‘Don Jon’ Shows Numbing, Distancing Effect of Porn

A recent movie about porn addiction is capturing national headlines, but not for the sheer nature of the complex addiction itself. Rather, critics are talking about how the movie “Don Jon” portrays the nature of addiction as a force that separates individuals from genuine emotional connections.

Written and directed by Joseph Gordon-Levitt, who also held the starring role in Don Jon, the movie is noted for its parallels in story to the numbing effect of pornography addiction in a person’s real-life. Repeated, emotionless sexual scenes are shown during the first parts of the movie, including online porn and sex with multiple partners, allowing viewers to catch a glimpse about how porn addiction really is less about the sex and more about the escape or numbing-out factor it provides.

Gordon-Levitt also refers to the ways partners often have ideas or expectations toward each other that are unreachable. This is a part of real-life pornography addiction when one partner cannot fulfill the sex scenes viewed in pornography and experiences guilt or shame as a result – or one partner may feel an overall sense of being not quite good enough both in and out of the bedroom.

Sexual objectification and pornography addiction is another theme in “Don Jon,” with Gordon-Levitt stating that the media does play a role in the ways individuals treat each other as objects in a sexual sense. Common stereotypes about pornography addiction — such as that it’s always connected to sexual pleasure or that it is simply a reflection of someone’s strong sex drive — are downplayed in the story as viewers begin to see the emotional distance of the characters involved in the addiction and the consuming nature of porn.

Pornography addiction, like other addictions such as alcohol or drugs, is complex and progressive and requires professional help for treatment and recovery. Many people living with the addiction have long-held emotional intimacy problems and use porn as a tool for escaping negative emotions. Many living with porn addiction report strong feelings of shame, guilt, anger and hopelessness, with brain imagery showing that pleasure centers at the brain are also involved as the addiction progresses.