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"Method of this work:
literary montage.
I have nothing to say only to show."
(Passagenwerk (1927 - 1940) - Walter Benjamin)
2005, Sep 01; 23:33 ::: Status: archived
2005, Jul 27; 00:19 ::: The Polar Sea (1824) - Caspar David Friedrich
The Polar Sea (1824) - Caspar David Friedrich
image sourced here. [Jul 2005]Sublime
During the 19th century, in both European and American art, the landscape emerged as a subject of profound significance. As industry flourished, many artists turned to nature as an escape. --http://wwar.com/masters/f/friedrich-caspar_david.html [Jul 2005]
2005, Jul 26; 23:30 ::: El Caminante (1979) - Paul Naschy
El Caminante (1979) - Jacinto Molina (Paul Naschy)
image sourced here.Paul Naschy, from his real name Jacinto Molina, is a Spanish movie actor and screenwriter. --http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jacinto_Molina [Jul 2005]
1970s European horror
In the 1970s, there was an explosion of horror films in Europe, particularly from the hands of Italian filmmakers like Mario Bava, Dario Argento and Lucio Fulci, and Spanish filmmakers Jess Franco, José Larraz and Jacinto Molina (aka Paul Naschy), which were dubbed into English and filled drive-in theaters that could not necessarily afford the expensive rental contracts of the major American producers. These films generally featured more traditional horror subjects - e.g. vampires, werewolves, psycho-killers, demons, zombies - but treated with a distinctive European style that included copious gore and sexuality (of which mainstream American producers overall were still a little skittish). Notable national outputs were the "giallo" genre from Italy and late-period Hammer Horror from the UK. --http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Horror_film#1970s:_Sexual_Hangups_and_Schlock [Jul 2005]see also: European horror - 1979
2005, Jul 25; 13:51 ::: The Pursuit of Oblivion: A Global History of Narcotics (2001) - Richard Davenport-Hines
The Pursuit of Oblivion: A Global History of Narcotics (2001) - Richard Davenport-Hines [Amazon.com] [FR] [DE] [UK]
From Publishers Weekly
Davenport-Hines offers a sharply opinionated history of drugs structured around three major premises: Human beings use drugs; for many that choice will be debilitating, sometimes fatal; and government prohibition of drugs, as opposed to regulation, is counterproductive and doomed to vainglorious failure. Davenport-Hines, a fellow of the Royal Historical Society and author of a well-received work on W.H. Auden, builds his case with a body of evidence encyclopedic in scope and varied in perspective. He explores the effects of drugs on families and private lives, for example, by sampling diaries of ordinary citizens, the writings of literary figures as diverse as Balzac and Ken Kesey, the theories of notorious cult-leader Timothy Leary, and the reports of a host of journalists. He is equally focused on exposing the high public costs that, he argues, have resulted from governments' treatment of drugs (both in American and elsewhere) as a criminal rather than medical problem a choice that, the author says, is a product of political demagoguery rather than honest conviction. To give credence to his charges, he quotes the inflammatory words of presidents, drug czars, and moralist such as William Bennett. U.S. policymakers exported this punitive approach to Europe and Latin America, which he deems a form of cultural imperialism. Davenport-Hines also finds hypocrisy in government support for pharmaceutical companies, whose advertising and marketing contribute to the cultural acceptance of drugs. He takes care to provide readers with useful information about the effects of both legal and illegal drugs, and to carefully discriminate among the relative dangers of different classes of drugs. The effort adds credibility to his strong writing, and his well-documented positions will be difficult to dismiss. --Copyright 2002 Cahners Business Information, Inc. via Amazon.comFrom Library Journal
Prominent British historian/journalist Davenport-Hines here offers a thorough and exhaustive history of addictive drugs and their abuse, spanning the globe and covering all eras for which there exists documented evidence of such activity, primarily from the 18th century forward. The author's approach is that of a historian at work, carefully detailing all known verifiable references to the insidious development of, trade in, and use/abuse of narcotics and other addictive substances. In addition to a thorough discourse on the manufacture and abuse of derivative drugs such as cocaine and heroin, Davenport-Hines also goes into great detail about naturally occurring herbs and weeds that have been abused over the centuries. He pays considerable attention to attempts by governments and world bodies to come to grips with the social, economic, and political ramifications of the drug trade and its side effects, such as organized crime, loss of government revenue, decreased productivity, and strains on healthcare infrastructures. The reluctance or inability of several powerful Western nations to suppress the popular appetite for drugs (only recently considered inappropriate) is cited as perhaps the greatest impediment to reform. Society's attempts over the years to treat and rehabilitate the victims of drug abuse are also documented. This comprehensive study is replete with references to primary and secondary sources. Highly recommended for academic and public libraries. Philip Y. Blue, New York State Supreme Court Criminal Branch Law Lib., First Judicial District, New York via Amazon.com
