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Bright Lights, Lonely Nights - The Memories of Serena, Porn Star Pioneer of the 1970s
"A true pioneer, artist, and star of her generation, Serena is the very definition of individuality and freedom tantamount to an exclusive community of golden era, erotic film performers. Melding natural beauty and raw sexuality with an intuitive, ethereal sensitivity, Serena created an abiding presence on screen. Almost 40 years after her film debut, exquisitely characterized by quiet wisdom and honesty, Serena continues to mystify and titillate fans. In her "memory book" Serena has crafted an odyssey of events, ruminations and images reflecting an inspired age of liberation. This is a superb read." - Jill C. Nelson, author of Golden Goddesses: 25 Legendary Women of Classic Erotic Cinema, 1968-1985
- GenresMemoir
382 pages, Paperback
First published November 22, 2014
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September 15, 2019
BRIGHT LIGHTS, LONELY NIGHTS is a highly unusual book. As the Reader will learn early on, it is not a biography or autobiography of one of the pornography’s superstars of the 1970’s ... it is a “Memory Book.” In it, the Reader will find poetry, scraps of narrative, lots of photographs, cryptic allusions, art work, and short fiction that is sexually graphic.
The reason for this approach is powerful. Being bipolar (or manic depressive as it was known in the 70’s), Serena grew highly despondent over the unraveling of a three-way relationship and threw herself through a plate glass window into the ravine below. In addition to physical injuries, it left her in a coma for almost a month. She emerged without her memories ... and, although many of them have returned, there are large chunks of her life that are still missing. Therefore, part of the reason for writing this (with assistance from friends) is to continue the mental healing process.
Serena was quite the phenomenon in 70’s porn. Unlike many performers who “acted passion and ecstasy,” it seemed as if Serena was really enjoying herself. According to her retelling, she was. Frequent sexual stimulation helped her to level some of the volatile mood swings in her life. In addition, she truly feels that it was important then and now to promote being sexually comfortable. (She describes herself at one point as a “Hippie Chick” who is more comfortable out of clothes than in them.)
Making the films was against the law, and there was a constant threat of arrest and imprisonment. This resulted in one of the great “lost footage” stories in pornography. While filming INSATIABLE (Serena’s last sex film), Marilyn Chambers asked Serena to perform a sex technique on her that was quite unusual for the time ... and it wound up on the cutting room floor because the producers were frightened of the response from law enforcement. (By the way, Serena also reveals why her hair was cut so short in that movie, and it is quite a charming revelation.)
Serena, as the Reader will soon determine from the variety of forms she uses for artistic expression, is quite intelligent with a high IQ. This leads to some insights that I hadn’t considered before. For instance, she doesn’t care for the presentation of online porn today. She observes that couples are shown meeting for a minute, then the remainder of the time consists of various sexual acts. In her day, the porn industry made movies in which sexual acts grew out of the story line. (Granted, the vast majority of these films featured a farcical storyline with mediocre acting!)
This had me wondering about the perception of women in pornographic films. During the 70’s, these films had a strong fan base of both men and women, and many of the performers became underground stars. In today’s internet clips, it is very, very rare for extended sex scenes to be seen as the giving of mutual pleasure and enjoyment.
The absent chunks of memory did have me wondering about the curious descriptions of her experiences as “an object of sexual fantasy.” She will repeatedly tell how much enjoyment she had when she performed sexual acts, and how much she still loves meeting her fans. Then, she’ll slip in a mention of being abducted by a fan and stabbed! Her attitude seems to be one of “These things happen.” There are vague references about dark happenings surrounding her porn stardom, and occasional comments about something “unfortunate” happening to a co-star. Ultimately, Serena keeps returning to her realization that others in the industry came to repent the life, but she maintains that she enjoyed it.
When I finished the book, I couldn’t say that I had learned that much about Serena herself, but I was frequently surprised by her perceptions. It did seem as if “Wild Serena” and “Settled Serena” took turns writing different sections. And from the fascinating comments she made about her “Joan Crawford vs. Bette Davis” struggles with Annette Haven, narrative details would have been appreciated.
This is only a book I could recommend to fans of Serena Czarnecki. They will have some idea of what to expect, and they will not be made uneasy by the graphic sexual details.
The reason for this approach is powerful. Being bipolar (or manic depressive as it was known in the 70’s), Serena grew highly despondent over the unraveling of a three-way relationship and threw herself through a plate glass window into the ravine below. In addition to physical injuries, it left her in a coma for almost a month. She emerged without her memories ... and, although many of them have returned, there are large chunks of her life that are still missing. Therefore, part of the reason for writing this (with assistance from friends) is to continue the mental healing process.
Serena was quite the phenomenon in 70’s porn. Unlike many performers who “acted passion and ecstasy,” it seemed as if Serena was really enjoying herself. According to her retelling, she was. Frequent sexual stimulation helped her to level some of the volatile mood swings in her life. In addition, she truly feels that it was important then and now to promote being sexually comfortable. (She describes herself at one point as a “Hippie Chick” who is more comfortable out of clothes than in them.)
Making the films was against the law, and there was a constant threat of arrest and imprisonment. This resulted in one of the great “lost footage” stories in pornography. While filming INSATIABLE (Serena’s last sex film), Marilyn Chambers asked Serena to perform a sex technique on her that was quite unusual for the time ... and it wound up on the cutting room floor because the producers were frightened of the response from law enforcement. (By the way, Serena also reveals why her hair was cut so short in that movie, and it is quite a charming revelation.)
Serena, as the Reader will soon determine from the variety of forms she uses for artistic expression, is quite intelligent with a high IQ. This leads to some insights that I hadn’t considered before. For instance, she doesn’t care for the presentation of online porn today. She observes that couples are shown meeting for a minute, then the remainder of the time consists of various sexual acts. In her day, the porn industry made movies in which sexual acts grew out of the story line. (Granted, the vast majority of these films featured a farcical storyline with mediocre acting!)
This had me wondering about the perception of women in pornographic films. During the 70’s, these films had a strong fan base of both men and women, and many of the performers became underground stars. In today’s internet clips, it is very, very rare for extended sex scenes to be seen as the giving of mutual pleasure and enjoyment.
The absent chunks of memory did have me wondering about the curious descriptions of her experiences as “an object of sexual fantasy.” She will repeatedly tell how much enjoyment she had when she performed sexual acts, and how much she still loves meeting her fans. Then, she’ll slip in a mention of being abducted by a fan and stabbed! Her attitude seems to be one of “These things happen.” There are vague references about dark happenings surrounding her porn stardom, and occasional comments about something “unfortunate” happening to a co-star. Ultimately, Serena keeps returning to her realization that others in the industry came to repent the life, but she maintains that she enjoyed it.
When I finished the book, I couldn’t say that I had learned that much about Serena herself, but I was frequently surprised by her perceptions. It did seem as if “Wild Serena” and “Settled Serena” took turns writing different sections. And from the fascinating comments she made about her “Joan Crawford vs. Bette Davis” struggles with Annette Haven, narrative details would have been appreciated.
This is only a book I could recommend to fans of Serena Czarnecki. They will have some idea of what to expect, and they will not be made uneasy by the graphic sexual details.
Displaying 1 of 1 review