title: Nightbooks

text: Yasmin and Alex bond, and they eventually win Lenore's trust. Yasmin tearfully reveals she was afraid to befriend him because Natacha killed the others by transforming them into little figurines, now displayed in Natacha's cabinet. None has a unicorn necklace; Alex concludes that Unicorn Girl escaped. Her notes contain a recipe for a sleeping potion. Lenore slips it into Natacha's perfume bottle. When she falls asleep, they steal her keys and open the door, revealing a forest. They soon realize they are still inside the apartment.


title: Nightbooks

text: An evil unicorn drives them to a gingerbread cottage that mesmerizes Yasmin. They eat the gingerbread and fall unconscious. Alex wakes to find Yasmin and Lenore caged in a room lined with countless skulls. Blue mist is being siphoned from a coffin containing a witchlike figure. Natacha reveals that she was the Unicorn Girl, who after successfully escaping the original witch—who ate all her victims except Natasha—, was able to put her to sleep and returned to her home, only to find that her parents had moved away. With nowhere to go, she returned, studied witchcraft, and eventually lulled the witch into a deep sleep, using scary stories due to her immense love for them. Alex has been helping her keep the witch unconscious with his own scary stories while Natacha harvests her magic. The room shakes. They will all die if the witch wakes. Alex's fear of telling his truth makes it the ultimate scary story. He begins:


title: Nightbooks

text: Alex is used to being called names, but on his birthday, his supposed best friend, Josh, admits that Alex is too “weird.” Everyone is going to Cody's party instead. Alex's parents are distressed when no one comes to Alex's. “They made him hate himself,” and Alex, ashamed and hurt, resolves to hide what made him special. Natacha and the sleeping witch are mollified, but suddenly Alex says that he is glad he was kidnapped because he met Yasmin and Lenore, friends who value him.


title: Nightbooks

text: The happy ending wakes the hideous witch. While the witches battle, Yasmin grabs Natacha's perfume bottle and flees with Alex and Lenore. The front door opens into Alex's building. The ravenous witch pursues them to the basement. Alex distracts her by pretending to read a story, then pauses on a cliffhanger and throws the empty notebook into the furnace. The witch reaches for it. They push her in and hold the door shut while she melts.


title: Nightbooks

text: Alex introduces Yasmin and Lenore to his delighted parents as his best friends. Yasmin is reunited with her family. On a later visit, she gives Alex a beautiful leather-bound notebook signed “Stay weird storyteller. Yas.”


title: Nightbooks

text: Meanwhile, a figurine in Natacha's cabinet begin to crackle. Natacha's hand slams down, and we hear her laughter.


title: Nightbooks

text: In June 2019, it was announced that Netflix was developing an adaptation of "Nightbooks", with Mikki Daughtry and Tobias Iaconis writing the script. In October 2020, it was announced that Krysten Ritter, Winslow Fegley and Lidya Jewett would star in the film and that David Yarovesky would direct. The film was produced by Sam Raimi and Romel Adam through Ghost House Pictures, and by Mason Novick and Michelle Knudsen through MXN Entertainment.


title: Nightbooks

text: On the review aggregator website Rotten Tomatoes, the film holds an approval rating of 87% based on 25 reviews, with an average rating of 6.9/10. The website's critics consensus reads, "Its contents may be a bit busy and overly familiar, but "Nightbooks" offers a fun—and actually fairly scary—gateway to horror for younger viewers. " Metacritic gave the film a weighted average score of 65 out of 100 based on 5 critics, indicating "generally favorable reviews."


title: Nightbooks

text: Meagan Navarro, writing for horror magazine "Bloody Disgusting", gave the film three out of five stars, and specified that, ""Nightbooks" takes a while to warm up, but the back half brings the gateway horror fun," adding, "It's silly, whimsical, and creative, with a charming pair of leads. It’s for the young and the young at heart, wrapping a very familiar tale in creative horror-fantasy packaging. Using "The Lost Boys"’ song “Cry Little Sister” as a rallying anthem certainly helps."


title: UEFA European Under-19 Championship

text: The UEFA European Under-19 Championship, or simply UEFA Under-19 Championship or the UEFA Euro U-19, is an annual football competition contested by the European men's under-19 national teams of the member associations of UEFA.


title: UEFA European Under-19 Championship

text: Spain and England are the joint most successful team in this competition, having won eleven titles each. England are also the current champions.


title: UEFA European Under-19 Championship

text: The competition has been held since 1948. It was originally called the FIFA International Youth Tournament, until it was taken over by UEFA in 1956. In 1980, it was restyled the UEFA European Under-18 Championship. Until the 1997 tournament, players born on or after 1 August the year they turned 19 years were eligible to compete. Since the 1998 tournament, the date limit has been moved back to 1 January. The championship received its current name in 2001, which has been used since the 2002 championship. The contest has been held every year since its inauguration in 1948, except for the period between 1984 and 1992, when it was only held every other year.


title: UEFA European Under-19 Championship

text: The tournament has been played in a number of different formats during its existence. Currently it consists of two stages, similar to UEFA's other European championship competitions. The qualifying stage is open to all UEFA members, and the final stage is contested between eight teams.


title: UEFA European Under-19 Championship

text: During even years, the best finishing teams qualify for the FIFA U-20 World Cup held in the next (odd) year. Currently, five teams can qualify for the World Cup, consisting of the top two of their groups plus the winner of a play-off match between the third-placed teams of each group.


title: Chicago Fire (season 7)

text: The seventh season of "Chicago Fire", an American drama television series from executive producer Dick Wolf and producers Derek Haas and Matt Olmstead, was ordered on May 9, 2018, by NBC. The season premiered on September 26, 2018, with a timeslot change from Thursday at 10:00 p.m. to Wednesday at 9:00 p.m. The season concluded on May 22, 2019, and contained 22 episodes.


title: Chicago Fire (season 7)

text: On May 15, 2018, longtime cast member Monica Raymund who plays Paramedic Gabriela Dawson, announced her departure from the series citing her desire to get on with the "next chapter in life." On September 21, 2018, NBC announced that newcomer Annie Ilonzeh would join the series as a regular playing Emily Foster replacing Raymund on Ambulance 61.


title: Red State (2011 film)

text: Red State is a 2011 American independent horror thriller film written and directed by Kevin Smith and starring Michael Parks, John Goodman, Michael Angarano, Melissa Leo, and Stephen Root.


title: Red State (2011 film)

text: After months of saying that the distribution rights to the film would be auctioned off immediately after the premiere at the Sundance Film Festival, Smith controversially announced that he was instead going to self-distribute the picture under the SModcast Pictures banner with a traveling show in select cities.


title: Red State (2011 film)

text: On June 28, 2011, Smith announced a one-week run in Quentin Tarantino's New Beverly Cinema (making the film eligible for Academy Award consideration). The film was released via video on demand on September 1, 2011 through Lionsgate, in select theaters for a special one-night-only engagement on September 23, 2011 (via SModcast Pictures), and on home video October 18, 2011.


title: Red State (2011 film)

text: Teenagers Travis, Jarod, and Billy Ray drive to meet a woman named Sarah in response to an invitation for group sex. Along the way, they accidentally sideswipe the parked vehicle of Sheriff Wynan as Wynan is engaged in sex with another man. Wynan returns to the station and tells his deputy Pete to look for the vehicle involved.


title: Red State (2011 film)

text: Sarah tricks the boys into drinking drugged beer, and they pass out. Jarod wakes up in a covered cage and realizes he is inside Five Points Trinity Church, a fanatically conservative church, after he identifies church leader (and Sarah's father) Abin Cooper. Cooper begins a long, hate-filled sermon. His followers ritually murder a captive gay man and drop him into a crawl space where Travis and Billy Ray are bound together. Cooper begins preparing Jarod to be murdered in the same way, but stops when he notices Pete driving up to the church.


title: Red State (2011 film)

text: Travis and Billy Ray manage to cut themselves free, but are overheard by Sarah's husband, Caleb. Travis fails to escape his binds, so Billy Ray abandons him. Caleb chases Billy Ray into a room stocked with weapons, where the two shoot each other. Pete hears the gunshots and calls Wynan for back-up, but is shot and killed by Cooper's son Mordechai. Cooper blackmails Wynan, telling him to stay away or he will reveal Wynan's homosexuality to his wife. Wynan calls Agent Joseph Keenan of the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives, who begins setting up outside the church.


title: Red State (2011 film)

text: Travis breaks free, arms himself and plans to shoot the congregation, but witnesses Jarod being held captive in the church. Travis instead flees the church, but is mistaken for a member by Wynan and shot. Keenan tries to reason with the group, but Cooper shoots an ATF agent. A shoot-out erupts and Wynan is killed. The ATF orders Keenan to stage a full military raid on the church to eliminate all witnesses. Keenan passes the order on to ATF Agent Harry, who refuses.


title: Red State (2011 film)

text: During the shoot-out, Sarah's daughter Cheyenne escapes and is captured by an ATF agent. Sarah kills him as he is about to shoot Cheyenne. Cheyenne returns to the house and frees Jarod, begging him to help her hide the congregation's children. He refuses and she attacks him. Sarah attacks Jarod, and Cheyenne accidentally shoots and kills Sarah. Jarod decides to help Cheyenne hide the children. They plead with Keenan to spare the children but are both killed by Harry. The shoot-out is interrupted by a mysterious trumpet blast. The church congregation members lower their weapons and run outside rejoicing, claiming that the Rapture has occurred and taunting the ATF.


title: Red State (2011 film)

text: The film cuts to a government briefing several days later. Keenan reports that he head-butted Cooper and took the rest of the congregation into custody. He explains that the trumpet noises were a prank by a group of local college students irritated with Cooper. Keenan is promoted despite disobeying a direct order from his superiors. They explain that their initial decision to kill the members of the congregation was personal and that they are satisfied with incarcerating the congregation without trials, upsetting Keenan. Cooper is seen pacing around his cell singing and sermonizing until another prisoner tells him to shut up.


title: Red State (2011 film)

text: During various interactive Q&As for the film, Smith has stated that the original ending continued with the Rapture happening and the Four Horsemen of the Apocalypse descending on the scene.


title: Red State (2011 film)

text: Kevin Smith announced at the Wizard World Chicago 2006 convention that his next project would move in a different direction, and it would be a straight horror film. In April 2007, Smith revealed the title of the movie to be "Red State" and said that it was inspired by infamous pastor Fred Phelps and the Waco siege, or as Smith claimed, "very much about that subject matter, that point of view and that position taken to the absolute extreme. It is certainly not Phelps himself but it's very much inspired by a Phelps (like) figure." The first draft was finished in August 2007 with Smith wanting to film it before "Zack and Miri Make a Porno". Setting it apart from the majority of his other films, Smith made it clear that "Red State" was a horror film, stating that there would be no toilet humor in the film.