2005, Jul 24; 23:07 ::: The Mysterious Mummy (1903) - Sax RohmerIt was about five o'clock on a hot August afternoon, that a tall, thin man, wearing a weedy beard, and made conspicious by an ill-fitting frock-coat and an almost napless silk hat, walked into the entrance hall of the Great Portland Square Museum. He carried no stick, and, looking about him, as though unfamiliar with the building, he ultimately mounted the principal staircase, walking with a pronounced stoop, and at intervals coughing with a hollow sound. --Sax Rohmer via http://www.harvestfields.ca/horror/004/169.htm of the Dark Moon - Gothic Tales, Horror, Mystery's, Pulp collection[Jul 2005]see also: pulp - fiction - 1903
2005, Jul 24; 17:51 ::: Fu Manchu and the yellow peril
Mask of Fu Manchu () - Sax Rohmer
cover of unidentified edition
image sourced here. [Jul 2005]The Yellow Peril figure has, without question, been a negative one in Western culture. As recent events involving American spy planes have shown, anti-Asian & anti-Chinese bias continues to remain close to the surface of the American psyche, over 80 years after the introduction of the insidious Dr. Fu Manchu. One of the most interesting examples of this bias is the Yellow Peril/Fu Manchu figure, which has appeared in several forms over the decades. What most people do not realize, however, is that the Yellow Peril figure significantly predates Arthur "Sax Rohmer" Ward's writings; Fu Manchu, while the most archetypal of the Yellow Perils, stands as the high point for the stereotype, neither at the beginning nor at the end of the stereotype's history. --http://www.violetbooks.com/yellowperil.html [Jul 2005]
Yellow Peril (sometimes Yellow Terror) was a phrase that originated in the late 19th century with greater immigration of Chinese and Japanese laborers to various Western countries, notably the United States. The term, a color metaphor for race refers to the skin color of east Asians, and the fear that the mass immigration of Asians threatened white wages, standards of living and indeed, civilization itself. The phrase "yellow peril" was common in the newspapers owned by William Randolph Hearst.
Many sources credit Kaiser Wilhelm II with coining the phrase "Yellow Peril" (in German, "gelbe Gefahr") in September 1895 and popularizing it by circulating a lurid illustration of a menacing, airborne Buddha riding a dragon across Asia towards Europe, carving a path of destruction and trailing thunder clouds. While immigration of Asians was not a major issue in Europe, the rise of Japan as a major world power was a cause of anxiety for some Europeans.
1898 M. P. Shiel published a short story serial The Yellow Danger. Shiel took the murder of two German missionaries in Kiau-Tschou 1897 to spread his anti-Chinese feelings. In later editions the serial was named The Yellow Peril. --http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Yellow_peril [Jul 2005]
Franco was brought to the attention of Harry Alan Towers by his 1967 surrealism-tinged opus, "Succubus". The producer was mining a lucrative seam by adapting the public domain works of Sax Rohmer and Edgar Wallace for the screen, and was looking for a suitable director to helm a feature based on the work of the Marquis de Sade. The dreamlike eroticism of "Succubus" convinced him Franco was the man for the job! The director was set to work on the latest in a series of Fu Manchu films ("The Blood of Fu Manchu") while Towers thrashed out a screenplay under his pen-name, Peter Welbeck. The film was eventually shot in Barcelona amid buildings designed by 19th century architect Antonio Gaudi and a virtual who's who of Euro-cult cinema. It's one of the most sumptuous looking Franco movies but is ultimately a rather stilted affair; even the eroticism is rather discreetly done, and the film ends up feeling not really representative of either Franco or de Sade. --http://www.horrorview.com/Marquis%20De%20Sade's%20Justine.htm [Jul 2005]
2005, Jul 24; 15:38 ::: Edgar Wallace and Sax Rohmer in the public domain?Public domain
The public domain comprises the body of knowledge and innovation (especially creative works such as writing, art, music, and inventions) in relation to which no person or other legal entity can establish or maintain proprietary interests.This body of information and creativity is considered to be part of the common cultural and intellectual heritage of humanity, which in general anyone may use or exploit.
