Barbarella

Or rather the sexploits of Barbarella. A movie with catchy pyscadellic sixties music, fur rugs, iniuendo's revealing clothes, and comic fornication.

Barbarella directed by Roger Vadim (1968) staring the sex symbol of the time Jane Fonda. The movie Barbarella may be considered the starting point for Austin powers. both delve into a slightly sexier version of clothes from the 60's, a few bad puns and 'eye candy'. The design of the inside of the ship was very futuristic, or what was imagined to be futuristic, rounded TV's, gadgets in almost every decorative item and interior to match a "swanky 60's pad' with short brown fur.


To quote John. J. Puccio a DVD reviewer. "It is a satire of the love and peace movement of the sixites, plus a parody of the Bond-type adventures of the era".
                                                                                                             - (Puccio,2006)

A movie with a clear 'male gaze', which so happens to appear in the first scene, accompanied by a funky burlesque like song, which lyrics include 'Barbarella'. Through this we a greeted with a space suit strip tease the camera focuses on her bare hands and feet, by it doing so it attempts to not alienate the audience it makes them focus on what a man/ the director, would focus on a woman.


We are shown the 60's interests in a storm, fur was quite popular so in many shots fur was a factor, they even kept the hippies colours when Barbarella was travelling in her ship through a 'warp zone'. Not only the colours but the drug culture as well , she gets offered a puff from a  pot like drug called "Essence of man".

More suggestive themes when she receives her weapons for her coming mission on finding "Duran Duran" . All the weapons have hands on them, dispute the fact that the intention of that isn't exactly clear.

When She gets to an icy planet, with air that look slike toxic gas, she gets out her space ship by exciting through a tiny hole in the side, it open's and closes like the gun in the intro for a james bond movie.

But I digress. When she gets to the planet of ice she is greeted by children who later turn out to be quite sadistic as they tie her up to be chomped on by a bunch of demon dolls with teeth.
She is rescued by a man wearing alot of fur and said he "accepted job of Catchman". Catchman sounds like a zoo keeper or poacher, the children Ironically are treated like wild animals/monsters, they were caught in a net, (Similar to taming circus animals) and were tamed by a whip that sounded like a woman screaming.

Once saved, the first sexual trip was had with the "catchman"  who's ship's sails were like the shells over a mermaids bosom, and where he got her to sit was like a shell.
When he propositioned her for sex as thanks her initial reason for not ding was because " nobody's done that for centuries! I mean, nobody except the very poor, who can't afford the pills."


Making it seem as though the traditional animalstic fornication is looked down upon (in her world). where they opt for a "pill" which is more mental than physical, which could be seen as the female option compared to the mans.
When she meets Dildarno and she wants to offer her thanks he prefers to do it via the pill for he claims "I'm not a savage".

When she finally gets to Duran we find that we've seen him before and he is corrupt. He tries to kill her via "Death o' Pleasure". consisting of an accordion looking machine. But finds she has more stamina in the sack then he can combat.

Despite the films lack of story, The environment created for it was a spectacle in itself. The Labyrinth, seemed similar to what one might imagine hell to be, where all the off cuts are placed if they're "not hole". Bodies were stuck inside the scenery, doomed to be striped of emotion, and clothes, to never move again. Strange that even though the labyrinth is beneath the icy city it also has a sky, and clouds unlike the world above.

Biblo:
-http://www.dvdtown.com/review/barbarella/dvd/296