title: Red State (2011 film)

text: While speaking at a Q&A event in London on October 13, 2009, Smith stated that funding had been secured for "Red State" but that he wanted to proceed with "Hit Somebody" and delay filming "Red State" for a year. Another reason cited for the delay was that Smith held a superstition about dying after making his tenth movie, and that he did not want to leave an "unpleasant, nasty" film as his last. In February 2010, he talked about his project with CINSSU, saying that he was working through the project's financial challenges; he considered obtaining funding through investments from his fans but this idea was later dropped.


title: Red State (2011 film)

text: Film producers Bob and Harvey Weinstein, who had been involved in the distribution of all Kevin Smith films with the exception of "Mallrats" and "Cop Out", passed on supporting "Red State" with necessary funding. The budget was provided from two main private investor groups that raised the $4 million, one based in New York, one in Canada.


title: Red State (2011 film)

text: On July 24, 2010, it was also reported that actor Michael Parks had signed on to the film in a starring role, and on September 5, 2010, Smith confirmed that Matt L. Jones was also cast. On the September 20 edition of his and Ralph Garman's podcast Hollywood Babble-on, Smith announced that John Goodman had joined the cast. Smith edited the film throughout production and showed a first cut at the film's wrap party.


title: Red State (2011 film)

text: In July 2010, Smith stated on his Twitter account that "God-willing, Sundance in Jan for RED STATE." On November 8, Smith announced on Twitter that the movie was viewed by Sundance, to determine if it was eligible for entry in the 2011 festival. On December 1, Smith announced on his "Plus One" podcast that "Red State" would be screened at the 27th Sundance Film Festival in the non-competition section.


title: Red State (2011 film)

text: In the "Commercial" episode of "Comic Book Men", Smith cited Bryan Johnson's film "Vulgar" as being an inspiration for "Red State".


title: Red State (2011 film)

text: During the post-production process, Smith announced on social media that he was accepting song submissions for the soundtrack of the film. At least one fan-submitted song was used.


title: Red State (2011 film)

text: Throughout the months of November and December, teaser posters were released featuring characters from the movie in auctions via his Twitter account with the winning bidder hosting the poster exclusively on their website, while the money raised by the auction went to charity. Smith released a teaser trailer for the film on December 23, 2010.


title: Red State (2011 film)

text: Although Smith had announced plans to auction off the rights to "Red State" to distributors attending his Sundance Film Festival screening of the film, he revealed that was merely a ploy and Smith planned to self-distribute as a travelling roadshow beginning March 5 at Radio City Music Hall, and would tour the film across North America before releasing "Red State" directly to DVD and VOD.


title: Red State (2011 film)

text: Controversy soon erupted after Smith's speech at the film's debut screening at Sundance. Although Smith had decided to self-distribute the film, according to the film's producer Jonathan Gordon the option of self-distributing the movie was not considered at first:Hiring longtime specialty exec Dinerstein (whose film marketing consultancy also arranges self-distribution deals), bringing aboard Cinetic Media (which arranged service deals for sale titles like last year's Banksy doc "Exit Through the Gift Shop") with co-seller WME, and slapping the word "March" at the end of the teaser trailer has led many to suspect Smith has a self-distribution backup plan should an attractive offer fail to materialize. But is self-distribution or a service deal even an option they're considering? "No," says Gordon. "We want to have someone who loves the movie, understands it, knows how to handle it and get the most out of it."


title: Red State (2011 film)

text: The sudden announcement of self-distribution after initially announcing an auction provoked a backlash from the media and accusations of dishonesty, with some analysts commenting that they watched Smith "implode" and that he had "lost cred" and one prominent buyer saying, "He stole two hours and insulted every one of us ... He was a little like the twisted preacher Michael Parks played in his film. It became life imitating art." Smith joked about the people who had expected to buy the film at his Sundance speech:


title: Red State (2011 film)

text: Now, we're obviously not selling the movie, so I'm sorry to ... the distributors in the room. ... Number one: I'm not that sorry. It's a fucking film festival. Come see a movie. ... no hard feelings. Hopefully you don't mind. ... Thank you for coming. ... I will say this in my own defense ... a lot of youse work for studios ... you guys make a lot of trailers - you've lied to me many times. ... I've seen many trailers where I'm like "this is awesome", and I put my money down, and I'm like "You fucking lying whores". So ladies and gentleman, as you can see we're up here alienating all our future work, just burning the bridge as we cross it, and ah, that means there's probably not going to be much studio help for me and Jon in the future.


title: Red State (2011 film)

text: According to some writers, the internet community seemed to galvanize in response to the controversy, "...it seems Kevin Smith finally has the Internet critical community united on the same side: against him." Smith countered allegations of dishonesty by saying, "And I told the truth, in my tweet. I said, 'If I get to Sundance, I intend to pick my distributor in the room, auction-style.' Auction-style—did I not do that? ... I stood up there and said that I'm gonna take my movie—I'm gonna take it out and try not to spend money doing it."


title: Red State (2011 film)

text: Kim Masters, editor-at-large for "The Hollywood Reporter", interviewed associates close to Smith about his alleged career "implosion" at the Sundance debut of his film and the events leading up to it:


title: Red State (2011 film)

text: Smith was one of the first in the business to have a website and sell merchandise – pieces of film from his movies and action figures – to fans. But one source who has worked with him thinks Smith might be one of the first filmmakers to exploit and then be undone by social media, and that access to social media has eliminated any filter that might have protected Smith from emotional outbursts that, in this person's view, have undermined his career.


title: Red State (2011 film)

text: Smith responded to Masters, saying that it was "a "Jerry Maguire" moment. I've got a little fish in a plastic bag and one idealistic secretary on my side, and the Bob Sugars seem to be leaning in doorways, smirking."


title: Red State (2011 film)

text: Smith described his motivations, strategy, and thought process behind the marketing method at his Sundance appearance and on various podcast shows, Q&As, and tweets. He described the strategy as carefully planned with his business partners, including Jonathan Gordon, who had recently had an interesting experience as a short-lived executive at Universal. Smith did not take a salary for the film, noting that the plan was to pay investors back first.


title: Red State (2011 film)

text: In his Sundance Q&A, Smith compared the Indie scene from the 1990s to the present film landscape. He described the traditional film marketing system, in which studios buy films and then spend large amounts of money marketing it (often comparable to the film cost). He noted that it took seven years for his film "Clerks" to become profitable due to this system (see Hollywood accounting). He also compared selling a film to giving a child away for someone else to raise it. Other telling quotes from his Sundance appearance referenced a sort of rebirth of the notion of independence in show business.


title: Red State (2011 film)

text: "We're starting over ... true independence isn't making a film and selling it to some jackass. True independence is schlepping that shit to the people yourself. And that's what I intend to do..."


title: Red State (2011 film)

text: "Yes, anybody can make a movie, we know that now ... What we aim to prove is that anybody can release a movie as well, and it's not enough to just make it and sell it anymore, I'm sorry. ... Indie film isn't dead people, it just grew up. It's just indie film 2.0 now, and in indie film 2.0 we don't let them sell our movie, we sell our movie ourselves."


title: Red State (2011 film)

text: "Root for us if you will, hate us if you must. ... But I can't think of a more interesting business news story that you're ever gonna hear about this fucking year, man. We're definitely gonna go out there and try to find a new distribution model."


title: Red State (2011 film)

text: Smith planned to spend no money on traditional advertising (billboards, TV, print media), instead using the aforementioned in-person theatre tour with accompanying Q&A show, word-of-mouth, Twitter, social media, podcasts, and other means not traditionally used by the studio system.


title: Red State (2011 film)

text: In April 2011, Smith revealed that "Red State" had already made its budget back with the film making $1 million on the first leg of the tour, $1.5 million from a handful of foreign sales and $3 million from a domestic distribution deal for VOD.


title: Red State (2011 film)

text: The Westboro Baptist Church protested the film's release at the Sundance Film Festival because some of the elements of the film were "modeled after the founder and members of the Westboro Baptist Church."


title: Red State (2011 film)

text: The tour went well and the experience was described in detail in many of the SModco podcasts. On one of the tour stops, two defectors from the Westboro Baptist Church appeared at the public Q&A to ask Smith questions from the audience. He invited them on stage and proceeded to interview them.


title: Red State (2011 film)

text: In 2015 filmmaker Dan Costales, who worked with Sound designer of Bobb Barito and animation work from Dennis Fries, made an animated short film based on "Red State", which was released in March 2015 in the United States.


title: Red State (2011 film)

text: At the box office, "Red State" earned $1,104,682 in the United States. On its opening weekend, it grossed $204,230 in one theater, and it played at five theaters in its widest release. It grossed another $769,778 internationally for a total worldwide gross of $1,874,460.


title: Red State (2011 film)

text: The film received mixed reviews from critics and has a score of 61% on Rotten Tomatoes based on 92 reviews with an average rating of 6.10/10. The website's critical consensus states ""Red State" is an audacious and brash affair that ultimately fails to provide competent scares or thrills." The film also has a score of 50 out of 100 on Metacritic based on reviews from nine critics indicating "mixed or average reviews".


title: Red State (2011 film)

text: Edward Douglas of Shock Till You Drop panned the movie saying that, "it feels like one of Smith's Twitter rants fleshed out into film with equal portions of bile sprayed at both church and state." Katey Rich of Cinema Blend reporting in her review, "Messy, overwritten, visually stylish, but kind of a bore. More like Kevin Smith than it looks because nobody ever stops talking. And it's not a horror movie by any usual definition. More like teen horror movie morphs into Waco disaster. Melissa Leo overacts, Michael Parks is impressive as Fred Phelps figure but the character's meaning and purpose in the narrative (or lack thereof) is fuzzy." Jordan Hoffman in his review for UGO also panned the film, saying, "Kevin Smith, a wonderful public speaker and genuinely fun guy, has yet to master the basics of movie making." According to Drew Mcweeny of "Motion Captured", "Kevin Smith's "Red State" fails onscreen and off at its world premiere ... A shoddy film and a bait-and-switch event fail to satisfy on any level." Raffi Asdourian of "The Film Stage" wrote that, "While there are glimpses of Smith's wry humor scattered throughout, "Red State" can't help but feel like a B action movie that started off with ambitious ideas but collapses under own preachy weight ... it's clear that the smart alec writer still has some things to learn about making a great film." Matt Goldberg of Collider.com wrote that, "Red State is a radical departure for Smith and yet he lacks the confidence to properly execute the action-horror-thriller he's devised."