If an item is not in the public domain, this may be the result of a proprietary interest as represented by a copyright or patent. The extent to which members of the public may use or exploit an item in relation to which proprietary interests exist is generally limited. However, when copyright or other intellectual property restrictions expire, works will enter the public domain and may be used by anyone. --http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Public_domain [Jul 2005]
Sax Rohmer and Dr. Fu Manchu
Arthur Henry Sarsfield Ward (February 15, 1883 - June 1, 1959), better known as Sax Rohmer, was a prolific English novelist. He is most remembered for his series of novels featuring the master criminal Dr. Fu Manchu.Born in Birmingham he had a entirely working class education and early career before beginning to write. His first published work was in 1903, the short story The Mysterious Mummy for Pearson's Weekly. He made his early living writing comedy sketches for performers and short stories and serials for magazines. In 1909 he married Rose Knox. He published his first novel in 1910, Pause! and the first Fu Manchu story, The Mystery of Dr. Fu Manchu was serialized over 1912-13. It was an immediate success with its pacy and racist story of Nayland Smith and Dr. Petrie facing the worldwide conspiracy of the 'Yellow Peril'. The Fu Manchu stories, together with those featuring Gaston Max or Morris Klaw, made Rohmer one of the most successful and well-paid writers in of the 1920s and 1930s. But Rohmer was very poor at handling his wealth. After World War II the Rohmers moved to New York.
A number of films were made featuring Dr. Fu Manchu. The Mask of Fu Manchu (1932), featuring Boris Karloff, was the best of those produced in the 1930s, mainly because of a wonderfully slinky and sadistic performance by Myrna Loy as Fa Lo See, Fu Manchu's evil daughter. The name was revived in a very variable series starring Christopher Lee in the 1960s with The Face of Fu Manchu (1965), The Brides of Fu Manchu (1966), The Vengeance of Fu Manchu (1967), and The Blood of Fu Manchu (1968). Pulp film legend Harry Alan Towers produced two films based on the Sumuru character in the 1960s, and an updated space fantasy version in 2002. --http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sax_Rohmer [Jul 2005]
2005, Jul 24; 14:38 ::: The great object of life is sensation“The great object of life is Sensation – to feel that we exist – even though in pain – it is this “craving void” which drives us to Gaming – to Battle – to Travel – to intemperate but keenly felt pursuits of every imaginable description whose principle attraction is the agitation inseparable from their accomplishment.” --Byroncompare Arthur Rimbaud, who wanted "To arrive at the unknown through the disordering of all the senses, that's the point" ("Les lettres du Voyant" - "The Letters of the Seer").
see also: sense - sensation - Byron
2005, Jul 24; 12:50 ::: My Summer of Love (2004) - Pawel Pawlikowski
My Summer of Love (2004) - Pawel Pawlikowski
Plot Outline: In the Yorkshire countryside, working-class tomboy Mona (Press) meets the exotic, pampered Tasmin (Blunt). Over the summer season, the two young women discover they have much to teach one another, and much to explore together. --http://us.imdb.com/title/tt0382189/ [Jul 2005]
Tip of the hat to Romeo.
