Daddy and the Muscle Academy explained

Daddy and the Muscle Academy
Director:Ilppo Pohjola
Producer:
Editing:Jorma Höri
Music:Elliott Sharp
Studio:Filmitakomo
Yleisradio
Distributor:Kristallisilmä
Runtime:58 minutes
Country:Finland
Language:Finnish, English

Daddy and the Muscle Academy is a 1991 Finnish documentary film directed and written by Ilppo Pohjola. The documentary is focused on the life and works of Tom of Finland, the pseudonym of Finnish gay erotic artist Touko Laaksonen.

Synopsis

Daddy and the Muscle Academy focuses on the life and artwork of Tom of Finland, the pseudonym of artist Touko Laaksonen, whose homoerotic illustrations of masculine men produced in the mid 20th century significantly influenced gay culture. The documentary was produced in the years immediately preceding Laaksonen's death in 1991, and features interviews with the artist as well as a retrospective of his illustrations. Individuals who have been influenced by Laaksonen's artwork, notably Etienne, Nayland Blake, Durk Dehner, and Bob Mizer, also appear as interview subjects.

Production and release

Daddy and the Muscle Academy was written and directed by Ilppo Pohjola, produced by and, shot by, and edited by Jorma Höri. The film was produced by Filmitakomo and Yleisradio, and distributed by Kristallisilmä. The film's soundtrack was produced by composer Elliott Sharp; Sharp remarked that Pohjola gave him "a few vague guidelines and suggestions" but left him "great latitude" to compose the soundtrack, which consisted primarily of electronically processed guitar.[1]

The film premiered in 1991 at the Helsinki International Film Festival. It has been broadcast multiple times on Finnish television, most recently in 2019 on Yle Teema & Fem, with censorship cuts of circa three minutes.[2] The film was restored in 2017[3] and released, with unedited interview segments, by Kino Lorber on Blu-ray.[4]

Reception

Writing for The Spool, critic B. L. Panther cites Daddy and the Muscle Academy as an example of New Queer Cinema through its "provocative secular-sexual imagery", non-linear narrative, and celebration of "a queer culture with a history", writing that the film gives a "clear sense of how gay men would use, send, lend, and share these magazines to see gay male erotica, which, in a profound way, made them feel seen themselves".

At the Jussi Awards in 1992, the crew of Daddy and the Muscle Academy was awarded a Special Award.[5]

External links

Notes and References

  1. Book: Sharp . Elliott . Elliott Sharp . IrRational Music . 2019 . . 978-1-949597-15-8 .
  2. https://elonet.finna.fi/Record/kavi.elonet_elokuva_135148 Daddy and the Muscle Academy
  3. http://www.dvdcompare.net/comparisons/film.php?fid=45306 Daddy and the Muscle Academy (Blu-ray).
  4. Web site: Daddy and the Muscle Academy . Kino Lorber . January 26, 2022.
  5. Web site: Jussi-voittajat . Filmiaura ry . 30 January 2022 . https://web.archive.org/web/20120326084134/http://www.jussit.fi/?page_id=80 . March 26, 2012 . Finnish.