ABSTRACT
The depictions of sex work and sex workers have long been a subject of fascination in cinema and these cultural products produce a spectacle for audiences, reinforcing prevailing narratives that stigmatize and marginalize. Mainstream cinematic representation intertwines with melodramatic portrayals of “white slavery” and human trafficking, anchoring the portrayals of sex workers in panics about race, migration, and the moral nature of the nation (Vance 2011). As a result, an almost insatiable appetite exists globally for sex trafficking “melomentaries” that blur the lines between documentary and narrative films, contributing to policy shifts that oppress sex workers by a variety of means (Vance 2012).