see also: 2004 - film - erotic cinema
2005, Jul 24; 12:34 ::: Dans ma peau / In My Skin (2002) - Marina de Van
Dans ma peau / In My Skin (2002) - Marina de Van [Amazon.com] [FR] [DE] [UK]
Amazon.com
Much like Roman Polanski's Repulsion, In My Skin chronicles a young woman's descent into madness. Esther (Marina de Van) accidentally gashes her leg at a party, but instead of being alarmed by the sight of her torn flesh, she becomes fascinated by it. She begins cutting herself, much to the dismay of her best friend (Lea Drucker) and boyfriend (Laurent Lucas), who are unnerved by her refusal to discuss her actions. From there things only get more horrifying, but it's not simply the fact of self-mutilation that makes In My Skin compelling, it's the movie's acute depiction of psychological dislocation. This is not a movie for everyone--the cutting is unsettlingly realistic and vivid--but viewers drawn to portraits of emotional extremity (like, for example, The Piano Teacher) will find In My Skin gripping. Written and directed by de Van, who co-wrote Francois Ozon's 8 Women and Under the Sand. --Bret FetzerDescription
After suffering deep gashes to her leg from an accidental fall, Esther (Marina de Van), a young research analyst, becomes preoccupied with her body and skin, especially her wounds. At first, she merely caresses her arms, pinches her excess skin, or traces the cuts on her legs, but it isn't long before she is carving wounds directly and aggressively into her own body. Her boyfriend (Laurent Lucas) becomes understandably concerned and angry, but his inability to understand forces Esther into reclusion to explore her newfound passion. Increasingly unhinged - to situations of perverse dark humor - Esther seems determined to continue her compulsion until the removal from her own body is complete.Self-harm (SH) is deliberate injury to one's own body. This injury may be aimed at relieving otherwise unbearable emotions, sensations of unreality and numbness, or for other reasons. Self-harm is generally a social taboo. It is sometimes associated with mental illnesses such as Borderline Personality Disorder, with a history of trauma and abuse, with eating disorders, or with mental traits such as perfectionism. --http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Self-harm [Jul 2005]
Tip of the hat to Steven Shaviro via http://www.shaviro.com/Blog/?p=429 [Jul 2005]
see also: 2002 - body horror - self-harm
2005, Jul 24; 12:11 ::: Vampyres (1974) - José Ramón Larraz
Vampyres (1974) - José Ramón Larraz [Amazon.com] [FR] [DE] [UK]
In 1974 José Ramón Larraz created Vampyres, which explored not only the erotic lesbian activity of the vampires, but the brutal, bloody vampire activity itself, which was usually not touched upon so heavily. As such the film was less Gothic and more of an horror film, extending the tale beyond the spectrum of the book. The characters Fran and Miriam (presumably named for 'Millarca') are similar to Laura and Carmilla. --http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Carmilla#Film_and_book_adaptations [Jul 2005]
see also: 1974 - lesbian - vampirism - Carmilla - José Ramón Larraz
2005, Jul 23; 21:36 ::: Carmilla (1872) and feminismCarmilla became a heroine for twentieth-century feminists by invading a castle, suborning the authority of its male owner and providing a luring prototype of female intimacy. She transcends Olympia in E.TA. Hoffmann's story The Sandman or Hawthorne's Rapaccini's Daughter. Richard Davenport-Hines via Gothic: Four Hundred Years of Excess, Horror, Evil and Ruin (1999) - Richard Davenport [Amazon.com]Influence
Carmilla, the title character, is the original prototype for a legion of female (and often lesbian) vampires. Though Le Fanu portrays his vampire's sexuality with the circumspection that one would expect for his time, the reader can be pretty sure that lesbian attraction is the main dynamic between Carmilla and the Laura, narrator of the story. Carmilla selected exclusively female victims, though only became emotionally involved with a few. Carmilla had nocturnal habits, but was not confined to the darkness. She had unearthly beauty and was able to change her form and to pass through solid walls. Her animal alter ego was a monstrous black cat, not a bat as in Dracula. She did, however, sleep in a coffin.Carmilla is richly atmospheric, eerie, unsettling and deeply frightening to those of a nervous disposition. Its setting is a parochial section of Styria state, Austria. As such it sets the standard for Gothic vampire literature, a genre which is not usually dealt with, as vampire stories (such as Dracula) lean more towards horror than Gothic or romantic in style of writing.
As such, this novella absolutely succeeds at putting into words the feelings of the modern Gothic subculture. Not only did Carmilla set the standards for Gothic and vampire style and characteristics, it influenced a number of books and movies, most notably Bram Stoker's Dracula. --http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Carmilla [Jul 2005]
see also: 1872 - lesbian - vampirism - Carmilla
2005, Jul 23; 16:46 ::: Capitalism and vampirism"Capital is dead labour, that, vampire-like, only lives by sucking living labour, and lives the more, the more labour it sucks." --Karl Marx, Capital, Volume I, p. 224inspired by Richard Davenport-Hines, Gothic: Four Hundred Years of Excess, Horror, Evil and Ruin (1999) - Richard Davenport[Amazon.com]
see also: 1867 - capitalism - vampirism - Karl Marx
2005, Jul 23; 14:05 ::: Oz covers
OZ 18:Fingerlickin' Good! (Feb 69), Robert Crumb cover
Andy Warhol
Jerry Rubin
Michael X
Robert Crumb
Soft Machine
Angelo Quattrocchi
Clive James
Richard Neville in Marakesh
image sourced here.see also: all covers from all Oz issues, with links to complete issues.