title: Red State (2011 film)

text: James Rocchi writing for indieWire wrote that, "...Smith has gotten as far as he has with his comedies because it is a writer's genre more so than it is a director's. Horror is the genre of a director—pacing, feel, shots, editing—and Smith's skills are not up to the task ..."


title: Red State (2011 film)

text: Amongst the positive reactions to the film, Todd McCarthy of "The Hollywood Reporter" called the movie, "A potent cinematic hand grenade tossed to bigots everywhere." Jeff Sneider of TheWrap.com said, "The truth is that I didn't really know what to expect from "Red State," but regardless, I still had high expectations and am pleased to report that the film lived up to them. ... it brings something new to the genre, and that something is faith." Germain Lussier of /Film also praised the film, saying, "This is a maturing, confident Smith who proves, after "Cop Out", he still has a unique voice. With "Red State", that voice isn't saying anything incredibly groundbreaking, and at times it gets a tad preachy, but the director has expanded out of his comfort zone and given audiences a genuine piece of art." Director Richard Kelly also offered his take on the film and Smith while appearing on Smith's SMovieMakers podcast. He said "I have never seen a filmmaker reinvent himself the way you just have. I won't say anything else because I don't want to spoil anything. It's really really exciting ..." Smith blogged on his official film website that filmmaker Quentin Tarantino saw the film and gave him positive feedback about it; Tarantino also named "Red State" as his eighth-favorite film of 2011. Former collaborator Ben Affleck also loved the film and ended up casting Goodman, Parks, and Bishé in his film "Argo".


title: Red State (2011 film)

text: In October 2011, "Red State" won the Best Motion Picture award at the 2011 Sitges Film Festival, while Michael Parks was named Best Actor. Parks' character, Abin Cooper, received a nomination for Villain Of The Year from the Virgin Media Movie Awards.


title: Benin Bronzes

text: The Benin Bronzes are a group of several thousand metal plaques and sculptures that decorated the royal palace of the Kingdom of Benin in what is now Edo State, Nigeria. Collectively, the objects form the best examples of Benin art and were created from the thirteenth century by artists of the Edo people. Apart from the plaques, other sculptures in brass or bronze include portrait heads, jewellery and smaller pieces.


title: Benin Bronzes

text: Many of the dramatic sculptures date to the thirteenth century, and a large part of the collection dates to the fifteenth and sixteenth centuries. It is believed that two "golden ages" in Benin metal workmanship occurred during the reigns of Esigie ( 1550) and of Eresoyen (1735–1750), when their workmanship achieved its highest quality.


title: Benin Bronzes

text: Most of the plaques and other objects were looted by British forces during the Benin Expedition of 1897 as imperial control was being consolidated in Southern Nigeria. About two hundred pieces were taken to the British Museum in London, while the rest found their way to other European museums. A large number are held by the British Museum with other notable collections in Germany and the United States.


title: Benin Bronzes

text: The Benin Bronzes led to a greater appreciation in Europe of African culture and art. Initially, it appeared incredible to the discoverers that people "supposedly so primitive and savage" were responsible for such highly developed objects. Some even wrongly concluded that Benin knowledge of metallurgy came from the Portuguese traders who were in contact with Benin in the early modern period. The Kingdom of Benin was a hub of African civilization long before Portuguese traders visited, and it is clear that the bronzes were made in Benin by an indigenous culture centuries before European contact.


title: Benin Bronzes

text: While the collection is known as the Benin Bronzes, like most West African "bronzes" the pieces are mostly made of brass of variable composition. There are also pieces made of mixtures of bronze and brass, of wood, of ceramic, and of ivory, among other materials. The metal pieces were made using lost-wax casting and are considered among the best sculptures made using this technique.


title: Benin Bronzes

text: Since November 2022, information on the Benin Bronzes and other artifacts from the Kingdom of Benin can be accessed through the online platform "Digital Benin".


title: Benin Bronzes

text: On 29 November 2022, it was announced that the Horniman Museum in Forest Hill, London had signed its Benin Bronzes back to Nigeria. The formal signing ceremony took place on the evening of 28 November 2022 in front of Nigerian royalty and other dignitaries.


title: Benin Bronzes

text: Many of the dramatic sculptures date to the thirteenth century, and a large part of the collection dates to the fifteenth and sixteenth centuries. It is believed that two "golden ages" in Benin metal workmanship occurred during the reigns of Esigie (fl. 1550) and of Eresoyen (1735–1750), when their workmanship achieved its highest quality.


title: Benin Bronzes

text: The Kingdom of Benin, which occupied southern parts of present-day Nigeria between the fourteenth and nineteenth centuries, was rich in sculptures of diverse materials, such as iron, bronze, wood, ivory and terra cotta. The Oba's palace in Benin City, the site of production for the royal ancestral altars, also was the backdrop for an elaborate court ceremonial life in which the Oba of Benin, his warriors, chiefs and titleholders, priests, members of the palace societies and their constituent guilds, foreign merchants and mercenaries, and numerous retainers and attendants all took part. The palace, a vast sprawling agglomeration of buildings and courtyards, was the setting for hundreds of rectangular brass plaques whose relief images portray the persons and events that animated the court.


title: Benin Bronzes

text: Bronze and ivory objects had a variety of functions in the ritual and courtly life of the Kingdom of Benin. They were used principally to decorate the royal palace, which contained many bronze works. They were hung on the pillars of the palace by nails punched through them. As a courtly art, their principal objective was to glorify the Oba, the divine king, and the history of his imperial power or to honour the Iyoba of Benin (the queen mother). Art in the Kingdom of Benin took many forms, of which bronze and brass reliefs and the heads of kings and queen mothers are the best known. Bronze receptacles, bells, ornaments, jewellery, and ritual objects also possessed aesthetic qualities and originality, demonstrating the skills of their makers, although they are often eclipsed by figurative works in bronze and ivory carvings.


title: Benin Bronzes

text: In tropical Africa the technique of lost-wax casting was developed early, as the works from Benin show. When a king died, his successor would order that a bronze head be made of his predecessor. Approximately 170 of these sculptures exist, and the oldest date from the twelfth century. The oba, or king, monopolized the materials that were most difficult to obtain, such as gold, elephant tusks, and bronze. These kings made possible the creation of the splendid Benin bronzes; thus, the royal courts contributed substantially to the development of sub-Saharan art. In 1939, heads very similar to those of the Kingdom of Benin were discovered in Ife, the holy city of the Yoruba, which dated to the fourteenth and fifteenth centuries. This discovery supported an earlier tradition holding that it was artists from Ife who had taught Benin the techniques of bronze metalworking. Recognition of the antiquity of the technology in Benin advanced when these sculptures were dated definitively to that era.


title: Benin Bronzes

text: Few examples of African art had been collected by Europeans in the eighteenth century. Only at the beginning of the nineteenth century, when colonization and missionary activity began, did larger numbers of African works begin to be taken to Europe, where they were described as simple curiosities of "pagan" cults. This attitude changed after the Benin Expedition of 1897.


title: Benin Bronzes

text: In 1897, the vice consul general James Robert Phillips, of the Niger Coast Protectorate, together with six other British officials, two businessmen, translators, and 215 porters, set off toward Benin from the small port of Sapele, Nigeria, The true intention of the visit is disputed. The delegation's stated aim was to negotiate with the Oba of Benin, while some historians contend that it was a reconnaissance mission disguised as a peaceful diplomatic delegation with the goal of ultimately overthrowing the king (Oba) of Benin. Although they had given word of their intended visit, they were later informed that their journey must be delayed, because no foreigner could enter the city while rituals were being conducted; however, the travellers ignored the warning and continued on their expedition. They were ambushed at the south of the city by Oba warriors, and only two Europeans survived the ensuing massacre.


title: Benin Bronzes

text: News of the incident reached London eight days later and a naval punitive expedition was organized immediately, which was to be directed by Admiral Harry Rawson. British forces sacked and destroyed Benin City. Following the attack, the victors took the works of art decorating the Royal Palace and the residences of the nobility, which had been accumulated over many centuries. According to the official account of this event written by the British, the attack was warranted because the local people had ambushed a peaceful mission, and because the expedition liberated the population from a reign of terror. Further, these objects were deemed "spoils of war", meaning that their rightful ownership was up for debate as soon as the attack began. This ambiguity surrounding the objects' ownership has made it difficult for the Benin Kingdom (present day Nigeria) to reclaim their property.


title: Benin Bronzes

text: The works taken by the British were a treasure hoard of bronze and ivory sculptures, including king heads, queen mother heads, leopard figurines, bells, and a great number of images sculpted in high relief, all of which were executed with a mastery of lost-wax casting. In 1910, German researcher Leo Frobenius carried out an expedition to Africa with the aim of collecting works of African art for museums in his country. Today perhaps as few as fifty pieces remain in Nigeria although approximately 2,400 pieces are held in European and American collections.


title: Benin Bronzes

text: The Benin Bronzes that were part of the booty of the punitive expedition of 1897 had different destinations: one portion ended up in the private collections of various British officials; the Foreign and Commonwealth Office sold a large number, which later ended up in various European museums, mainly in Germany, and in American museums. The high quality of the pieces was reflected in the high prices they fetched on the market. The Foreign Office gave a large quantity of bronze wall plaques to the British Museum; these plaques illustrated the history of the Benin Kingdom in the fifteenth and sixteenth century.


title: Benin Bronzes

text: The two largest collections of Benin Bronzes are located in the Ethnological Museum of Berlin and in the British Museum in London, while the third largest collection is located in several museums in Nigeria (principally the Nigerian National Museum in Lagos).


title: Benin Bronzes

text: Since gaining independence in 1960, Nigeria has sought the return of the bronzes on several occasions. There has also been extensive debate over the location of the bronzes being distant from their place of origin. Often, their return has been considered emblematic of the repatriation of the African continent. The artefacts have become a test case in the international debate over restitution, comparable to that of the Elgin Marbles.


