Underground film and electoral politics collided in summer 1968.

Evidence

The juxtaposition of Smith’s Baghdad and American electoral politics proved prophetic. June 13, two days after Smith was contacted by Playboy magazine’s editorial director, soliciting a response to the magazine’s forthcoming article “The History of Sex in Cinema,” lame duck president Lyndon Johnson nominated his crony Supreme Court Justice Abe Fortas to replace retiring Chief Justice Earl Warren. (In answer to the question, Smith wrote a response on Playboy’s embossed note paper, “Yes, you can take your magazine & wipe your asses with it.”) — J. Hoberman, Everything Is Now, 1385

Categorization

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