Alternatively, browse the collection (with complete issues online) here.
OZ 18. (February 1969) Fold-out tabloid format, Crumb ‘Fingerlickin’ Good’ cover
Struggling/dancing woman on inside cover. Andy Warhol interview. Summer Solstice poem. ‘Eldridge Cleaver Welcome Here’ photo. Private Eye ad. ‘Emergency Yippie Report’ by Jerry Rubin & Friends. Revolutionary Militant Student ad. Rules for the Black Panther Party. Michael X. Angelfood McSpade Robert Crumb cartoon. ‘How to Commit Revolution in Corporate America – and in Corporate Britain’ part 1 by G. William Domhoff. The Soft Machine interview by Michael Broome and Mary Moore and Joseph Strick film rumours. MGM Records ad. Middle Earth/Roundhouse ad. ‘The MC5 Kick Out the Jams!’ LP reviews: Buddy Miles, Brian Auger & the Trinity, Tim Hardin, Zappa/Ruben & The Jets and Al Stewart. Terry Reid. RELEASE change of address/ad. ‘The Rat Game’ by Angelo Quattrocchi. ‘Wind Up Black Dwarfs’ by Clive James. Poverty cooking. IT subscription ad. ’What ‘Paul Getty, the Freak Horseman of the Djmaa El Fna, and the Nude Texan Girl from the Albert Hall Alchemical Wedding Did Last Month‘ – Richard Neville on Marrakesh and his meeting with Lee Heater. Full page How to Achieve Sexual Ecstasy ad. --http://pers-www.wlv.ac.uk/~fa1871/LondonOz.html
see also: 1969 - Oz - UK underground - underground press
2005, Jul 23; 11:34 ::: Taylor Mead
Taylor Mead
Southampton Beach, Long Island (1971)
photo sourced here. (photo: Gerard Malanga)The Warhol superstars
The Warhol superstars were a group of people gathered by Andy Warhol, Paul Morrissey, and Gerard Malanga to be in Warhol's films and accompany him in his social life. The superstars included Taylor Mead. --http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_Warhol_superstars [Jul 2005]see also: Andy Warhol - Joe Dallesandro - Paul Morrissey
2005, Jul 23; 11:34 ::: Jean-Pierre Bouyxou on American underground filmPour ma part, tout a débuté en 1967, une nuit de printemps, dans un grand appartement de Montparnasse où Alain Le Bris, un des fondateurs de la revue Midi-Minuit Fantastique, m'avait entraîné. Le propriétaire du lieu, dont je n'ai jamais su le nom, improvisait une projection sauvage. Un type déjanté et marrant, récemment débarqué des Etats-Unis, avait apporté toute une cargaison de bobines 16 mm qui constituaient l'essentiel du programme. Il s'appelait Taylor Mead, et les films qu'il venait montrer en Europe étaient, outre les siens, ceux de Ron Rice, Mike Kuchar, Jack Smith, Bruce Conner, Stan Brakhage, Gregory Markopoulos, Peter Emanuel Goldman, Bruce Baillie, Robert Breer et autres cadors de l'underground yankee. Je ne connaissais guère, alors, que les réalisations de Kenneth Anger et des frères Mekas. Le choc fut exaltant, mais d'autres films, projetés le même soir, me surprirent et m'enchantèrent davantage encore : ceux de Francis Conrad et d'Etienne O'Leary. Un New-Yorkais et un Canadien à peine plus âgés que mézigue, qui habitaient tous deux Paris et parvenaient à y faire, sans moyens matériels, hors de tout système officiel de production et de diffusion, des courts métrages qui, par la forme et le propos, ne ressemblaient à rien de ce que j'avais déjà vu sur un écran. -- via Jean-Pierre Bouyxou (2001) http://www.cineastes.net/textes/bouyxou-metro.html [Jul 2005]Jean-Pierre Bouyxou (January 16 1946) is a French film critic, author, filmmaker and actor.
He wrote his first articles in 1964 in fanzines (Mercury, Lunatique).
