pornography vs cinema erotica

For some reason, people seem to feel perfectly justified in saying that pornography and cinema erotica are the same thing. They're not.

The primary purpose of porn is sexual gratification and holds on emphasis on a soley physical level with no concern for strong acting, plot, nor general cinematic skill. The main focus of cinema erotica is the psychological concepts behind sex and also, sometimes psychosexual, human relationships and bonds between people moreso than the physical act. It typically follows themes of discovery, such as Eyes Wide Shut -  Kubrick's final masterpiece, or the impact that sex has on human relationships in both a positive and negative manner, ie The Dreamers. Cinema erotica is about characters and about humanity, with great heed to visual skill and language, dripping with loaded meaning dialogue, as well as moral judgement more than it is about sex itself; which is a superficial cover to the ongoing themes behind it.

For me, this surface level action with underlying meaning is mirrored in life too. Constantly we are faced with images of people, brands they have created for themselves to show to the world and often we are so dazzled with the face value that we forget to look deeper, to notice the hints and messages behind their words and the shadows in their eyes. Or, perhaps, we don't forget or are oblivious but rather ignore these murkier depths to those we adore, preferring the golden idols they present to us and shining them with our denial.