A Valentines’ Month Promotion: Who Would You Want in Your “Bed”?

The Culture Wars heated up between WWII and the end of the Vietnam War. During that era of conformity and repression, one short film by a queer poet created a jolt–and provided a type of reprieve.

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In 1967, during the “Summer of Love,” avant-garde filmmaker/poet James Broughton made The Bed. This 20-minute film classic was the first non-pornographic US film with full nudity, not merely frontal but in every variety and combination. Though many film processors refused to print it for fear of censors, The Bed eventually became a must-see underground film and a hit at midnight movies everywhere.

#The Bed film by James Broughton-034An old metal bed rolls down a hill, and is sequentially populated with a potpourri of beauties of all ages, including a coterie of young dance students, famous artists and avant-garde celebrities.

FREE THE BED:  See James Broughton’s The Bed in its entirety BELOW FREE, only during this Valentines promotion (through March 15, 2017). The contest itself ended February 28, though we got some interesting entries.

ANSWER & WIN: 1) How many of the famous people in Broughton’s small masterpiece can you name, and why they matter to you? Hint: all are mentioned in his newly re-published memoir, Coming Unbuttoned, and almost all in Big Joy: The Adventures of James Broughton, the award-winning feature-length documentary.

OR 2) What people would you choose to be in The Bed if it were yours to share? They can be living, fictitious, or from history (including your own).

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First prize: a DVD copy of Big Joy the feature film and the Coming Unbuttoned book, Broughton’s republished memoir.

Second prize: Coming Unbuttoned book.

Third prize: Big Joy movie.

Plus all who enter the contest will receive an electronic version of James Broughton’s poem “Song of the Bed,” written alongside The Bed.

Winners to be judged on content and creativity. So yes, feel free to add your personal commentary.

We have the winners! 

The winners are Marc Charrier of Kentville, Nova Scotia, Canada and David Hollingsworth of Fayetteville, North Carolina.
 
Said Marc: “Florence Allan, Gavin Arthur and Imogen Cunningham are some of the famous people who are in The Bed.  If I had my way, I’d choose Seann William Scott, Joe Biden and Emma Thompson, just because of the amazing conversations that would happen and because I find Seann cute.”
 
And David wrote:  “If I could share my BED with anyone, it would have to be notable LGBT activists, such as Harvey Milk, Keith Haring, Matt Bomer, Ellen DeGeneres, Ellen Page, Kate McKinnon, Neil Patrick Harris, Kristen Stewart, and Divine…. I think these are larger-than-life people who destroyed the stereotypes that all of us in the gay community continue to suffer through.  They don’t have to be nude, well maybe except for Matt Bomer and Neil Patrick Harris (HA!); they can be fully clothed. They would bring their own style and uniqueness to my BED. My BED is pretty plain and still made, so I guess it needs to be shaken up a bit.”
 
We congratulate them, and they will receive copies of the BIG JOY DVD and the new edition of Broughton’s memoir COMING UNBUTTONED, published by Query Books.

SPONSORS:  This promotion was brought to you jointly by Query Books, new publisher of classic LGBTQ literary gems (Coming Unbuttoned is available in softbound or e-book versions) and Frisky Divinity Productions, whose award-winning documentary Big Joy: The Adventures of James Broughton is now available for educational acquisition as well as home DVD and on-demand. 

And if you fall in love with The Bed you may want to fall even deeper into the story of this poet, lover and filmmaker, James Broughton, who participated in the cultural politics and arts undergrounds of the US and Europe in every decade from his college days in the 1930s to Gay Liberation throughout the ‘90s.

Now, see you in The Bed! You can now see it here for $199.

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