Some other magazines he wrote for were Vampirella, Sex Stars System, Zoom, Métal hurlant, L’Echo des savanes, Penthouse, Lui, Hara-Kiri, Paris Match.
He was editor-in-chief of Fascination (thirty issues from 1978 to 1986).
He participated in the happenings of Jean-Jacques Lebel
He worked with Roland Lethem, Jesus Franco, Jean Rollin and Alain Payet. --http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jean-Pierre_Bouyxou [Jul 2005]
see also: underground - underground film - film - Jean-Pierre Bouyxou
2005, Jul 23; 01:38 ::: The gaze
Kiki in Ballet Mécanique (1924)
see also: 1924 - film - gaze - voyeurism
2005, Jul 23; 00:27 ::: Sex Stars System
SSS18
image sourced here.Rest of the series here.
Ciné-Choc, un trimestriel voué au cinéma-bis (horreur, péplum et X) et publié par le même éditeur que Fascination et Sex Stars System --http://www.peplums.info/pep00front97.htm [Jul 2005].
see also: Jean-Pierre Bouyxou - porn star
2005, Jul 22; 22:42 ::: Olympia PressOlympia Press was a Paris based publisher, best known for the first print of Nabokov 's Lolita; this led to copyright issues, since Nabokov was not satisfied with the publisher and the reputation it had, since besides some serious literature, it published mostly erotic novels. Eventually the English owner got into trouble, and Olympia Press vanished. --http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Olympia_Press [Jul 2005]
see also: Olympia Press - publishing - erotic fiction
2005, Jul 22; 20:34 ::: Midi Minuit Fantastique 1 - 24
MM18-19 (12/1967)
image sourced here.Midi Minuit Fantastique 1 - 24
MM24 - MM23 - MM22 - MM21 - MM20 - MM18-19 - MM17 - MM15-16 - MM14 - MM13 - MM12 - MM10-11 - MM09 - MM08 - MM07 - MM06 - MM04 - MM03 - MM02 - MM01Click MM01 links to see covers
From the site which goes by the name http://82.67.2.30 and which is difficult to navigate. Hold on, found the entry page: http://82.67.2.30/index.html?http://82.67.2.30/parutions.php?larevue=MMF [Jul 2005]
And here are the dates of les "parutions" 1- 05/1962 2- 08/1962 3- 10/1962 4-5- 01/1963 6- 06/1963 7- 09/1963 8- 01/1964 9- 07/1964 10-11- 12/1964 12- 05/1965 13- 11/1965 14- 06/1966 15-16- 12/1966 17- 06/1967 18-19- 12/1967 20- 10/1968 21- 04/1970 22- 07/1970 23- 10/1970 24- 12/1970 --http://82.67.2.30/index.html?http://82.67.2.30/parutions.php?larevue=MMF [Jul 2005]
Apparently, this site is selling:
L'Index de Midi Minuit Fantastique:
L'index des 24 numéros de la revue
70 pages.
Prix (franco de port): France 20€, autres pays: nous consulterfollowing 11 categories
11 entrées:
Titres de films, Personnalités du cinéma, Auteurs d'articles, Livres, Filmographies, Festivals, Cinémas nationaux, Genres, Divers, Dossiers, Autressee also: Midi Minuit Fantastique - film
2005, Jul 22; 20:34 ::: Barbara Steele
Barbara Steele in bed
image sourced here.see also: Barbara Steele
2005, Jul 22; 20:23 ::: Curse of the Crimson Altar (1968) - Vernon Sewell
Barbara Steele
Barbara Steele
images sourced here.Incoherent and awful adaptation of Lovecraft’s Dreams in the Witch House: you can tell how bad it is from the number of alternative titles under which it was released – then again that seemed to happen to a lot of Barbara Steele’s movies. Lavinia Morley (Barbara Steele) is the green-skinned reincarnation of a witch who was burned at the stake some 300 years before who participates in a strange, modern day, black-magic ritual.
