GenXers’– the most under-protected (to the point of neglect) generation of the four generational archetypes– bore the full weight and burden of the teen sexploitation film/ad/industry trend.
Says this current article —
“The actress (Brooke Shields) was 11 years old when she was cast in ‘Pretty Baby’ as Violet, the 12-year-old occupant of a New Orleans brothel who has a romance with Carradine’s adult photographer character. Already controversial in its time due to the subject matter and Shields’s age, David Carradine (co-star in the film) acknowledges that the film, which was released by Paramount, couldn’t be made today under any circumstances.
“There is, of course, no way that film would be made today,” he says. “Nor should we.”
And later in the article —
“Whatever conflicted feelings Shields has about Pretty Baby now, she’s been very clear that Carradine was an anchor for her during a complicated production. Appearing on The Drew Barrymore Show last month, the actress credited her co-star with helping her through an on-camera kissing scene, which also happened to be her first-ever kiss. “He looked at me and said, ‘You know, this doesn’t count as a first kiss,'” Shields recalled.”
