April 3, 2009
Green Porno 2 Makes a Splash
BY: Emily Fisher
Isabella Rossellini is back with Green Porno 2, a series of very short films about marine life hanky panky. The films, whose original incarnation followed the sex lives of insects, are weird and wonderful. And somehow, by combining simple, poetic narration and hilarious costume design, Rossellini manages to make the topic — dare I say it? — sexy.Whales, for example, are able to fold their members up into their bodies because, she tells us, “A dangling organ is at danger of being snagged.” The whale costume she dons here is priceless.And as it turns out, limpets, which are sequential hermaphrodites, are somewhat tragic in her portrayal. Later on, a tad disturbingly, a baby male barnacle ventures inside a mature female barnacle — where he disappears, forever.Oceana chief scientist Mike Hirshfield played a role in Green Porno 2 — Rossellini consulted him to ensure scientific accuracy. As Hirshfield recently pointed out to me, even in scientific textbooks the exact nature of sex under the sea is often shrouded in jargon, or simply avoided entirely. Rossellini’s explanations, on the other hand, are easy enough for a child to understand, though parental discretion is advised…Take 10 minutes and watch these, seriously. Also, you can find out your green porno name. Mine’s Fall Webworm.And stay tuned for the next set of green porno films, which will explore the conservation issues associated with the ocean creatures we love to eat — think shrimp, squid, and anchovies.