Elizabeth Blatin and Pauline Worden were the makeup artists. --http://www.themakeupgallery.info/horror/witch/crimson.htm [Jul 2005]
see also: H.P. Lovecraft - Barbara Steele
2005, Jul 22; 19:42 ::: Roland Topor
Een fee zoals je die niet alle dagen tegenkomt (1968, 1974) - Roland Topor
image sourced here., edition shown is 1974See also: http://www.rolandtopor.net/topor.html, which is I believe a new site on this French multi-skilled and multi-imaginative artist. Tip of the hat to Rafaela.
see also: Bruna fantasy and horror series Google gallery
see also: Roland Topor - graphic design
2005, Jul 22; 17:10 ::: Sadistic warden trope
Maggie Kirkpatrick as "The Freak" in Prisoner
image sourced here.Maggie Kirkpatrick, born 29 January 1941 is an Australian actress best known for her portrayal of Joan Ferguson, a sadistic and corrupt lesbian prison officer known to the prisoners as "The Freak" in the popular Australian television soap opera, Prisoner. --http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Maggie_Kirkpatrick [Jul 2005]
The sadistic warden stock character
- Having studied at the Marquis De Sade School of Prison Management, most warden's ideas of prisoner rehabilitation involves tight restraints, a variety-fun assortment of whips, and maybe a nice dry sherry afterwards. And yet somehow these people still get hired to manage large penal institutions where they promptly go mad (if they weren't crazy to begin with) and start running the place like their own private sadist theme park.Now and then the Warden will be of the reform minded do-gooder type; a well meaning but clueless person newly arrived at the prison. This is skating periously close to the WIP pic's prehistoric ancestor, the Prison Drama. But on those rare occasions where the Warden is a goodie-goodie, sadism duty can easily be handed off to the Sadistic Guard; a venial, corrupt snake who gleefully torments the prisoners behind the clueless warden's back.
The Sadistic Warden/Guard can be either male or female, but most of them are women. If female, she's invariably a lesbian. If male, he's usually Vic Diaz. In The Big Doll House we get both a Sadistic Warden of the "Jeckyl & Hyde" stripe, played by zaftig Swiss bombshell Christiane Schmidtmer, and a Sadistic Guard, played with venomous glee by Katheryn Loder.
Aside from tormenting their charges for fun and profit, the greedy Sadistic Warden/Guard is usually running some kind of nefarious criminal racket. This can include selling the prisoner's drugs, forcing them into prostitution (a favorite), hiring them out as mimes, making them vote Republican, and other horrors. When this is the case, you can be sure that the Innocent Newbie will soon be slathered in white face and doing bimbo-walking-against-the-wind by the end of the third reel. --http://alansmithee.5u.com/intro/bars/bars.html [Jul 2005]
The set up of prison hero as rebellious Cowboy isreinforced by another trope of prison film: the abusive corrections officer. The sadistic warden personifies the oppressive nature of the carceral institution, often taking the prisons’ assault on freedom, individuality and humanity to another level.Incarcerations officers try to break prisoners’ spirits. They interfere in prison life, arecorrupt and often prey on weaker inmates. At times, the entire plot of a prison film catalogues the protagonist’s fight against a sadistic warden (The Last Castle (dir. Rod Lurie, 2001) and Murder in the First, (dir. Marc Rocco, 1995). --Terrie Schauer, Journal for Crime, Conflict and the Media 1 (3) 28-42ISSN 1741 1580 http://www.jc2m.co.uk/Issue3/Schauer.pdf [Jul 2005]
see also: sadism - lesbian - prison - trope - women in prison films
2005, Jul 22; 17:10 ::: Male witches
Halvdan Egedius (1877-1899)
image sourced here.During the Christianization of Norway, King Olaf Trygvasson had male völvas (shamans) tied up and left on a skerry at ebb.--http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Witchcraft#European_witchcraft [Jul 2005]
Colloquially, the term witch is applied almost exclusively to women, although in earlier English the term was applied to men too. Most people would call male witches sorcerers, wizards, or warlocks; however, modern self-identified witches and Wiccans continue to use the term witch for all who practice witchcraft. --http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Witchcraft#Etymology [Jul 2005]
2005, Jul 22; 17:03 ::: EffeminacyEffeminacy is character trait of a male showing femininity, unmanliness, womanliness, weakness, softness and/or a delicacy, which contradicts traditional masculine, male gender roles.
The term is used to describe feminine behaviour, demeanor, and appearance. These judgements largely involve anti-gay stereotypes, and a positive correlation presumed between effeminacy and gay men. It generally applied to men individually, but is sometimes used to describe entire societies, in a deliberately inflammatory general allegation. Further, some individuals may call something (even an object) "gay" to indicate that it is seen to be effeminate.