title: Benin Bronzes

text: The British Museum sold more than 30 Benin Bronzes to the Nigerian government between 1950 and 1972. In 1950, the museum's curator Hermann Braunholtz declared that, although made individually, of the 203 plaques acquired by the Museum in 1898, 30 were duplicates; because they were identical representations, he determined that they were superfluous for the museum and were sold. The sales stopped in 1972 and the museum's African art specialist said that they regretted the sales. A newspaper publication revealed that in 1953, Sotheby's sold a Benin Bronze head for £5,500 when the previous record sale was £780. In 1968, Christies sold for £21,000 a Benin Head that was discovered by an officer around his neighbour's greenhouse. In 1984, Sotheby's auctioned a plaque depicting a musician; its value was estimated at between £25,000 and £35,000 in the auction catalogue. In 2015, a Benin Bronze head was sold to a private collector for a record fee of £10 million.


title: Benin Bronzes

text: In 2018, an agreement was made between the Benin Dialogue Group (BDG) and the government in London to return Benin Bronzes that will be used to form a temporary exhibition at the New Benin Royal Museum in Edo State. The group comprises representatives of several international museums, the Royal Court of Benin, Edo State Government and the Nigerian National Commission for Museums and Monuments. In 2015, Mark Walker returned some Benin Bronzes that were taken by his grandfather during the siege on Benin Kingdom, and he was received by Prince Edun Akenzua in Benin City.


title: Benin Bronzes

text: In 2020, Nigeria took receipt of a terracotta head that was believed to be around 600 years old, which had been smuggled out of Nigeria.


title: Benin Bronzes

text: The University of Aberdeen agreed in March 2021 to return a bronze head of an oba, that had been purchased at an auction in 1957.


title: Benin Bronzes

text: In April 2021, the German government declared the restitution of looted Benin bronzes in Germany's public collections by 2022. Hartmut Dorgerloh, the director of the Humboldt Forum, which incorporates the Ethnological Museum of Berlin, said at a press event that exhibiting the Benin bronzes in the new museum complex in Berlin as earlier planned is "now not imaginable". Also in April 2021, the Church of England promised to return two Benin bronzes that were given as gifts to the then Archbishop of Canterbury Robert Runcie almost 40 years ago. These bronzes were meant to join the collection of the future Benin Royal Museum. In the same month, the Horniman Museum in South London said it was considering legal advice in terms of repatriation and restitution of 49 works from Benin City including 15 brass plaques, weapons and jewellery in its possession.


title: Benin Bronzes

text: In response to the British Museum's continued refusal to return looted Benin bronzes, the "Iyase" (traditional prime minister) of Benin Kingdom unveiled the largest bronze plaque to date on 30 July 2021. The plaque contains over 2 tons of brass and was created by one of the grandsons of the current "Iyase" of Benin Kingdom, Lukas Osarobo Zeickner-Okoro. It is titled 'The Return of Oba Ewuare' to symbolise the Benin belief in reincarnation and a restart of the Benin Bronze Age in the reign of the current Oba of Benin, Ewuare II. It therefore honours the Oba and was even offered in exchange for the bronzes held by the British Museum.


title: Benin Bronzes

text: In October 2021, Jesus College, Cambridge, announced that it would be repatriating a sculpture of a cockerel, known as Okukor, to Nigeria, on the 27 October, after the student body brought to light its historical significance as a looted artefact. The statue had previously been removed from display in 2016, after student calls for the statue to be repatriated; following investigation by the college's Legacy of Slavery Working Party (LSWP), it was ascertained that the statue had been directly taken from the court of Benin, and had been gifted to the college by the father of a student in 1905. In February 2022, two Benin bronzes, the bust of a Head of an Oba and the bronze cockerel Okukor, that had been returned by the University of Aberdeen and Jesus College, Cambridge, were received at the royal palace in Benin City by the Oba of Benin, Ewuare II. In December 2022, the University of Cambridge legally transferred ownership of more than 100 Benin artefacts from its Museum of Archaeology and Anthropology to the National Commission of Museums and Monuments (NCMM) of Nigeria. A museum spokesperson declared that some of the pieces were to remain in Cambridge “on extended loan” to ensure that “this west African civilisation continues to be represented in the museum’s displays, and in teaching for school groups."


title: Benin Bronzes

text: In November 2021, the Metropolitan Museum of Art transferred two 16th-century Bronze plaques, a Warrior Chief and Junior Court Official to the National Commission for Museums and Monuments. This transfer is not to be confused as a response to repatriation requests, as the Institution owns a collection of about 160 Benin Bronzes. Instead, the Museum describes this transfer as a return of plaques that were stolen from the National Museum in Lagos in the 1950s.


title: Benin Bronzes

text: In January 2022, the in Newcastle, England, agreed to return a Benin Bronze stave to Nigeria. In March 2022, the Smithsonian Institution announced that 39 bronzes in its National Museum of African Art would be repatriated. The bronzes are meant to be on display at the future National Museum of Benin City.


title: Benin Bronzes

text: On 1 July 2022, Germany announced the immediate ownership transfer of 1,100 artefacts held by the Linden Museum in Stuttgart, Berlin's Humboldt Forum, the Cologne Rautenstrauch-Joest Museum, Hamburg's Museum am Rothenbaum and the State Ethnographic Collections of Saxony to Nigeria. The physical return of each item will be negotiated between the German museums and the Nigerian government and some of the objects could remain in display in Germany under custody agreements. Hermann Parzinger, the head of the Prussian Cultural Heritage Foundation, an authority that oversees many of Berlin's museums, said a “representative collection of objects” would remain in the German capital on a long-term loan.


title: Benin Bronzes

text: On 28 November 2022, the Horniman Museum in London held an official ceremony, unconditionally transferring ownership of its Benin Bronzes back to Nigeria.


title: Benin Bronzes

text: In August 2022, an African-American slavery reparations activist group in the US, called the Restitution Study Group, petitioned against the United Kingdom's Charity Commission repatriating the Benin Bronzes to Nigeria. The group argued that in the country's history, African people had been complicit in selling captives into the Atlantic slave trade. Instead, the group suggested that descendants of enslaved Africans should have co-ownership over the Benin Bronzes in Western museums.


title: Benin Bronzes

text: In November 2022, ARTnews magazine and other media reported that the "Digital Benin" online database had been created by a number of museums, including both experts from Nigeria (National Museum Lagos and Benin City National Museum) as well as from other African and Western institutions. "Digital Benin" lists 131 institutions from 20 countries with Benin cultural heritage in their collections. This new online platform allows visitors to learn about the specifications, location and provenance of more than 5,000 African artifacts, including maps, high-resolution images, and the title of the works in English and Edo languages.


title: Benin Bronzes

text: The Benin Bronzes are more naturalistic than most African art of the period. The bronze surfaces are designed to highlight contrasts between light and metal. The features of many of the heads are exaggerated from natural proportions, with large ears, noses, and lips, which are shaped with great care. The most notable aspect of the works is the high level of metal working skill at lost-wax casting. The descendants of these artisans still revere Igue-Igha, as the person who introduced the art of casting to the Kingdom of Benin.


title: Benin Bronzes

text: Another important aspect of the works is their exclusivity: property was reserved only for certain social classes, reflecting the strict hierarchical structure of society in the Kingdom of Benin. In general, only the king could own objects made of bronze and ivory, however, he could allow high-ranking individuals to use such items, such as hanging masks and cuffs made of bronze and ivory. Coral was also a royal material. Coral neck rings were a symbol of nobility and use was granted specifically by the Oba.


title: Benin Bronzes

text: The rectangular plaques exist in two formats. In one, the long vertical sides are turned back, creating a small edge that is decorated with an incised guilloché pattern. In the other format, which is much narrower, the turned-back edges are missing and the design of the plaque background ends abruptly, as if cut off. These variations probably reflect the size and shape of the palace pillars and the arrangement of the plaques on them. The plaques are generally about 1/8 inch (3.175 mm) thick.


title: Benin Bronzes

text: The backgrounds on the front of most of the plaques are incised with foliate patterns bearing one to four leaves, which is referred to as "ebe-ame", or the "river leaf" design. The leaves were used in healing rites by priestesses of Olokun, the god of the sea.


title: Benin Bronzes

text: Some of the reliefs represent important battles of the sixteenth-century wars of expansion; however, the majority depict dignitaries wearing ceremonial dress. Most of the plaques portray static figures, either alone, in pairs, or in small groups arranged hierarchically around a central figure. Many of the figures depicted in the plaques may be identified only through their clothing and emblems, which indicated their rank and function in the court, but not their individual identities. Although there have been attempts to link some of the depictions with historical figures, these identifications have been speculative and unverified. In certain cases, the lack of information even extends to the functional roles of some figures, which cannot conclusively be determined.


title: Benin Bronzes

text: The bronze heads were reserved for ancestral altars. They were also used as a base for engraved elephant tusks, which were placed in openings in the heads. The commemorative heads of the king or the queen mother were not individual portraits, although they show a stylized naturalism. Instead, they are archetypical depictions; the style of their design changed over the centuries, which also occurred with the insignia of the depicted royalty. The elephant tusks with decorative carvings, which may have begun being used as a decorative element in the eighteenth century, show distinct scenes from the reign of a deceased king.


title: Benin Bronzes

text: As a prerequisite for royal succession, each new Oba had to install an altar in honor of his predecessor. According to popular belief, a person's head was the receptacle of the supernatural guide for rational behavior. The head of an Oba was especially sacred, since the survival, security, and prosperity of all Edo citizens and their families, depended on his wisdom. In the annual festivals to reinforce the mystical power of the Oba, the king made ritual offerings in these sanctuaries, which were considered essential for the continuation of his reign. The stylistic variation of these bronze heads is such an important characteristic of Beninese art that it constitutes the primary scientific basis for establishing a chronology.


title: Benin Bronzes

text: The leopard is a motif that occurs throughout many of the Benin Bronzes, because it is the animal which symbolizes the Oba. Another recurring motif is the royal triad: the Oba in the centre, flanked by two assistants, highlighting the support of those who the king trusted in order to govern.


title: Benin Bronzes

text: According to some sources, the Benin artists may have been inspired by items brought during the arrival of the Portuguese, including European illuminated books, small ivory caskets with carved lids from India, and Indian miniature paintings. The quatrefoil "river leaves" might have originated from European or Islamic art, but by contrast, Babatunde Lawal cites examples of relief carving in southern Nigerian art to support his theory that the plaques are indigenous to Benin.


title: Benin Bronzes

text: British archaeologist and anthropologist Dan Hicks discussed the looting of the Benin Bronzes and their current presence within museums around the world. In his book he expressed the view that the looting of the Benin Bronzes are not an 'historical incident of reception' but an 'enduring brutality'. It was also noted that a total figure of looted artefacts from Benin was up to 10,000 bronzes, ivories and other objects. Hicks notes that many of the looted Benin artefacts are in regional and university museums within the UK rather than the more well-known collections such as the British Museum, Royal Collection and the Victoria and Albert Museum.


