Ecstasy Unlimited: The Interpenetrations of Sex and Capita!

1985, 59:54 min, color, sound

Ecstasy Unlimited is an engaging video essay on the social construction of sexuality. Kipnis attempts to historicize pleasure and politicize desire, to reveal within the current discourse on sex — and within an ensemble of current sexual practices — the production of forms of sexuality that work to guarantee social order, rather than subvert it. Through various narrative ploys and theoretical tactics, the tape attempts to recover traces of a "political unconscious" in contemporary social malaise. Kipnis practices humor as well as social critique; she employs fragmented situation comedy, documentary, songs, animation, and narration to develop an analysis linking discourses of liberation to thriving sex and therapy industries.

Director of Photography: Raul Zaritsky. Editor: Taggart Siegel, Laura Kipnis. Music: Steve Rodby. Lyrics: Laura Kipnis. With: Paul Greatbatch, Trish Eliot, Vivian Davis, Sam Sanders, Bonnie Sue Arp, Fred Eberle, Bill Bush, Eileen Manganero.