Traditionally it is considered a vice, indicative of other negative character traits and more recently often involving a negative insinuation of homosexual tendencies.
In contrast to this, effeminacy is seen by some to be simply one characteristic or trait which might be a part of a particular male's "gender role", and in this sense would not be considered a vice or indicative of any other characteristics.
The converse of effeminacy in women is masculinity. An informal term for masculine women is "butch", which is associated with lesbianism. "Butch" is also used within the lesbian community, often without a negative connotation, but sometimes with a more specific meaning (Davis and Lapovsky Kennedy, 1989). Note, again, that the adoption of attitudes normally associated with the opposite sex is perceived as a sign of homosexuality. --http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Effeminacy [Jul 2005]
see also: gender - men - women - drag
2005, Jul 22; 14:03 ::: Fire Island, New York, USA
Fire Island or Cherry Grove
image sourced here.Tom Moulton was a fashion model on hiatus from the music business when he visited Fire Island's Botel during a photo shoot in the early 1970s.
"I got a charge out of it, all these white people dancing to black music."Painstakingly, he spent 80 hours making a 90-minute dance tape using sound-on-sound and vari-speed to create a nonstop build. The Botel's owner rejected the tape, but the competing Sandpiper offered to listen, and Moulton left the reel. At 2:30 on a Saturday morning, Moulton was awakened by a call from the Sandpiper that was unintelligible except for the screaming of dancers. To a tape! --source unidentifiedAlong with neighboring Cherry Grove, Fire Island Pines comprise the gay community on Fire Island. --http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fire_Island_Pines%2C_New_York [Jul 2005]
see also: Tom Moulton - disco - gay - dance music - New York
2005, Jul 22; 13:23 ::: Just Jaeckin
The Perils of Gwendoline in the Land of the Yik Yak (1984) - Just Jaeckin [Amazon.com] [FR] [DE] [UK]
Just Jaeckin is a French film director. He was born on August 8th, 1940 (Vichy, Allier, France).
He debuted with Emmanuelle in 1974, starring Sylvia Kristel, setting the trend for a number of European softcore films.
He directed The Story of O in 1975 , starring Corinne Clery. The film met with far less acclaim than the book. It was banned in the United Kingdom by the British Board of Film Censors until February 2000.
Lady Chatterley's Lover was filmed in 1981. The film starred Sylvia Kristel, Shane Briant and Nicholas Clay and portrayed the sexuality of the novel in a more graphic manner than could ever have been possible in earlier decades. The film attracted widespread publicity due to its explicit nature, but generally poor reviews and was only a moderate commercial success.
The Perils of Gwendolyn in the Land of the Yik-Yak (original title Gwendoline) was released in 1984. The film is loosely based on the bondage-themed comics of John Willie and on the figure of Gwendoline. François Schuiten worked as a graphic designer for the movie. --http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Just_Jaeckin [Jul 2005]
see also: Just Jaeckin - director - softcore - French cinema - erotic movies - erotica
2005, Jul 22; 12:25 ::: What visuals turn men on?Q: Has your research shown a change over the years in what visuals turn men on?
A: Absolutely, but not in every country, say France, they kept the same visual esthetic pretty much front to back. The very first images, they were reasonably slim women with smallish, high-ish, firm-ish breasts and that’s where they are today. They started there; they stayed there. Latin-American countries, kind of the same thing, the butts and thighs got a little bigger with time, but still very similar bodies, always a slightly fuller figure.The countries that were actively involved in World War II, Germany, the U.S., England, they all came out with the same alteration in the body type. Somehow the French escaped it. I can’t tell you what the Russians liked because the Russians just weren’t making any porn magazines. The U.S., England, and Germany before the war had the same sort of body type, which was influenced by France.
France was a major influence around the world, not just fashion and food, but erotic interests. They were the major producers of erotic magazines before the war, and everyone went for that same body type, young, high-breasted, and symmetrical.
After the war, the U.S., England, and Germany all came out with a desire for a very voluptuous figure. What was popular right after the war became more exaggerated into the 1950s and 1960s. All three countries began making magazines with breast emphasis in the 1950s. --Dian Hanson (2005) http://www.sexwrecks.com/2005/02/dian_hanson.html [Jul 2005]
see also: arousal - breast - erotica
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