title: Benin Bronzes

text: Although the works generally are called the Benin Bronzes, they are made of different materials. Some are made of brass, which analysis has shown to be an alloy of copper, zinc and lead in various proportions. Others are non-metallic, made of wood, ceramic, ivory, leather or cloth.


title: Benin Bronzes

text: The wooden objects are made in a complex process. It starts with a tree trunk or branch and is carved directly. The artist obtains the final form of the work from a block of wood. Since it was customary to use freshly cut wood in carvings, once the piece was finalized the surface was charred to prevent cracking during drying. This also allowed for polychromatic artworks, which were achieved using knife cuts and applications of natural pigments made with vegetable oil or palm oil. This type of grease, which was made near smoke from homes, allowed the wooden sculptures to acquire a patina that resembles rusty metal.


title: Benin Bronzes

text: The figures depicted in the bronzes were cast in relief with details incised in the wax model. Artists working in bronze were organized into a type of guild under royal decree and lived in a special area of the palace under the direct control of the Oba. The works made using lost-wax casting required great specialisation. Their quality was superior when the king was especially powerful, allowing him to employ a great number of specialists.


title: Benin Bronzes

text: Although the oldest examples of similar Benin metal work in bronze date from the twelfth century, according to tradition, the lost-wax casting technique was introduced to Benin by the son of the Oni, or sovereign of Ife. Their tradition holds that he taught the Benin metal workers the art of casting bronze using lost-wax techniques during the thirteenth century. These Benin artisans refined that technique until they were able to cast plaques only an eighth-of-an-inch thick, surpassing the art as practiced by Renaissance masters in Europe.


title: Benin Bronzes

text: One sixteenth-century bronze, depicting the Oba with Europeans, was featured in "A History of the World in 100 Objects", a series of radio programmes that started in 2010 as a collaboration between the BBC and the British Museum; it was also published as a book.


title: Tirumala

text: Tirumala is a spiritual town in Tirupati district of the Indian state of Andhra Pradesh. It is one of the suburbs of the Tirupati urban agglomeration. The town is a part of Tirupati Urban Development Authority and located in Tirupati (rural) mandal of Tirupati revenue division. It is a hill town where Tirumala Venkateswara Temple is located, which is the abode of Vishnu. The town is strictly vegetarian.


title: Tirumala

text: Tirumala is located above sea level and covers an area of approximately . Surrounding the hills are seven peaks of Seshachalam range, Eastern Ghats namely Seshadri, Neeladri, Garudadri, Anjanadri, Vrushabadri, Narayanadri and Venkatadri. The temple of Sri Venkateswara is on the seventh peak (Venkatadri).


title: Tirumala

text: At the point on the Tirupati – Tirumala Ghat road, there is a major discontinuity of stratigraphic significance that represents a period of remarkable serenity in the geological history of the Earth. This is referred to as the Eparchaean Unconformity. This unconformity separates the Nagari Quartzite of the Proterozoic from the granite of the Archean, representing a time gap of 800 Mya. In 2001, the Geological Survey of India (GSI) declared the Eparchaean Unconformity to be one of the 26 "Geological Monuments of India".


title: Tirumala

text: Silathoranam, a natural arch and a distinctive geological wonder is located in Tirumala Hills at a distance of from Tirumala Venkateswara Temple. The arch measures in width and metres in height and is eroded out of quartizite of Cuddapah Supergroup of Middle to Upper Proterozoic (1600 to 570 Mya) by weathering agents such as water and wind.


title: Tirumala

text: Tirumala has a tropical wet and dry climate designated Aw under the Köppen climate classification. As the hill shrine is situated amidst the hills, the temperature will go below 10 degrees in winter. Summers are not as hot here, especially compared to Tirupati. The southwest monsoon season starts from June, but rains are not heavy. Occasionally, thunderstorms form and downpours may persist for hours. Pertaining to orographic relief, the northeast monsoon remains active over the region for 2 months. It causes flooding. The highest 24-hour rainfall on record was on 23 November 2005, followed by on 9 November 2015.


title: Tirumala

text: In ancient literature, Tirupati is mentioned as Aadhi Varaha Kshetra. The Puranas associate the site with Lord Varaha, one of the Dashavatara of Lord Vishnu. In Varaha Purana, Venkatadri is believed to be a part of Mount Meru, which was brought on to the earth from Vishnu's abode Vaikuntam by his mount Garuda. The seven peaks represent the seven heads of Adisesha.


title: Tirumala

text: India census, Tirumala has a population of 7,741. Males constitute 52 percent of the population and females 48 percent. Tirumala has an average literacy rate of 72.8 percent, higher than the national average of 59.5 percent. The male literacy rate is 57.1 percent and the female rate is 42.9 percent. In Tirumala, 11 percent of the population is under six years of age.


title: Tirumala

text: The town of Tirumala is strictly vegetarian. Consumption of non-vegetarian food, alcohol, and tobacco products is strictly prohibited in Tirumala, and smuggling any of these is considered a serious offence at Tirumala. Dhotis and Sarees are the traditional popular attire. The practices of tonsure and using tilaka are popular among devotees of Lord Venkateswara.


title: Tirumala

text: Sri Venkateswara Brahmotsavams celebrated every year during September/October is the most important festival in Tirumala when it receives lakhs of devotees over a short span of a nine days. The city celebrates all major Hindu festivals including Sankranti, Ugadi etc. Vaikunta Ekadasi, the day on which it is believed that Vaikunta Dwarams will be opened, is celebrated in Tirumala. Rathasapthami is another festival, celebrated during February, when Lord Venkateswara processional deity, (Malayappa) is taken in a procession around the temple on seven different vahanas from early morning to late night.


title: Tirumala

text: Tirupati is known for world-famous Tirupati Laddu. It is the prasadam at Venkateswara Temple, Tirumala. Tirupati Laddu had got Geographical indication tag which entitles only Tirumala Tirupati Devasthanams to make or sell it.


title: Tirumala

text: Tirumala Tirupati Devasthanams established Sri Venkateswara Museum, one at Tirumala and the other at Tirupati. It has a wonderful collection of Tirupati temple architecture and historical artefacts, such as ancient weaponry, pooja items and idols. It has a comprehensive photo gallery that gives a unique insight into the Tirupati region's culture and traditions. It also boasts a meditation centre.


title: Tirumala

text: Venkateswara Temple is an abode of Lord Venkateswara situated in Tirumala. It is also known as Tirumala Temple. Natural Arch is located north of the temple, which measures wide and high and was naturally formed from the quartz. "Srivaari Paadamulu" (the footprints of Lord) are believed to be the footprints of Lord Venkateswara formed when he first stood on Tirumala Hills. "Papavinasanam" is a waterfall flowing from a tributary of the Swarnamukhi River. It also has a temple where seven lion-headed channels open from a height for deities to bathe below them. A temple dedicated to goddess Ganga is located near the enclosure. "Akaasa Ganga" is another natural waterfall in Tirumala.


title: Tirumala

text: There are two paths to travel on foot from Tirupati to Tirumala. These paths are called "Sopanamargas". The Devotees to fulfil their Vow to Lord Venkateswara will take this path to reach Tirumala on foot from Tirupati. Both the paths are completely roofed and passes through seven hills which are part of Seshachalam Hills.


title: Tirumala

text: Tirumala can be accessed by road from Alipiri. The distance is . There are two roads from Alipiri to Tirumala, one each dedicated to up and down traffic. The state government-owned Andhra Pradesh State Road Transport Corporation (APSRTC) operates frequent "Saptagiri" and "Saptagiri Express" buses from Tirupati and Alipiri and also from nearby places. Tirumala Tirupati Devasthanams (TTD) runs free buses for transit within Tirumala.


title: Tirumala

text: The nearest railway station is at Tirupati, about from Tirumala. Tirupati Main railway station is one of the major railway station in the South Central Railway zone of the Indian Railways, providing rail connectivity to major parts of India. It is under the jurisdiction of Guntakal railway division. is another important railway station which lies on the Chennai – Mumbai rail corridor is away from Tirumala.


title: Tirumala

text: The nearest airport is Tirupati Airport, about from Tirumala. It is a domestic airport with direct flights to Hyderabad, Visakhapatnam and New Delhi. The nearest major airport is the Chennai International Airport, located about from Tirumala.


title: Final Fantasy II

text: The game's story centers on four youths whose parents were killed during an army invasion by the empire of Palamecia, who are using hellspawn to conquer the world. Three of the four main characters join a rebellion against the empire, embarking on missions to gain new magic and weapons, destroy enemy superweapons, and rescue leading members of the resistance. The Game Boy Advance remake adds a bonus story after the game is completed.


title: Final Fantasy II

text: "Final Fantasy II" introduced many elements that would later become staples of the "Final Fantasy" franchise, including chocobos and the recurring character Cid. It also eliminated the traditional experience point leveling system of the previous and later games in the series, instead introducing an activity-based progression system where the characters' statistics increase according to how they are used or acquired. Despite being advertised as a sequel to "Final Fantasy", the game includes no characters and locations from the first game. "Final Fantasy II" received little attention from non-Japanese reviewers at its initial release, though its remakes have garnered favorable reviews.


title: Final Fantasy II

text: "Final Fantasy II" features gameplay similar to that of its predecessor, "Final Fantasy". The player can freely roam an overworld containing several towns and dungeons. A menu-based system allows the player to outfit each character with equipment and up to two—often disposable—items for battle. Magic spells are assigned to the character from the item menu, and certain spells, such as "Cure", can be used outside of battle. The player can also save their progress on the overworld. Weapons, armor, items, and magic spells can be purchased at shops, and townspeople provide useful information for the player's progression through the game. One new feature is the "Word Memory" system: when in conversation with non-player characters (NPCs), the player can "ask" about and "memorize" special keywords or phrases, which can later be repeated to other NPCs to gain more information or unlock new actions. Similarly, there exist a handful of special items that can be shown to NPCs during conversation or used on certain objects, which have the same effect. Characters and monsters are no longer separated into separate windows in the battle screen as they were in the first "Final Fantasy", and players can see their current and total hit points below the battle. Players can also fight with less than four characters in their party, which was not possible in the first game. "Final Fantasy II" introduced the chocobo, the signature "Final Fantasy" mascot, which lets characters ride to a location at great speed without being attacked by enemies. The recurring character Cid was also introduced, and a character of the same name has appeared in every main-series game since.


