Prior to 2000, it was a criminal offence to sell hardcore pornography in Britain. Despite this, there was a thriving alternative economy producing and distributing such material "under the counter" of Soho's bookshops and via mail-order. British entrepreneurs circumvented obscenity laws to satisfy the demand for uncensored adult films and profit from their enterprise, with the corrupt Obscene Publications Squad permitting them to trade. By the late 1960s, Britain had developed an international reputation for producing 'rollers', short films distributed on 8mm, which were smuggled out of Britain for sale in Western Europe. Following an expose by Britain's tabloid press, a crackdown on police corruption and several high-profile obscenity trials, the trade was all but decimated, with pornography smuggled in from Europe dominating the market. Under the Counter is the first book of its kind to investigate Britain's trade in illicit pornographic 8mm film. Drawing on extensive archival research, including the use of legal records, police files, media reportage, and interviews with those who were involved in the business, Under the Counter tells the story of Britain's trade in 8mm hardcore pornographic films and its regulation, incorporating ideas from cultural studies, political economy, history and criminology. Under the Counter is a scholarly monograph that will be of interest to researchers across a wide range of disciplines and will be of use to students at undergraduate, Masters level and PhD. The book will be of particular relevance to students and researchers interested in the study of pornography, sexual cultures, illicit media enterprise and entrepreneurship, but also those with an interest in film production and distribution, particularly within a British context. The theoretical frameworks that underpin the book mean that researchers with an interest in the creative industries will be able to make use of it and the book makes a contribution to media and cultural history. It is suitable for use on university courses relating to these specific areas, specifically media and communication, film studies, creative industries, and potentially on criminology or socio-legal studies, given the books attention to obscenity law and regulation of illicit practices.

Provides new perspectives on the increasingly complex relationships between media forms and formats, materiality, and meaning. Drawing on a range of qualitative methodologies, our consideration of the materiality of media is structured around three overarching concepts: form – the physical qualities of objects and the meanings which extend from them; format – objects considered in relation to the protocols which govern their use, and the meanings and practices which stem from them; and ephemeral meaning – the ways in which media artefacts are captured, transformed, and redefined through changing social, cultural, and technological values. Each section includes empirical chapters which provide expansive discussions of perspectives on media and materiality. It considers a range of media artefacts such as 8mm film, board games maps, videogames, cassette tapes, transistor radios and Twitter, amongst others. These are punctuated with a number of short takes – less formal, often personal takes exploring the meanings of media in context. We seek to consider the materialities which emerge across the broad and variegated range of the term’s use, and to create spaces for conversation and debate about the implications that this plurality of material meanings might have for the study of study of media, culture, and society.

Prior to 2000, it was a criminal offence to sell hardcore pornography in Britain. Despite this, there was a thriving alternative economy producing and distributing such material "under the counter" of Soho's bookshops and via mail-order. British entrepreneurs circumvented obscenity laws to satisfy the demand for uncensored adult films and profit from their enterprise, with the corrupt Obscene Publications Squad permitting them to trade. By the late 1960s, Britain had developed an international reputation for producing 'rollers', short films distributed on 8mm, which were smuggled out of Britain for sale in Western Europe. Following an expose by Britain's tabloid press, a crackdown on police corruption and several high-profile obscenity trials, the trade was all but decimated, with pornography smuggled in from Europe dominating the market. Under the Counter is the first book of its kind to investigate Britain's trade in illicit pornographic 8mm film. Drawing on extensive archival research, including the use of legal records, police files, media reportage, and interviews with those who were involved in the business, Under the Counter tells the story of Britain's trade in 8mm hardcore pornographic films and its regulation, incorporating ideas from cultural studies, political economy, history and criminology. Under the Counter is a scholarly monograph that will be of interest to researchers across a wide range of disciplines and will be of use to students at undergraduate, Masters level and PhD. The book will be of particular relevance to students and researchers interested in the study of pornography, sexual cultures, illicit media enterprise and entrepreneurship, but also those with an interest in film production and distribution, particularly within a British context. The theoretical frameworks that underpin the book mean that researchers with an interest in the creative industries will be able to make use of it and the book makes a contribution to media and cultural history. It is suitable for use on university courses relating to these specific areas, specifically media and communication, film studies, creative industries, and potentially on criminology or socio-legal studies, given the books attention to obscenity law and regulation of illicit practices.