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January 14

Spy x Family political allegory?

Are the political references to Germany in the Spy x Family manga and anime any more than superficial? I just watched a big chunk of seasons 1 and 2, and noticed the titles of the political figures and the political background story was quite detailed. I can't find anything from the authors etc., but given the tech and clothes seem 1970s-ish for Germany, I wonder if they were trying to reflect on any specific cold war events? Sandizer (talk) 08:30, 14 January 2024 (UTC)[reply]

And the Music Plays On

do you have sources for Del Shannon And The Music Plays On Album? like newspaper or book? Samchristie05 (talk) 18:15, 14 January 2024 (UTC)[reply]

@Samchristie05:

Basic information: [1]https://www.allmusic.com/album/and-the-music-plays-on-mw0000853546

Track Listing: [2]https://www.bear-family.com/shannon-del-live-in-england-and-the-music-plays-on-cd.html

Information on its CD: [3]https://www.amazon.com/Live-England-Music-Plays-Shannon/dp/B0000011O9 Exclusive Editor _{Notify Me!} 14:53, 23 January 2024 (UTC)[reply]

got it Samchristie05 (talk) 03:31, 24 January 2024 (UTC)[reply]

Love Variations

I recently stumbled across an extremely odd film called Love Variations on a file sharing site. IMDb has an entry here', though the copyright notice on the film is 1969, not 1970. It opens with the Tigon Films logo and then goes straight to a scene of a character purporting to be a physician and then swiftly to a series of anatomical illustrations and very The Joy of Sex-esque scenes of simulated sex, interspersed with commentary of the "lead", who is only credited at "A FAMILY DOCTOR". It's played straight and the information is reasonably legit for the time. It's a bit heteronormative and stresses sex within marriage, but it's otherwise pretty liberal: frank focus on women's sexual needs, contraception, masturbation as healthy, etc. The film ends with a group of supposed outside viewers remarking on the scenes displayed.
The credits are extremely sparse; after the cold open, there's a card for the title and copyright, a card saying "a David Grant Production", a card with credits to director "Terry Gould" (but see filmography of the David Grant link) and Assistant Director Ron Jackson. No cast or crew are otherwise credited and the only card at the end simply says "THE END Made by Oppidan Film Productions Ltd. 28 Evelyn Mansions, Carlisle Place, London, S.W.T. Filmed at Kingly Studios Ltd, London, England and Isleworth Studios, Mounslow, England." The couple is introduced simply as Carol and Steve, which lines up with what's on IMDb.
My question is, largely, what the hell is this? Our article on David Grant labels him a porn producer, though he clearly engaged in "legitimate" film production. Was this meant as a workaround to get past film censors? Was it actually meant for education? Of whom? Was it ever released theatrically? Shown in schools? Despite much nudity, the film is decidedly clinical and un-sexy; it would fail as porn. I've been unable to find anything beyond IMDb echoes in my searches. Our article on Grant suggests the film was based off of a book by him, but I'm coming up empty there as well. So far, the best info has been at BFI, but it's pretty sparse. Matt Deres (talk) 18:49, 14 January 2024 (UTC)[reply]

British Film Culture in the 1970s (p. 25) says that it was one of the "extrene films" which were subject to local authority bans, suggesting that it was intended to be shown in mainstream cinemas (some of which, I recall, specialised in showing only X-rated films and were the object of our schoolboy curiosity). I think the definition of what is pornographic has changed somewhat, viz the naturist film genre of a slightly earlier era. I hasten to add that I have no specialised knowledge in this area. Alansplodge (talk) 22:11, 14 January 2024 (UTC)[reply]

More details of the film's censorship issues at Censoring the 1970s: The BBFC and the Decade that Taste Forgot (pp. 24-25). Alansplodge (talk) 22:35, 14 January 2024 (UTC)[reply]

Thank you very much. You know, it's unfortunate that the lives of oddball films like this are often forgotten or deliberately ignored; it strikes me that the production of something like Love Variations was likely far more interesting than a profitable, but blandly corporate, blockbuster. I can't view your second link (it says I've reached the view limit), but I'll try again later. You make a good point about the definition of pornographic; it brings to mind the "volleyball" magazines Hawkeye always kept around the Swamp on MASH; likely pretty tame by the standards of today. Matt Deres (talk) 20:15, 16 January 2024 (UTC)[reply]