title: Final Fantasy II

text: On the overworld and within dungeons, random encounters with enemies can be fought to improve each character's attributes. Unlike the original "Final Fantasy", players cannot upgrade their characters' classes. The game is also one of the few games in the series to not use experience-based levels. Instead, each character participating in battle develops depending on what actions they take. For instance, characters who frequently use a particular type of weapon will become more adept at wielding a weapon of that type, and will also increase in physical strength and accuracy. Attributes include hit points, magic points, magic power, stamina, strength, spirit, agility, intelligence, and evasion. Hit points (HP) and magic points (MP) increase with their use; a character who takes a heavy amount of damage in a battle might earn an increase in maximum HP, while a character who uses a lot of MP during battle might increase their maximum MP. This experience system had several unintended consequences that allowed characters to gain much more experience than intended, such as players having their characters attack each other and repeatedly cast spells, thus causing their HP and abilities to grow extensively. "Final Fantasy II" uses the same turn-based battle system seen in the original "Final Fantasy", with battle parties consisting of up to four characters at a time. The game introduces a "back row" in battle, within which characters or enemies are immune to most physical attacks, but can be harmed with bows and magical attacks.


title: Final Fantasy II

text: "Final Fantasy II" features four playable characters as well as several secondary characters who are only briefly controlled by the player. Primary characters include , a resident of the country of Fynn and the main protagonist; , a soft-spoken archer and dedicated enemy of the Empire; , a simple monk who communicates with animals; and , a conflicted dark knight who is missing for most of the game. Five playable characters temporarily join the party to assist Firion, Maria, and Guy in their missions for the rebellion. These are , the prince of Kashuan and a member of the rebellion; , a villager in the town of Salamand; , a pirate; , who is a White Mage with the rebellion, and , who is the first dragoon to appear in the series.


title: Final Fantasy II

text: Firion and the (named in Kenji Terada's novelization of the game) are the respective hero and villain representing "Final Fantasy II" in "Dissidia Final Fantasy", "Dissidia 012 Final Fantasy" and "Dissidia Final Fantasy NT", fighting games featuring characters from across the series. Firion is voiced by Hikaru Midorikawa in the Japanese versions and by Johnny Yong Bosch in the English versions; Mateus is voiced by Kenyu Horiuchi in the Japanese versions and Christopher Corey Smith in the English versions. In the PlayStation's opening FMV of "Final Fantasy II", Firion is also voiced by Yukimasa Obi, while Maria is played by Noriko Shitaya, Guy by Kenta Miyake, and Leon by Takayuki Yamaguchi.


title: Final Fantasy II

text: "Final Fantasy II" begins as Firion, Maria, Guy and Leon are attacked by Palamecian Black Knight soldiers and left for dead. Firion, Maria, and Guy are rescued by Princess Hilda, who has established a rebel base in the town of Altair after her kingdom of Fynn was invaded by the Emperor. Hilda denies their request to join the rebel army because they are too young and inexperienced. The three set off for Fynn in search of Leon; there they find a dying Prince Scott of Kashuan, Hilda's fiancé, who informs them that a former nobleman of Kashuan, Borghen, betrayed the rebellion and became a General in the Imperial army. The party returns to Altair to inform Hilda. She allows the group to join the rebellion and asks them to journey north to find mythril, a metal which could be used to create powerful weapons. The party makes its way north to the occupied village of Salamand, saves the villagers forced to work in the nearby mines, kills Borghen, and retrieves the mythril.


title: Final Fantasy II

text: For their next mission, the party is sent to the city of Bafsk to prevent the construction of a large airship known as the Dreadnought; however, it takes off just as they arrive. After retrieving the Sunfire, a weapon which can blow up the Dreadnought, they watch helplessly as an airship with Hilda on board is captured by the Dreadnought. When the Dreadnought lands to stock up on supplies, the party rescues Hilda and throws the Sunfire into the airship's engine. Before escaping from the explosion, the party encounters a dark knight whom Maria thinks she recognizes as Leon.


title: Final Fantasy II

text: On his deathbed, the King of Fynn tasks the party to seek the help of the seemingly extinct dragoons of Deist. In Deist, the party finds only a mother with her son, learning that all but one of the Dragoons are dead, partly as a result of Imperial poison. After placing an egg of the last wyvern in a cavern, the party returns to Altair and rescues Hilda from the Empire a second time, before successfully reclaiming Fynn from the Imperial forces. They then travel west in search of a powerful magic item, joining forces with the last surviving dragoon on the way. The party returns to Fynn and sees that many towns have been destroyed by a cyclone summoned by the Emperor. The party calls upon the newly born last wyvern to take them to a castle inside the cyclone, where they confront and kill the Emperor. Back at Fynn, everyone celebrates the Empire's defeat, but a mortally wounded Fynn soldier arrives and reveals that Leon has taken the throne and plans to destroy the Rebels with the Imperial army.


title: Final Fantasy II

text: The party enters the castle of Palamecia and confronts Leon. However, the Emperor reappears in the throne room in a new demonic form, revealing he has returned from Hell with the intention of destroying the entire world. The party and Leon escape Palamecia Castle with the wyvern, as the castle is replaced with the palace of Hell, Pandaemonium. Leon agrees to help the group seal the Emperor away. The party travels to the Jade Passage, an underground passage to the underworld, and finds the portal to Pandaemonium, where they finally defeat the Emperor. Afterwards, Leon chooses to leave in response to the trouble he caused, though Firion assures him that he'll be welcomed back if and when he returns.


title: Final Fantasy II

text: The "Dawn of Souls" remake of the game for the Game Boy Advance includes an additional storyline that takes place after the game, which follows the four party members who died during the story of the game.


title: Final Fantasy II

text: Following his sacrifice to unseal the door guarding the Ultima Tome, Minwu awakens in a new area and sees someone resembling Gordon fight off Imperial soldiers. Minwu assists him, and the man soon explains he is Scott, Gordon's brother. Minwu informs him of the events up to his own demise, and the two surmise they are in the Jade Passage since they both died. They find Josef and subsequently Ricard, eventually emerging in Machanon, a village in the mirror image of Poft where the citizens are dead victims of the Emperor's conquest, including Cid and Tobul, with the former asking the group to find out where they are and why they have been called here.


title: Final Fantasy II

text: The four enter the teleporter at the north edge of town and enter what Minwu believes is Pandaemonium. Climbing to the highest floor, the party meets the Light Emperor, who explains that when Firion and his allies killed him, his soul was split, with the Emperor's "dark half" falling to Hell and acquiring more power, while his light half—the Emperor they now see—ascended to Heaven. He then explains they are in Arubboth, palace of Heaven, and the cave they traveled through was Raqia, the place where fallen angels are cast down to become demons, and that he called them here to ask for forgiveness on the behalf of his dark half, and offers them eternal life with him in Arubboth if they forgive his sins.


title: Final Fantasy II

text: Though the four are tempted by the offer, apparitions of their loved ones show them a vision of Firion and his allies battling the Dark Emperor in Pandaemonium. Realizing this Emperor is just as evil as the original, the four reject his offer, and defeats the Light Emperor just as Firion and his allies vanquish the Dark Emperor. As the rebels in the world of the living celebrate their victory, the specters of Minwu, Scott, Josef and Ricard watch them and wish them well, and as they fade away into peaceful rest, Minwu comments that if anyone can change man's legacy of violence, it's Firion and his friends.


title: Final Fantasy II

text: During the development of the first installment in the series, Square's management decided to manufacture 400,000 copies of the game to make a sequel possible, then the original Famicom (NES) version successfully shipped 520,000 copies in Japan. As there were no concrete ideas for "Final Fantasy II" from the start, it was eventually taken in a new direction and included none of the previous game's characters or locations. Hironobu Sakaguchi, who had previously served as the main planner for "Final Fantasy", assumed the role of director to accommodate for the larger development team. Using the experience gained from the first installment, which focused more on fitting story ideas into their new gameplay system and game world, the developers fully crafted the story of "Final Fantasy II" first. The gameplay was then built around the narrative. The experience system was designed to be a more realistic advancement system than that of the first game. Several members of the original staff from the first game reprised their jobs for "Final Fantasy II". Sakaguchi again created the plot for the title, with the actual scenario written by Kenji Terada. Nobuo Uematsu composed the music, as he had for the first game, while Yoshitaka Amano was again the concept artist. As with the original, "Final Fantasy II" was programmed by Nasir Gebelli. Midway through the development of the game, Gebelli was forced to return to Sacramento, California from Japan due to an expired work visa. The rest of the development staff followed him to Sacramento with necessary materials and equipment and finished production of the game there. The game was released one day less than a year after the first game came out.


title: Final Fantasy II

text: In April 1989, the game was novelized by its original scenario writer Kenji Terada under the title "Final Fantasy II: Muma no Meikyū" (lit. "The Labyrinth of Nightmares"). It was published in Japan exclusively by Kadokawa Shoten.


title: Final Fantasy II

text: The music for "Final Fantasy II" was later arranged by Tsuyoshi Sekito for the WonderSwan Color, PlayStation, and Game Boy Advance remakes. Although the two soundtracks were composed separately, the soundtrack to "II" has only been released as a combined album with the soundtrack to "Final Fantasy I". They were first released as "All Sounds of Final Fantasy I•II" in 1989, which was then republished in 1994. An arranged album of music from the two soundtracks titled "Symphonic Suite Final Fantasy" was also released in 1989, while "Final Fantasy & Final Fantasy II Original Soundtrack", a combined soundtrack album for the PlayStation versions of the games, was released in 2002 and re-released in 2004. The music of "Final Fantasy II" has also appeared in various official concerts and live albums, such as "20020220 music from Final Fantasy", a live recording of an orchestra performing music from the series including several pieces from the games. Additionally, several songs from the game were performed as part of a medley by the Royal Stockholm Philharmonic Orchestra for the "Distant Worlds – Music from Final Fantasy" concert tour, while a different medley of songs from the game were performed by the New Japan Philharmonic Orchestra in the "Tour de Japon: Music from Final Fantasy" concert series.


title: Final Fantasy II

text: "Final Fantasy II" has been remade several times for different platforms, and has frequently been packaged with the first "Final Fantasy" in various collections. While all of these remakes retain the same basic story and battle mechanics, various tweaks have been made in different areas, including graphics, sound, and specific game elements.


