DAVID BIANCULLI

Founder / Editor

ERIC GOULD

Associate Editor

LINDA DONOVAN

Assistant Editor

Contributors

ALEX STRACHAN

MIKE HUGHES

KIM AKASS

MONIQUE NAZARETH

ROGER CATLIN

GARY EDGERTON

TOM BRINKMOELLER

GERALD JORDAN

NOEL HOLSTON

 
 
 
 
 
‘American Playboy’ is an Authorized Look at the Man Behind the Magazine
April 7, 2017  | By David Hinckley  | 4 comments
 

Whether you think Playboy magazine liberated America from its puritanical shackles or sent America spiraling into a Godless moral hell, you gotta admit it changed the game.

And since all things Playboy stemmed from the vision of its founder, Hugh Hefner, it’s logical that a new docu-drama tells the Playboy story through the story of Hef.

The 10-part American Playboy: The Hugh Hefner Story becomes available Friday on the streaming service Amazon Prime.

It’s an authorized production, done with the blessing of Playboy Enterprises.

The upside there is that the producers have access to all of Hefner’s and Playboy’s archival material, which seems to be copious. That suits executive producer Stephen David’s familiar hybrid style, blending documentary footage and interview with dramatic re-creations.

The other side is that while we learn a lot about the peaks and valleys of Hefner’s life, the series doesn’t go too deeply into several issues raised about Playboy over the years, like exploitation and elitism.

Instead, when it comes to controversy, American Playboy focuses on the accusation that because every issue featured naked women, Playboy was obscene.  

That’s an easy notion to refute and even ridicule in 2017 when Playboy’s style of nudity has become so relatively tame that for a while the magazine bailed out of the game altogether. 

For better or worse, naked bodies are everywhere today, from cable television to the Internet, and the idea children or anyone else can be “protected” from that feels more antiquated than rotary dial telephones.

Still, it was a hot-button notion when Hefner started Playboy in 1953, and American Playboy tries to explain the social context in which various jurisdictions tried to ban Hefner’s magazine and/or lock him up.

Challenging that sort of enforced “morality” was, of course, one of the precepts on which Hefner conceived his “men’s magazine,” which he originally wanted to call Stag Party.

It wasn’t just that every issue had full-color pictures of topless women. Playboy also argued from the beginning that sex was not shameful and dirty, but a natural part of life that should be celebrated.

Hefner expanded on that notion over the years in a series of long, long essays titled “The Playboy Philosophy.”

Aristotle, they’re not. But they did help shape and cement the Hefner brand: a tall, lean, pipe-smoking fellow in a smoking jacket or a bed jacket, surrounded by impeccable furnishings, fascinating company, fine food, tasteful music and beautiful women who were both adoring and willing.

For some American men, the life of Hef was the ultimate aspiration. For others, the message was more like “I’m Hugh Hefner, and you’re not.”

There’s reinforcement for each side in American Playboy. While Hefner didn’t sail smoothly through life, he more than fulfilled his vision of creating a lifestyle magazine that afforded him the epitome of that lifestyle.

It also helped shift the whole national conversation in a direction he felt it needed to go, partly because Playboy defied the notion that “dirty” magazines had a sleazy aura about them.

Hefner wanted a sophisticated tone, and while he didn’t always achieve it, he used the magazine to showcase some fine writing and exceptional photography in areas that extended to fashion and exploration.

The Playboy Interview, an extended spotlight for prominent, interesting people, produced some of the most candid insights into those folks. Hefner’s fondness for jazz led Playboy both to write about music well and to sponsor live music festivals.

At the same time, spinoff productions like the late-night Playboy After Dark television series foreshadowed social media in letting Hefner package a telescoped image of his world.

To watch that show, or to read about Hefner’s life, it looked to be one long party in which all the guests were elegant, desirable and beautiful, sipping expensive cocktails as they discussed the coolest, hippest subjects in the cleverest and most knowing way.

American Playboy fills in some of the spaces that carefully crafted image skipped over. Hef wasn’t a great husband or a great father. He didn’t make all the right moves.

Still, to watch it here, Hef’s life was a big win, and American Playboy features lots of naked women to prove it. The ways in which he enriched or tarnished other lives, that’s mostly left for another day.

 
 
 
 
 
Leave a Comment: (No HTML, 1000 chars max)
 
 Name (required)
 
 Email (required) (will not be published)
 
BUNQV
Type in the verification word shown on the image.
 
 
 Page: 1 of 1  | Go to page: 
4 Comments
 
 
We shares the passion for this industry in the most advanced way. We provide machining inserts and other products that match the ambitions and goals of your company. We assures you that our machining inserts are tested carefully in quality, repeatability, customer service, and production versatility.
May 31, 2024   |  Reply
 
 
You can be wearing an artsy looking products for a small fraction of the original price. Order one through this site, and you can rest assured that the fak carbide inserts you will be getting is of remarkable quality - just like the real thing.If you are tired of seeking for a reliable designer best, we believe you will be satisfied with our product best carbide inserts., welcome to our website to learn more about carbide inserts:https://www.estoolcarbide.com
Feb 28, 2024   |  Reply
 
 
The clever thing to do is to order your products right here through this website. And you will be combining top-notch quality with a very accessible price.As a fashion fan for a trendy and stylish product, one of the product is a rare choice. Take action and add one more jewelry to your valuable collection!, welcome to our website to learn more about carbide inserts:https://www.estoolcarbide.com
Jan 29, 2024   |  Reply
 
 
When one of my friends, a female, suggested American Playboy, I thought, uhhh no thanks. That is the last thing I would find interesting. That is until I decided to give it a go. Three days later I had watched all 10 episodes, and am officially declaring it one of the best documentaries I've watched. Here's primarily why...I was constantly surprised to discover all the things I didn't know about Hugh Hefner, and the Playboy empire. All judgments and assumptions were shattered episode after episode. Playboy magazine aimed to be a thinking gentlemans magazine. A man who cared about politics, journalism, social issues, women's rights and human rights. Scantily clad "pinups" as Hef referred to them, were just another aspect of a gentlemens interest. He aimed to pull discrimaination, social injustice and our very American puritanical view of sex right out of the closet. And that he did.
May 6, 2017   |  Reply
 
 
 
 Page: 1 of 1  | Go to page: