Sandstone - The SSL Review

Happy New Year my friends! May 2015 be the year of Orgasm Equality, and may your year be full of love and fun and betterment and fulfillment. To add to your fun for this year, my first post in 2015 will be an SSL review of a 1975 documentary called Sandston. We checked it out on IndieFlix, (Which is where you can also see Science, Sex and Ladies!!!! We have discount codes HERE if you're interested in ol' IndieFlix) and it was in fact worth it. For the 85 minutes you invest in this movie, you will see an old man showing off his pimped out sex van, lots of lady and gentleman bush, limp man-junk, full on 70's facial hair, a touch of real life softcore porn, discussions about non-monogomy that involves lots of phrases like "lay a heavy trip on you," "incredible trip," "somebody's always laying a trip on somebody, aren't they?" and "uptight" as well as "hung-up." Plus, you know that thing when you're at a party and some dude whips out his guitar and starts playing, and it seems like -from when that happens in movies- it might be nice, but it's actually super annoying and you just sit there hoping he'll shut the fuck up because it feels rude to ignore him, but you don't want to pretend like you're interested anymore? You know that thing? Well imagine if it wasn't just a normal party, but a 70's counter-culture, love-in, orgy thing, and it's not a guitar dude but 2 naked dudes - 1 playing a violin and the other an alto recorder. You know what? You don't have to imagine it because you can see it in this movie.

Check out Robert Ebert's 1975 review of it -it's actually pretty right on in a lot of ways. However, he was reviewing it in a time (apparently)  that had a counterculture, sexual revolution, swinging doc coming out every month or so. We, on the other hand, are coming at it from 40 years later, and in some ways it's a much less sensationalized look at non-monogomy than most of the docs and tv I see now. Besides, it's a slice of history. I can't really say I know a whole lot about this place called Sandstone after watching this, but I did see people from before I was born speaking honestly about something they felt passionate about - something they felt was revolutionary, and that's pretty cool in my book.

Okay, anyway, this is an SSL Review, so let me get to reviewing the discussions or depictions of female orgasm and/or masturbation in this here movie, Sandstone. There is actually only 1 time that orgasm or masturbation is depicted or discussed in this move. Towards the end we get a good long peek at the downstairs area of Sandstone during a weekend party. There's shots of people doing all sorts of caressing and kissing. There's some 69ing going on, some oral sex performed on both ladies and dudes, and some intercourse-y embraces. There's no penetration shots or pink or erect penises. There is boob, of course, but it's pretty skinamax style as opposed to hard core porn. The last scene of this orgy-peek is a close up on the feet of a woman who is getting porked missionary style with her feet up in the air. They are hanging loosely above the mans back, and sway back and forth with each thrust. It's a fairly long shot and, she begins to vocalize with super porny "uhhhs" that increases in volume and intensity with each thrust. Her feet continue to limply sway back and forth, and she goes on like this for a while until it ends in a final porn style "I've-orgasmsed" vocalization which precedes the cut.

Honestly, we don't get a lot of visual information about the details of what physical things are happening during this act of intercourse. I would venture to say no one is using their hands down there on her clit given the tight ball that the two seem to be in. There doesn't seem to be much room between his body and hers for hands to get into. That does mean that there could be connections made between her clitoral glans and his pelvis area, which could mean there was sufficient stimulation for orgasm. However, I'm going to make a leap and venture to say this seemed pretty fake to me.

Firstly, the vocalizations she made were so standard porn that it couldn't help but seem fake.

Secondly, the unwavering limpness of her feet throughout her growing orgasm indicated 2 things to me.

1- she wasn't doing any work with her own body. She was just getting passively boned. There was obviously no grinding or vying against his thrusts for prime position of her clit to get a preferred type of rubbing. I mean, unless it was just one of those magical orgasms that happen from a dick rubbing inside the vag - which has never actually been documented, then I doubt it actually happened because she wasn't working for hers.

2- It seems to me that the muscle tension release that happens during an actual orgasm might have showed in how her feet and legs moved. It seemed weird to me that they just kept moving loosely while she vocally built up to this amazing orgasm. My worries are not completely off base - Masters and Johnson reported that the limbs were often affected during orgasm, and they watched a shit ton of orgasms.

Maybe I'm wrong. My assumptions are made with little visual evidence, but it's something to think about. Orgasms are faked, and this one was fishy to me. Also, I just want to point out that if it was faked, it was just another piece of media showing women orgasming from acts that are not actually orgasmic to women - and that's not good for anyone.

I'm going to give this movie a 2 out of 5 vulva rating. Yes, I believe there was a faked ladygasm, but there was at least a possibility of clitoral grinding, and that counts for something. Also, there was some depiction of cunnilingus, and the lady-gasmic efficiency of a good eating out is worth at least 1 star in an SSL review. So, there you have it, and I really do think it's worth a watch for the naked violining alone.

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