title: Final Fantasy II

text: Following the successful North American release of the original "Final Fantasy" by Nintendo in 1990, Square Soft, Square's North American subsidiary, began work on an English language localization of "Final Fantasy II", to be called "Final Fantasy II: Dark Shadow Over Palakia". Assigned to the project was Kaoru Moriyama, whose later work included script translations for "Final Fantasy IV" and "Secret of Mana" (known as "Seiken Densetsu 2" in Japan). Although a beta version was produced, and the game was advertised in several Square Soft trade publications, the long development time, the age of the original Japanese game and the arrival of the Super Nintendo Entertainment System, the NES's successor console, led Square Soft to cancel work on the "Final Fantasy II" localization in favor of the recently released "Final Fantasy IV" (which, to avoid confusing North American players, was retitled "Final Fantasy II").


title: Final Fantasy II

text: Although a prototype cartridge of the English NES "Final Fantasy II" was produced, the project was, by Moriyama's own admission, still far from complete; "We had so very limited memory capacity we could use for each game, and it was never really "translating" but chopping up the information and cramming them back in... [Additionally] our boss had no understanding in putting in extra work for the English version at that time." In 2003, when the game was finally released to English-speaking audiences as part of "Final Fantasy Origins", it was released with new graphics, music, and a brand new translation under the supervision of Akira Kashiwagi. A fan translation of the original game was also created prior to the release of "Origins", and makes use of an original translation as the existence of the prototype cartridge was not common knowledge at the time.


title: Final Fantasy II

text: In addition to its original Famicom release, "Final Fantasy II" was re-released on the WonderSwan Color in 2001, and both singularly and as part of a collection with "Final Fantasy I" for the PlayStation in 2002. It was released on the Game Boy Advance in 2004 as part of "Final Fantasy I & II: Dawn of Souls", on the PlayStation Portable in 2007, and for the Japanese Wii Virtual Console on June 16, 2009.


title: Final Fantasy II

text: The "Final Fantasy I•II" collection included the original game with only minor changes. The WonderSwan Color remake of the game was first released on May 3, 2001, and later included as a bundle with a special "Final Fantasy II" edition of the console. It included completely redone graphics in the manner of the 16-bit generation "Final Fantasy" games and includes larger character sprites, remixed music by Tsuyoshi Sekito, and full graphical backgrounds in battle mode. The PlayStation version featured even more graphical updates over the WonderSwan version, and the soundtrack was again remixed by Tsuyoshi Sekito to a higher quality so as to utilise the audio capabilities of the PlayStation. Sekito also composed a few new tracks to be used in the new cutscenes. It was published both individually (in Japan only) and alongside "Final Fantasy I" in a collection entitled "Final Fantasy Origins" (or "Final Fantasy I+II Premium Collection" in Japan); this was the first release of the game outside Japan. On December 18, 2012 the port was re-released as part of the "Final Fantasy 25th Anniversary Ultimate Box" package.


title: Final Fantasy II

text: "Final Fantasy II" was again released in a new format in 2004 for the Game Boy Advance as part of "Final Fantasy I & II: Dawn of Souls". The primary change for this version was the addition of a bonus storyline entitled "Soul of Rebirth" accessible to the player after completing the game. In 2005 and 2006, Square Enix released a version of "Final Fantasy II" for three Japanese mobile phone networks. To celebrate the "Final Fantasy" series' 20th anniversary, the game was released in Japan for the PlayStation Portable in 2007. The remake features improved graphics, the cutscenes and soundtrack from "Final Fantasy Origins", and the bonus quest and dungeons from "Final Fantasy I & II: Dawn of Souls". It additionally includes four new dungeons in which more character-specific equipment can be found, alongside powerful enemies and two new bosses. The release for the Japanese Virtual Console for the Wii on June 16, 2009, for the Wii U on December 11, 2013, and for the Nintendo 3DS on February 12, 2014, is identical to the original Famicom release, incorporating none of the updates of the later versions. On February 25, 2010, Square Enix released a port of the PSP version modified with touchscreen controls for the iOS platform. Following this, a touchscreen port was brought to Android in 2012 through the Google Play store.


title: Final Fantasy II

text: According to Square's publicity department, the original Famicom release sold 800,000 copies. As of March 31, 2003, the game, including all re-releases at the time, had shipped 1.28 million copies worldwide, with 1.08 million of those copies being shipped in Japan and 200,000 abroad. Despite having only been released in June of that year, as of September 2007 the PlayStation Portable version had shipped 90,000 copies in Japan and 70,000 in North America. Despite these high sales, the game had sold the fewest copies of any of the first ten main games in the "Final Fantasy" series.


title: Final Fantasy II

text: Upon release, "Famicom Tsūshin" (now "Famitsu") gave the original Famicom version a score of 35 out of 40, based on a panel of four reviewers giving it ratings of 9, 9, 9 and 8 out of 10. This made it one of their three highest-rated games of 1988, along with "Dragon Quest III" (which scored 38/40) and "Super Mario Bros. 3" (which scored 35/40). It was also one of the magazine's five highest-rated games up until 1988, along with "Dragon Quest II" (which scored 38/40) and "" (which scored 36/40). The 1989 "All Soft Catalog" issue of "Famicom Tsūshin" included "Final Fantasy II" in its list of the best games of all time, giving it the Best Scenario award. Retrospectively, G4 described the stat-building system as an "Innovation", noting that "Computer RPGs took the “level” system wholesale from tabletop role-playing games and made it a genre staple, but FF2 eliminated levels altogether," but that what "sounds novel at first wound up being a huge mess".


title: Final Fantasy II

text: The game's re-releases have been more heavily reviewed. "Famitsu" magazine scored the WonderSwan version of the game a 30 out of 40, and GameSpot noted the "Dawn of Souls" mostly outdated graphics but praised its length and bonus content. IGN noted the great improvement in the translation of the story over "Final Fantasy I" and the addition of later "Final Fantasy" features, such as being able to save anywhere in the overworld map without a tent or cabin. The "Dawn of Souls" release was named the IGN Game Boy "Game of the Month" for March 2004, and the package was rated 76th in "Nintendo Power"s Top 200 Games list. The dialogue system was thought to be time consuming and stilted, but was still a milestone for interactivity. The story was considered to be much more involved and deep than the first "Final Fantasy", as it involved romance and the death of characters. The game's plot was thought by some reviewers to mirror elements of "Star Wars: A New Hope" in its use of an orphan joining a rebellion against an empire that was building a massive ship, with a captive princess inside. GameSpy praised the addition of the ability to save the game at any time, calling the feature crucial for a game on a handheld game console, and in contrast to GameSpot, praised the graphics, saying that while they were primitive, they were "well-suited" to the Game Boy Advance.


title: Final Fantasy II

text: The PSP version was met with generally average reviews. GameSpot described the "more intriguing" story and "key words" system as "notable" in "the evolution of the series and genre" but called the level up system "chaotic" and noted that unlike previous versions, this was shipped without a version of "Final Fantasy I". IGN described the "dialogue and story" as "much more interesting than" its predecessor and the "proficiency system not unlike what's found in "The Elder Scrolls"" as a "semi-innovation" for its time, but also complained about the gameplay, saying, "If you're the type of player who puts a higher emphasis on more satisfying gameplay experiences [...] then FF2 definitely isn't the upgrade it appears to be." Both sources praised the graphics, however. GameSpy, however, while echoing similar complaints about the "quirky and sometimes confusing" leveling system and praises for the graphics, also applauded the supposed decrease in difficulty of the game, which in the reviewers' opinion eliminated the necessity to abuse the leveling system in order to progress in the game as the player had to do in the original game.


title: Whale tail

text: Whale tail is the Y-shaped rear portion of a thong or G-string when visible above the waistline of low-rise pants, shorts, or skirts that resembles a whale's tail. Popularized by a number of female celebrities including Christina Aguilera, Victoria Beckham, Mariah Carey, Paris Hilton and Britney Spears, displaying whale tails became popular in the early 2000s, together with the popularity of low-rise jeans and thong panties; but quickly waned within the decade.


title: Whale tail

text: Low-waisted trousers, such as low-rise jeans or hip-huggers, and higher-cut thongs led to greater exposure of the whale tail. The trend was also associated with the trend of sporting lower back tattoos.


title: Whale tail

text: The word was selected by the American Dialect Society in January 2006 as the "most creative word" of 2005.


title: Whale tail

text: The rising popularity of low-rise jeans led to increased exposure of thong tops in the early 2000s. Britney Spears has been portrayed as a major contributor to the whale tail's popularity. Her whale tail display has been referred to in such creative literature books as "Married to a Rock Star" by Shemane Nugent, "Thong on Fire" by Noire, "The Magical Breasts of Britney Spears" by Ryan G. Van Cleave, and "Off-Color" by Janet McDonald. "The Oregonian", a Portland, Oregon, newspaper, wrote in 2004 that an abundance of whale tails had become a distraction on the campus. Social commentator Ann C. Hall identified this campus trend as an "apparent intersection between everyday campus fashion and soft porn". The layered clothing trend of the early 2000s was partly led by the whale tail style that incorporates hip-hugger jeans, crop tops and high riding thongs popularized by celebrities.


title: Whale tail

text: By the mid-2000s, whale tails became common to celebrities, providing opportunities to the paparazzi. Whale tail display spawned a new accessory—clip-on jewelry for the visible straps. Jess Cartner-Morley of "The Guardian" claimed that following pop stars in the hipster trousers gave rise to the "low-slung jeans, whale-tail G-string era". On 17 September 2004, a writer for the "Chicago Sun-Times" stated, "Britney Spears and Christina Aguilera regularly were photographed with thong straps riding high above their low-rise jeans. And even usually tasteful Halle Berry succumbed to the thong craze by attending an awards show with bejeweled thong straps peeking out from above her miniskirt." Actresses Gillian Anderson, Natalie Portman, Sarah Jessica Parker, Kim Cattrall and Tara Reid, MTV's Molly Sims, model Kate Moss, singers Beyoncé Knowles, Mariah Carey, Jennifer Lopez, Janet Jackson, LeAnn Rimes and Britney Spears have been associated as propagators of the trend by ABC.


