'Circus of Books' Director Rachel Mason on her Mom & Pop (and their Adult Book Store)

When Rachel Mason was growing up, she knew nothing that her parents – Karen and Barry Mason – were running a bookshop that was probably the biggest distributor of hard-core gay films in the United States. If ever asked what their parents did for living, she and her brother Josh were told to say: "Mom and dad own a bookstore."

That bookstore was the gay porn shop "Circus of Books," which was for 35 years (it closed in 2019) a West Hollywood institution. But when Rachel visited the shop, her mother told her to look at the floor when she passed certain areas, such as the large room (accessible behind swinging doors) where hardcore gay videos and sex paraphernalia were sold. Rumor is that the attic doubled as a backroom, but the Masons deny knowing of such activity.

Rachel's parents bought the shop in the early 1980s when Karen saw an ad from Hustler magnate Larry Flynt for distributing adult videos and content. They took over the West Hollywood store and under their shrewd management turned it into a destination store for the LGBTQ community. They would go on to produce gay porn movies starring Jeff Stryker. Yet despite their success, they kept the business a secret from their family and friends.

Now a filmmaker, Rachel revisits the shop in her acclaimed (100% on Rotten Tomatoes) documentary "Circus of Books," which premieres this week on Netflix. Her film offers a personal, revealing look into the historic place the store has in Los Angeles gay culture during and after the AIDS epidemic, as well as a commentary on a family coming to terms with the complicated relationship between commerce and personal beliefs. One section of the film deals with Karen's unease when her son comes out to her. She has come to terms with it and is now a proud member of PFLAG.

"Circus of Books survived Reagan and Bush the First, as well as the AIDS crisis and the financial crash of 2008," writes Kilian Melloy in his review of the movie on this website. "What finally did the store in, of course, was the Internet. A brick-and-mortar store where you could get porn in the form of videos and magazines as well as condoms, lubes, and snacks, all with one-stop-shopping convenience, is, sadly, going to draw fewer customers than the even easier process of clicking a few buttons on a computer's keyboard."

"It would have been worse had the history of the store disappeared along with the business itself, not least because of the highly entertaining, illuminating, and entertaining nature of the family stories that went along with it. Thanks to Rachel Mason, however, that legacy will not be lost."

EDGE recently spoke to Mason about making her first documentary, wanting to tell her parents' story, and what made her uncomfortable in filming it.

Her parents' story

EDGE: Would you tell us a little bit about your background and what drew you to documentary filmmaking?

Rachel Mason: I have always loved art. I studied art and worked as a visual artist for many years. I got into film by making an experimental musical film, which was my first feature film. I knew I was going to tell my parents' story, but I didn't know how. It ended up coming sooner than later, because the store in Silverlake started to close.

EDGE: You not only do a great job telling the story of your parents, but of the gay community and its history. How easy was it to do research and speak to people?

Rachel Mason: I probably could have gotten a lot more interviews. It was not hard at all to get people to talk about it, but I wanted to get the right people. I was selective about who I chose to tell the story. Every single person you see in the film, Larry Flynt, Jeff Stryker, and Alaska Thunder had an actual tie to the narrative of the story. That was very important to me, so we didn't just have some academic who knew something interesting. There were some people who I thought I could get to talk about the history of gay porn, but that was not this film. This film was just going to be focused on my parents' story.

Not super-enthusiastic

EDGE: And you humanize your parents and make them very accessible. How did they feel when you told them about your idea to make this documentary?

Rachel Mason: Well, they were not super enthusiastic because they didn't think it was good subject matter, especially my mom. A big part of it was that she didn't want the attention. She has always said that it is not an interesting story. She was not happy, but I had to fight through it with her. My dad was actually just okay with everything, as you can see his personality is actually that. He is very chill about everything. He is the opposite of my mom.

EDGE: Were there any moments in this experience that made you rethink how you viewed your parents and the choices they made?

Rachel Mason: They were always conservative and "middle of the road" kind of parents and definitely not as interesting as I thought they were. I learned over the course of making this film that they had to be mavericks in order to enter this business and more open-minded than the average person. They were doing something really out there and risqu� for the time, but the way I ended up seeing it is that they cared about having a business. My mom loves business and wanted to make a living for the family. So, she really overlooked the stuff that she could not align with her religious beliefs. For me, of course, it was hypocrisy. I couldn't understand how someone who was homophobic could do this.

Her mom's transformation

EDGE: For a very religious woman, I love how at ease your mom is at talking about gay porn. But did watching her talk about it make you feel uncomfortable?

Rachel Mason: In some ways, I think it was uncomfortable to see it and hear her. I think that if my parents had been very comfortable with it all the whole time it wouldn't have been easy to make the film. That was the part that wasn't easy for me. I didn't want to be exposing and exploiting them, but this is their daily life. At times, they didn't even notice when I had the camera on.

EDGE: Given the type of business your parents ran, I was sad when your brother Josh was afraid to come out to your parents. When you interview him, he tells you that he had bought an airline ticket just in case his mother threw him out of the house for coming out...

Rachel Mason: That is the sad part of the movie. And I was horrified at my mom's reaction too. I didn't set out to shame her for that, but wanted to expose that. And she also wanted to expose it herself. She recognized it herself, that her reaction is that of religious parents and culturally conservative ones. To think that in a family that couldn't get more out there than ours, we would still hold onto that. That is why I was crying in that interview... here my little brother is mainstream and conservative, not a guy who wanted to make waves; and was basically struggling with homophobia that he felt he might experience. Then to have that borne out with my mom's reaction and buying a one-way ticket, that was a real heartbreaking thing for me to recognize... I felt very upset with my mother for having those views, and that is why I am glad and appreciate the work that she is doing now. She has managed to come around and teach other people. The only people that can really teach something is the ones who have been through it. She can teach the people that need to go through that same journey how to get there.

EDGE: The transformation that your mom makes at the end is the best part of the documentary. When she says, "I was not, not going to be his best mother that I could be," that's when the tears started.

Rachel Mason: I think that line is really poignant, because when you look at religion and are like, 'why do we even bother with this if we are not trying to set up a situation where we are all about love?' People who have watched the film sometimes think my mom is a devout Christian and don't realize she is Jewish because it's all the same. But if you are going to be in that situation, in a church, and you're not there because you are trying to spread more love in this world then what is the point of religion? This became very clear, especially in the AIDS section when my dad saw people who were abandoning their kids. What religion allows that? The Jesus I know would not be that guy who would leave his kids to die alone in the hospital. The spirit of the film was showing that and the transformation my mom makes. The goal of the film is to reveal that you can't really judge people to that degree and then claim to be a religious person.

EDGE: Let's talk about your dad's style. Where does he get his shirts from?

Rachel Mason: He has always loved Hawaiian shirts.

EDGE: Now that the film is completed and ready for mass viewing, how are you parents feeling?

Rachel Mason: They are totally proud of the film. My mom wishes it was about anyone else except her. My dad couldn't be happier, but he is always like that. In the end, they were proud of me that I made a film that has done so well.

For more "Circus of Books," .

Watch this local news report on the closing of "Circus of Books":