What do you get when you combine performance art, insects/crustaceans/aquatic life, and sex?  Isabella Rossellini’s Green Porno on Sundance Channel.  In short segments, Rossellini explains and demonstrates the mating rituals and reproductive processes of creatures most people don’t think about any longer than it takes to swat or (in the crustaceans case) munch.  And these segments are not only informative – they’re hilarious.

The bee segment is my favorite.  Living in Utah, it amuses me that such a patriarchal territory chose to call itself the “Beehive State.”  I began to get a picture of the matriarchal structure of bee society when reading The Secret Life of Bees, but Rossellini’s Green Porno was even more informative, and illustrative.  It seems like bees live the radical feminist dream – sisters care for one another and coexist peacefully under the rule of their Queen mother.  Male bees are primarily useful for mating only, and die as a result of intercourse – their penises breaking off in their partner, leaving them to bleed to death.  Certainly not the ideal of all (0r even most) feminists today, who aspire to equality and respect for all people, men included, but a pretty female-friendly utopia.

For some unknown reason, bees seem to be common decorating themes for rooms, as are dragonflies.  After checking out Green Porno, I feel obligated to remind my friends to choose bees as their insect of choice, rather than the less feminist-friendly dragonfly.  Don’t believe me, see for yourself.

Be sure to check out the rest of Isabella Rossellini’s Green Porno shorts at the Sundance Channel website.  Happy learning!