title: Whale tail

text: In France, clothing brands started creating the thong or "le string" in styles that encourage a projection above low-hung jeans, such as designs that had small jewels or luminous stars sewn into the "tail". In India, thongs peeked out of low-rise jeans in page three parties and university bashes. Indian model Shefali Zariwala displayed a whale tail in the MTV Immies-winning music video "Kaanta Lagaa" and shot to fame and public debate in 2003. In Japan, clothing company Sanna's brought forward an extreme low-rise hip-hugging jeans design with built-in thong whale tails. R&B artist Sisqó rhapsodized about whale tails in his "Thong Song"—"I like it when the beat goes da na da na/Baby make your booty go da na da na/Girl I know you wanna show da na da na/That thong thong thong thong." Pornographic film director Mike Metropolis made three films based on whale tails—"Whale Tail" (2005), "Whale Tail I" (2005) and "Whale Tail II" (2006)—with Mark Ashley in the lead. Another movie titled "Whale Tail: Thong Dreams" was released in 2005 featuring Sunny Lane and Kirsten Price. In 2003, web content developer Gavin Hamilton created the site whale-tail.com with content featuring whale tail display. The domain name WhaleTail.com sold for $6,600 in October 2004. The website has been quoted by ABC Radio, "NY Times", "FHM" (UK) and "Fuel Magazine" (Australia), and has been nominated as a Best Adult Web Site by Australian Adult Industry Awards in 2008.


title: Whale tail

text: In 2004, Louisiana, USA State Representative Derrick Shepherd proposed a bill (HB1626), also known as the "Baggy Pants Bill" to Louisiana House of Representatives. The bill proposed that "it shall be unlawful for any person to appear in public wearing his pants below his waist and thereby exposing his skin or intimate clothing" and that violators would be subjected to three eight-hour days of community service and a fine of up to US$175. The measure died in the face of opposition from the American Civil Liberties Union. The bill was proposed again in 2008 and was rejected by a state Senate panel. In two Louisiana towns, Delcambre (a maximum penalty of US$615 fine or up to six months in prison) and Opelousas (a maximum penalty of US$500 fine or up to six months in prison), wearing low slung pants that reveal buttock cleavage or undergarments is considered a misdemeanor. Garments that reveal underpants were banned in four other Louisiana towns including Alexandria and Shreveport, where violators face fines of US$150 or 15 days in jail, as well as Hawkinsville, Georgia.


title: Whale tail

text: In February 2005, the Senate Courts of Justice Committee of Virginia voted unanimously in a hastily convened meeting against a bill proposed by Delegate Algie T. Howell Jr. (Norfolk, Virginia) to impose a US$50 fine on any person who publicly and intentionally "wears and displays his below-waist undergarments, intended to cover a person's intimate parts, in a lewd or indecent manner" in a public place. The bill (HB1981), also known as the "Droopy Drawers Bill", was earlier passed by Virginia House of Delegates by a 60–34 vote. Atlanta, GA, Dallas, TX, Baltimore, MD, Charlotte, NC, Yonkers, NY, Duncan, OK, Natchitoches, LA, Stratford, CT, Pine Bluff, AR, Trenton, NJ, Pleasantville, NJ, as well as three other Georgia towns, Rome, Brunswick and Plains have seen attempts to ban underwear peeking over the pants. School dress codes sometimes also banned some low-rising pants or visible underwear.


title: Whale tail

text: The trend of wearing whale tail-revealing jeans started to dissipate somewhat in the mid-2000s when American clothing designers started shifting focus from low-slung jeans and exposed midriffs to high-waisted trousers and cardigans. Jess Cartner-Morley, fashion writer of "The Guardian", claimed that the whale tail and the muffin top (the bulge of flesh hanging over the top of low-rider jeans), "twin crimes of modern fashion", had led to the decline in the popularity of hipster jeans. She quoted Louise Hunn, editor of the British edition of "InStyle", as saying—"When a look goes too mainstream, people start wearing it badly. And then the really fashionable people run a mile". While the thong still represented 24% of the US$2.5 billion annual market in women's underwear, it stopped growing by end of 2004. Some vendors, including Victoria's Secret and DKNY, started selling thongs that do not result in whale tails. Adam Lippes, founder of the lingerie line ADAM, said, "Women got tired of it. And they got sick and tired of seeing string hanging out of the top of every celebrity's jeans."


title: Whale tail

text: In 2019, publications including Vogue and the Daily Record began referring to a revived interest in the trend, with influencers such as Kim Kardashian, Hailey Baldwin and Dua Lipa prominently wearing it.


title: Whale tail

text: Attributing whale tails to mainstreaming of the sexualization of young women, "The Santa Rosa, California Press Democrat" termed the trend as "stripper chic". Post-modern thinker Yasmin Jiwani and co-writers described the trend in "Girlhood: Redefining the Limits" as an attempt to redefine girlhood while acknowledging the debate around it. The book termed the trend as the "slut" look popularized by Britney Spears. Some experts even dubbed visible whale tails as "thong feminism" for young girls. Other experts accused marketers of "outrageous selling of sex to children".


title: Whale tail

text: One conjecture assumes that the style of exposed thong may have "bubbled-up" from the street level to the high streets, like the jeans and t-shirt look of James Dean. Another assumes the fad was initiated by glamor model Jordan in England and singers Mariah Carey and Spears in the United States. The phenomenon has been compared to the phenomenon of visible bra straps. Saying that "just as Madonna made bras a public garment in the 1980s, Ms. Lewinsky, Paris Hilton and Britney Spears transformed women's panties into a provocative garment intended for public display", the New York Times claimed that the thong, with straps worn high over the hips and exposed by fashionable low-rise jeans and "Juicy Couture" sweat pants, had become a public icon.


title: Whale tail

text: "Whale tail" was selected in January 2006 as the "most creative word" of 2005 by the American Dialect Society, a group of linguists, editors, and academics. It received 44 votes to "muffin top" 25, "flee-ancée" (a reference to runaway bride Jennifer Wilbanks) 15, and "pinosaur" (a very old Wollemi pine tree near Australia's Blue Mountains) 6.


title: Whale tail

text: While discussing these new coinages, Sali Tagliamonte, associate professor of linguistics at the University of Toronto, observed that young women in North America were ahead of young men as influencers. The use of the word to indicate an underwear phenomenon has shown up in serious mainstream news media, sometimes in reference to the pop stars who made the fashion trend popular. Wayne Glowka, member of the Georgia College and State University faculty and head of the New Word Committee of the Dialect Society, said about the happening, "Language is just going on its merry way, creating many new words. It's time for men to win something."


title: Terence Hill and Bud Spencer

text: Terence Hill (born 1939) and Bud Spencer (1929–2016) are Italian actors who made numerous action-comedy and Spaghetti Western films together. They "garnered world acclaim and attracted millions to theater seats". While Hill's characters were agile and youthful, Spencer always played the "phlegmatic, grumpy strong-arm man with a blessed, naive child's laughter and a golden heart".


title: Terence Hill and Bud Spencer

text: Hill and Spencer's birth names are Mario Girotti and Carlo Pedersoli, respectively. They first worked together under their real names in "Hannibal" (1959), but not as a duo, as they only appear in supporting roles and have no scenes in common. Their first movie as a duo was "God Forgives... I Don't!" Peter Martell was originally chosen as the leading actor next to Spencer, but the day before the first shoot Martell broke his foot and was replaced by Hill, which launched their partnership. The film director asked the two actors to change their names, deeming them to be too Italian-sounding for a Western movie. At the time cast and crew in Italian Westerns frequently adopted American names to give the film a better chance of selling in non-Italian speaking countries; Girotti changed his name to "Terence Hill" and Pedersoli chose "Bud Spencer", with Bud inspired by Budweiser beer and Spencer by the actor Spencer Tracy.


title: Terence Hill and Bud Spencer

text: Most of their early films were "Spaghetti Westerns", beginning with "God Forgives... I Don't!" (1967), the first part of a trilogy, followed by "Ace High" (1968) and "Boot Hill" (1969).


title: Terence Hill and Bud Spencer

text: They had a huge hit with the comedy Western "They Call Me Trinity" (1970). When the film was first announced, Peter Martell was set to play Trinity and George Eastman Bambino. The two characters were later portrayed by Hill and Spencer, who became a popular comic duo following the release of "God Forgives... I Don't!". The sequel of "They Call Me Trinity" (1970), "Trinity Is Still My Name" (1971), was even more popular than the original. The film was a huge financial success, becoming the top-grossing Italian film up to then, with 14,554,172 admissions in Italy - a distinction previously held by its predecessor, "They Call Me Trinity". With 12,267,000 visitors, this movie is the seventh most successful film in Germany to date. The film also had a successful release in the USA. "Troublemakers" (1994), their last screen pairing, were in the same genre.


title: Terence Hill and Bud Spencer

text: Hill played the title swashbuckler in "Blackie the Pirate" (1971), in which Spencer had a small role. Filming for this film took place shortly after the filming for "They Call Me Trinity" (1970) ended and before that movie was released and it became known how successful that movie, and its formula, would become. Shortly after filming for "Blackie the Pirate" (1971) was finished, the production for "Trinity Is Still My Name" (1971) started.


title: Terence Hill and Bud Spencer

text: "... All the Way, Boys!" (1972) was the first film set in a modern context, although many other slapstick elements of the earlier films were carried over. They starred in more non-Westerns: "Watch Out, We're Mad!" (1974), "Two Missionaries" (1974), "Crime Busters" (1977), "Odds and Evens" (1978), "I'm for the Hippopotamus" (1979), "Who Finds a Friend Finds a Treasure" (1981), "Go for It" (1983) and "Double Trouble" (1984). "Miami Supercops" (1985) was their final non-Western film together and their last movie before they reunited nine years later for their final pairing in "Troublemakers" (1994).


title: Terence Hill and Bud Spencer

text: Many of their movies have alternative titles, depending upon the country and distributor. Some have longer Italian versions that were edited for their release abroad. These films gathered popularity for both actors, especially throughout much of Europe and parts of Asia and South America.


title: Terence Hill and Bud Spencer

text: Despite Hill's fluency in Italian and English, he was usually dubbed by other actors in both languages. In the Italian versions of his films, various actors provided his voice until the late 1960s, where he was primarily dubbed by Sergio Graziani; he was voiced by Pino Locchi from 1970 to 1983, and by Michele Gammino from 1983 to 1996. For English dubs, Lloyd Battista dubbed him in six films, while Roger Browne dubbed him in most of his early 1970s films ("They Call Me Trinity" to "A Genius, Two Partners and a Dupe"); from "Mr. Billion" onward, Hill dubbed his own English voice.


title: Terence Hill and Bud Spencer

text: Spencer was generally dubbed by actor Glauco Onorato in the Italian versions of his films due to his thick Naples accent, although he was voiced by Sergio Fiorentini in "Troublemakers". For English dubs, Spencer was usually voiced by Robert Sommer, Edward Mannix or Richard McNamara, although he occasionally provided his own voice.