of masochist play I would like, so I lack the experience to know what it feels like). I'm not sure what produced that shift in perspective for me, but I think it was a combination of being better able to see his reaction and also being better able to see the blow land, so that it felt "sharper" and I could lock onto it more emotionally.

An interesting theme, and I gather it's something Pandora likes to work with in her male-sub scenes (it's also involved in "Non-VIolent Resistance", for example - I'll be interested to find out as I continue tis project whether it's common to all the scenes) is the way that masculinity tropes are introduced. Jimmy's role is described in the introduction text as "gallant", and as involving "honour" in the tags applied to it. In the dialogue, Pandora repeatedly describes him as a "gentleman", both for taking the blame to protect her, and also that he will look away to spare her blushes when Aunt Zoe pulls Pandora's knickers down around her knees (I noticed that he rather suddenly looks away once she says that, but had been focussed on her face before then). The thing is, he remains masculine throughout, even though he is ultimately beaten (both senses of the word). There's no association of gender with status (arguably, one could say that Zoe takes a masculine role and that's why I found it easier to identify with her, but I would say that her position as it's constructed in the scene is of a feminine role but one with authority. Jimmy plays a man who is rendered powerless in relation to her feminine authority. This also excites me, because in the rare F/M fiction I've written myself, this kind of strength and manliness in defeat is a theme as well.

This refusal to depict submission as feminising - or femininity as necessarily submissive - is part of what makes the video work for me and makes it possible for me to identify with Jimmy's role as I eventually did.

As my first taste of what Dreams of Spanking has to offer, there is a lot to say for this video. Zoe Montana's spanking skillz are well worth seeing, and Pandora's acting and reactions both are excellent. Of particular note has to be the different take on what male submission means, to the extent that I want to call what Pandora shows us in this video at least, is not only "male submission", but more potently, "masculine submission". Jimmy Holloway shows a lot of potential and I'm looking forward to reviewing more stuff with him in it.

Overall score: 4/5