'71

What caught my interest the most is the page on "The Trial of Oz." Oz, apparently, was an underground magazine (or set of magazines, I'm not sure which) that had somewhat lewd images and art that the British government considered smut-- but Miles points out that "the contents of the magazine were so tame that the Soho sex shops would not have stocked it. In reality, it was an attempt by the authorities to curb the growth of the underground press and to stop tthe spread of pernicious ideas about sexual freedom, the rights of school children, and other hippie notions" (374). It kinda reminds me of Larry Flynt's problems-- fighting first amendment rights and obscenity charges-- but this is so much milder than Hustler (especially since Oz is supposed to a collection of drawings and maybe some written work, not graphic nudity in photographs). I understand the need for moderation of public images-- billboards, newspaper ads, etc-- but when it comes to private publications that consumers have a choice to buy, I can't see how the government has any basis in moderating it. It's like that Christian Parent Network, or whatever it's called, trying to get Family Guy off the air because of a recent bawdy episode: they want to regulate TV to fit their morals, when it's easy enough to block the show or station, change the channel, or pay attention to children so parents know what they're watching.

I was very interested in the section of Jim Morrison-- like many lovers of The Doors, I see Morrison as "the American poet," and I've watched countless movies, biographies, and "behind the music"-style VH1 shows on The Doors and Morrison. His death created many conspiracy theories-- that he killed himself, his girlfriend helped him kill himself, his girlfriend killed him, etc. As the quote at the top of the section says, "'The sad death of Jim Morrison leaves a few unaswered questions. What were the full circumstances surrounding his death and why have they not been revealed?' International Times..." (364). I didn't know, though, that it's thought that he snorted heroin, mistaking it for cocaine-- that brought up images from Pulp Fiction that were so startling and sobering (the wife of the mobster-dude snorts heroin, thinking it was coke, and had to be rushed to a dealer's house for a shot to the heart of adrenaline). Another idol of mine, Kurt Cobain, has conspiracy theories related to his death, too-- mostly because of it's suspicious nature (he supposedly shot himself with a double-barreled shotgun in the attic of his vacation home's garage). I still think Courtney Love killed him; I personally despise her just because of it.