Orgasm Inc. The Strange Science of Female Pleasure
In the shocking and hilarious documentary ORGASM INC., filmmaker Liz Canner takes a job editing erotic videos for a drug trial for a pharmaceutical company. Her employer is developing what they hope will be the first Viagra drug for women that wins FDA approval to treat a new disease: Female Sexual Dysfunction (FSD). Liz gains permission to film the company for her own documentary.
Initially, she plans to create a movie about science and pleasure but she soon begins to suspect that her employer, along with a cadre of other medical companies, might be trying to take advantage of women (and potentially endanger their health) in pursuit of billion dollar profits. ORGASM INC. is a powerful look inside the medical industry and the marketing campaigns that are literally and figuratively reshaping our everyday lives around health, illness, desire - and that ultimate moment: orgasm.
A New York Times Critic's Pick and winner of Best Feature at the Vermont International Film Festival and the Newburyport Documentary Film Festival.
"By taking a playful approach to a deeply serious subject, [director Liz Canner] explores the link between female sexuality and corporate profits with a style that's as entertaining as it is revelatory." - Jeannette Catsoulis, The New York Times
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Comments (6)
I am seriously going to make this required viewing for my students. It is amazing that the orgasmatron doctor is able to do what he does! And he says, at first, he hopes to make money and then that he is testing his tool on this woman who sounds like she'd been religiously traumatized about ...Read more
I am seriously going to make this required viewing for my students. It is amazing that the orgasmatron doctor is able to do what he does! And he says, at first, he hopes to make money and then that he is testing his tool on this woman who sounds like she'd been religiously traumatized about sex. I am 30 minutes into the film and seething with rage at the, at best, high-minded simpletons and embarrassingly dedicated director of research---talking about how the questions are asked---and the, at worst, cynical, manipulative "doctor" who has to explain to his staff of vampires who work for Vivus what the word, the name of the company, means. These companies are run by criminals and charlatans. They should run for president---they are perfect for the role of selling solutions to problems that really do not exist.
Read lessPharmaceutical industry manufactures a "disease"
so they can market their "cure". Good film, thought provoking.
Watching this makes me feel how simple minded I really am
My inclination was that perhaps men for the most part, aren't putting in the effort to satisfy women enough.
Every Women and every human being is looking for different things in sexual encounters.. Sex is complex because people are complex. To oversimplify and say men are the problem or just one thing is the problem for all women everywhere, is a dangerous concept. This film does a good job being ...Read more
Every Women and every human being is looking for different things in sexual encounters.. Sex is complex because people are complex. To oversimplify and say men are the problem or just one thing is the problem for all women everywhere, is a dangerous concept. This film does a good job being entertaining while exploring different points of views on the topic.
Read lessFunny and informative. It really surprised us that these drug companies let Canner film all of these insider events/interviews, because it was really easy to see that the interviewees were struggling to "tow the company line" with a straight face. Would've loved to hear more from Leonore ...Read more
Funny and informative. It really surprised us that these drug companies let Canner film all of these insider events/interviews, because it was really easy to see that the interviewees were struggling to "tow the company line" with a straight face. Would've loved to hear more from Leonore Tiefer and Kim Wallen - two very interesting and extremely knowledgeable experts; however, the documentary's primary goal is to highlight the marketing strategies of drug companies. Entertaining and enlightening.
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