In 1976, Karen and Barry Mason had fallen on hard times and were looking for a way to support their young family when they answered an ad in the Los Angeles Times. Barry’s medical supply business faltered, they had a young child, they saw a newspaper ad: Larry Flynt needed L.A. distributors for Hustler.They started supplying magazines to local stores, including what was then known as Book Circus on Santa Monica Boulevard, which always sold out of Blueboy, Flynt’s gay erotica property. The documentary centers on Circus of Books bookstore and gay pornography shop that was established in West Hollywood, California, and in the Silver Lake neighborhood of Los Angeles. Watched Apr 24, 2020. This is one of numerous eye-opening revelations contained in “Circus of Books,” the wonderful debut documentary feature of Rachel Mason, Barry’s daughter, who relishes every opportunity to illuminate the connections between what would normally be viewed as unrelated. The series focuses on Jewish couple Barry and Karen Mason, the owners of a gay porn bookstore, who share how they got into that kind of … With porn readily accessible on the internet and hook-up apps eroding the demand for queer meeting places, profits plunged and the final store closed in February 2019. Here are some great movies worth streaming that you won't see at the Oscars this year. Take … Larry Flynt was seeking distributors for Hustler Magazine. Circus of Books Sign in to customize your TV listings. Circus of Books 2019 ★★★½ . Gay Bookshop Rachel Mason and her siblings grew up unaware that their parents ran a gay bookstore. This leads to them taking over a bookstore, which they soon discover is also a gay and sexual aid store. Caraval book. “Now we’re big shots in PFLAG,” Barry explains in Circus of Books. At one point Karen and Barry had three Circus of Books stores. Circus of Books is a new Netflix documentary about Karen and Barry Mason, the straight, conservative couple who ran a gay porn empire. As Circus of Books shows, Karen and Barry Mason have since devoted much of their lives to working with PFLAG (Parents and Friends of Lesbians and Gays). It's director Rachel Mason's homage to her parents, a senior straight couple who owned a gay porn shop for several decades. Read full review. Their … Circus of Books is both micro and macro. At first, Barry and Karen stuck mostly to selling racy magazines, but as VHS became a bigger deal, the Masons pivoted and started making a fortune selling pornographic films. Circus of Books has been a mecca for adult material in Los Angeles for over 35 years. “Circus of Books” premiered at the Tribeca Film Festival on April 26. This lively documentary centers on two people who seem the least likely to become involved in gay pornography: Karen and Barry Mason, a married, conservative, heterosexual Jewish American couple. Throughout the years the business survived the evolution of porn from magazines to video, an FBI sting which resulted in obscenity charges, and the AIDS crisis which took the lives of many of their customers and staff. But for so many other nameless patrons, Circus of Books felt like liberation, and brought joy and pleasure and escape for generations. 3 talking about this. Emmys 2020: 'Circus of Books' writer Kathryn Robson hopes film can fuel talks about 'sexual openness and honesty' From being developed in Kathryn Robson's dining room, to attracting Ryan Murphy as an executive producer, securing a Netflix deal, and being nominated for an Emmy, 'Circus of Books' has come a long way The store is located in what was once known as “Vaseline Alley,” a parking lot and alley behind the store where gay men cruised for hookups. 4,011 Followers, 1,734 Following, 319 Posts - See Instagram photos and videos from Circus of Books Documentary (@circusofbooks) Circus of Books offers a rare glimpse into an untold chapter of queer history, and it is told through the lens of the owners' own daughter, Rachel Mason, an artist, filmmaker and musician. Circus Of Books also lays bare the devastating effect the HIV and AIDS crisis had on the LGBTQ community during the 1980s, and charts the progress of the gay rights movement in the ensuing years. Synopsis. Before closing, she took time to make sure that they were set up for their next step. Circus of Books also provided a genuine haven for a primarily gay male clientele under siege from repressive powers-that-be, in addition to a disease (AIDS) that was quickly decimating the community. It looks like we don't have a Synopsis for this title yet. Synopsis. Circus of Books is a truly fascinating look at a slice of family life in such unusual circumstances. In 1989 the Los Angeles County Sheriff's Department ordered that the West Hollywood store close from 2 AM to 6 AM after complaints that it attracted hustlers. Review: 'Circus of Books' - Netflix Doc Profiles L.A. Nell is a wonderful characte This is the story of Nell, a young girl covered in birth marks, whose father thinks that she is a bad omen and sells her to the circus as a living curiosity. As far as she knew, this was the truth: Karen and Barry Mason owned and operated Circus of Books in West Hollywood for over 30 years. All three grew up believing that their parents ran a simple book store. Celebs you didn’t know have an LGBT sibling. In 1976, Karen and Barry Mason had fallen on hard times and were looking for a way to support their young family when they answered an ad in the Los Angeles Times. Here’s what happened to them after they shut shop. (2019). Ken Rudolph’s review published on Letterboxd: The Masons were an ordinary L.A. Jewish family. EW's exclusive 'Circus of Books' Netflix documentary preview sees 'RuPaul's Drag Race' queen Alaska recounting her days working in the famous Los Angeles gay porn store. Circus of Books 2019 ★★★½ . When Rachel Mason was a child she would tell friends that her parents ran a bookstore. From "Dexter" to The Suicide Squad, here are our picks for the reboots and remakes we're most excited for in 2021 and beyond. “When that store closed it was unbelievable, the kind of reaction,” Rachel Mason told the BBC in December 2019. 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