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Keywords

  • Non-Fiction
Total: 2169
The Maltese Collection_peliplat

The Maltese Collection (2022)

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Documentary, Short

Since the rise of modesty and social order, people have decided to separate what is okay to interact with, and what is not. People decide what is allowed to be seen, to be heard, to be said. Yet underneath the facade of control and order, manufactured by those who dictate right and wrong, is a truth. A Desire. They can muffle it. They can chain it to the ground, but eventually, those chains rust. Eventually, they will break and inevitably people will tire of the facade. When they look to the chains, to see why it was shackled, they will see themselves. Their wants, and desires. They will need a guide to show them this new world and I have just the person. William Maltese has written over 250 novels since his first in 1967, with the majority of them Erotica. As a gay man living during a time of shame and ridicule for anyone not perfectly fit inside a heterosexual box, William experienced a double life. One, of the magnetically outgoing young man, perfectly attuned to the boundaries of society's box. The other, a curious adventurer hiding a deep desire to feel all of life including its people, constantly pushing the boundaries of the box he's been shoved in. It was only a matter of time before these two worlds collided, causing his shackles to crack and his true self to be released into the world with the weight of a collapsing star. That force was imbued into the characters he created. With each sentence thereafter, the beat of our heart quickens, ever growing its pace until we are left with only ourselves, and rusted, broken, shackles. Act 1: "The feeling of hiding your true self"- Early Life of William and being gay in the 50's and 60's: The military and the Witch Hunts 1-1950's-60's societal norm was heterosexual. Anything other than that was considered wrong and those who were found out ultimately faced exile from their families and sometimes even physical harm. During this time William grew from a boy(outgoing and highly gifted) to a young man (Magnetic and closeted gay). 2-There is a particular psychological impact from constantly hiding how you feel and instead adopting a false persona that fits in with what is perceived to be correct. This impact often leads to depression and other severe mental illnesses. 3-In order to survive a life like this, you need to be able to decompress and escape into a reality that is accepting of you or allows you to explore natural thoughts without silencing them. Books are the perfect outlet for someone dealing with any kind of identity Diaspora. Reading books allows people to experience real emotions and situations without putting their body (or social position) on the line. 4-William begins writing very early on in the form of essays and school-related projects. He is extremely gifted causing him to be constantly excelling. This only adds to the magnetism that people feel towards him, which leads to his confrontation with sexuality. 5-He has his first experiences with intimacy. 6-The brain on sex, or with the desire to become intimate is extremely powerful. For someone who is bottled into an unfulfilled reality, it can be freeing. 7-Now that he is starting to see who he is, he begins to desire the ability to express himself fully. But he is still trapped by fear and society's structure. 8-Instead of fully embracing his sexuality he decides to enforce the persona that allowed him to maintain social status. He joins the Military. 9-There he finds out that there are MANY people just like him. In some instances, they don't even hide it. But the military did not look kindly on homosexuality and those who were found out were dishonorably discharged. 10-Footage and Documentation of regulations and enforcement regarding homosexuality in the Military. 11-Somehow William evades being caught by enforcing his persona. He constantly sleeps with prostitutes and other women near his Military Base in Korea. He gets a position that gives him the knowledge of when new rounds of Witch Hunts would start giving him ample time to prepare. 12-When his military time was up, he left a Man's Man. Yet still unfulfilled. He had not changed. Only kicking his conflict down the road. Act 2: "The Pressure Cookers Crack" - Coming home and seeing the truth that there was an entire ecosystem of gay people living freely in curated areas: Writing the first novel Adonis, and the relationship with Greenleaf printing: 13-The gay rights movement of the '60s and '70s. "Stonewall" and the protests that followed begin to take shape, giving citizens a glimpse into the face of those that were seen as outcasts. 14-Being Gay, although on average still seen as Taboo, was beginning to draw empathy in the eyes of those who had just now seen its truth. 15-After the Military, William stayed in Portland. Drawn to him were people eager to see his true self. Still cautious of revealing but hungry to explore what awaited him outside, he found the underground gay club scene. He became a regular and began opening up more of the suppressed aspects of himself to those around him. 16-William began to write again, not seriously, more just for fun. His talent had not dwindled, but his prospects for work were dull and lifeless. His thoughts were on exploring the gay communities and people hidden in plain sight. 17-He heard of a man in Seattle who seemed to be connected to any and all things gay. William convinced him that he was writing a piece on the underground community. This allowed William to be taken around to all of the community spots, and mingle with all of its inhabitants. 18-Seattle was specifically a very prominent area for the gay community members. Although still harboring anti-homosexual norms, those in the community were very outspoken, and by this time, many had become prominent figures outside of the community itself. Often mingling with head officials and high-class members of society. 19-William was introduced to a magazine published by Greenleaf Books. A prominent and illustrious publisher of erotica, including gay erotica. William read these magazines and became acutely aware that he had the skill and desire to make one himself and make it better. 20-He spent a few months writing a chapter a week. At the end of the week, he would show his friends inside of the gay community and receive glowing reviews encouraging him to continue. Eventually, he had an entire story ready for publishing. Without any real expectation of a reply, he sent it off to Greenleaf to see what they thought. They published it immediately. 21-Greenleaf was a prominent publisher from 1959-1975 but during the years 1967-1973, they heavily printed one genre, Erotica. During that time they published over 600 erotica titles. 22-Bob Speray resides in San Jose, CA, and houses a massive collection of Greenleaf titles. He has scoured and preserved them for decades starting in 1984. 23-Greenleaf asked William for more work of this same caliber. The first title, "Adonis" was followed up with more and more work at a break-neck pace. But there was one catch. Where was William? 24-Pseudonyms are a particularly odd aspect of authorship. There is an art to picking the right name to adorn the cover of your work. After all, it's the face behind the words. 25-In the world of Gay erotica, however, it also played another role. That of the mask, and the army. Smaller publishers like Greenleaf would often encourage authors to adopt multiple pseudonyms to bolster the publisher's "roster". 26-William had multiple names. Each dawning a particular sub-genre style, each garnering a particular audience. 27-After only a few short years William and his plethora of personas had created dozens of pieces. He was finally able to express that inner self without ridicule or shame. Just honesty. Act 3: "The future of Erotica" - More than just a gay man: The evolution of Gay Erotica for Gay men, to Romance Erotica Women: 28-Your body during the act of intercourse has particular features. It mainly consists of high brain activity in the Limbic system (Lizard brain) because it's an evolutionary act, one that we don't need to think a lot about. 29-Contrast that to the body on Erotica, and you also see the Limbic System highly active but alongside that is an increase in blood pressure, an increase in sensory activity (Touch-Goosebumps), and high activity in other parts of the brain. This is because reading Erotica, places your body into a mode of arousal. This is closely related to the feeling of fear or anxiety. 30-People think that reading Erotica is the same as watching porn. But in actuality, they interact with your brain and body in very different ways. 31-In the same way that reading allows our brain to simulate an experience as if our body is actually experiencing it, reading Erotica allows us to experience arousal specifically and intimately. 32-Although William was in many respects gay he would be better classified as Bisexual if you had to put a pin on such an enigma. Soon after finding success in gay erotica, he used a pseudonym to enter into heterosexual erotica as well. Spawning a new fandom and a dear friend, a woman later in life, looking to experience the world. 33-Together they traveled by boat across the world, for the exploration of life. There William continued to write adding to the growing vastness of his works. 34-His erotica moved him from gay men looking to experience their desired version of intimacy, to women looking to fulfill their own. 35-Through the decades, he continued writing and expanding his names until he reached a point in the early to mid-2000s where he was met with a choice. 36-Up until this point his words were spread behind the mask of the names who had once protected him. Protected him from potential acts of retaliation from those who would not accept him in this world, and from him achieving the final form of his metamorphosis. 37-Those authors joined together to be shown under one name.. William Maltese, at that moment, was born. 38-Now an older man he found other desires besides the factory line of his creative mind. 39-Erotica still in many ways is considered taboo. As with all things labeled by people who do not understand it. Riddled with their own doubts and with them unbending beliefs that things unbound by restriction and expectation are wrong. 40-But just as with the movements of the past, perception changes with time. Now the world is full of experiences, written by those brave enough to express them. Erotica is a massive industry, gay and straight alike. 41-50 Shades of Grey and the likes have sparked a flood of curiosity and desire to experience freedom in the Taboo. 42-And with it, freedom, to experience yourself.

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