Lucha film
Overview
 
The sport of Lucha Libre
Lucha libre
Lucha libre is a term used in Mexico, and other Spanish-speaking countries, for a form of professional wrestling that has developed within those countries...

 (Mexican professional wrestling
Professional wrestling
Professional wrestling is a mode of spectacle, combining athletics and theatrical performance.Roland Barthes, "The World of Wrestling", Mythologies, 1957 It takes the form of events, held by touring companies, which mimic a title match combat sport...

) became so popular in Mexico
Mexico
The United Mexican States , commonly known as Mexico , is a federal constitutional republic in North America. It is bordered on the north by the United States; on the south and west by the Pacific Ocean; on the southeast by Guatemala, Belize, and the Caribbean Sea; and on the east by the Gulf of...

, that it spawned a genre of Luchador films (wrestling
Wrestling
Wrestling is a form of grappling type techniques such as clinch fighting, throws and takedowns, joint locks, pins and other grappling holds. A wrestling bout is a physical competition, between two competitors or sparring partners, who attempt to gain and maintain a superior position...

/action/science-fiction/horror
Horror film
Horror films seek to elicit a negative emotional reaction from viewers by playing on the audience's most primal fears. They often feature scenes that startle the viewer through the means of macabre and the supernatural, thus frequently overlapping with the fantasy and science fiction genres...

 films) starring some of the most popular masked luchadores in the sport. These masked superheroes engaged in battles against a range of characters from spies, to vampires and martians. Luchador films were produced quickly on a modest budget and were reminiscent of American
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...

 B-films. Nearly all lucha films included fist-fighting and wrestling action sequences which were choreographed and performed by the stars themselves without the aid of stunt doubles.
Quotations

Do you understand, gentlemen, that all the horror is in just this—that there is no horror!

Aleksandr Kuprin|Aleksandr Kuprin, The Pit, translation by Bernard G. Guerney.

I can enjoy her while she's kind;But when she dances in the wind,And shakes the wings and will not stay,I puff the prostitute away: The little or the much she gave is quietly resign'd: Content with poverty, my soul I arm; And virtue, though in rags, will keep me warm.

John Dryden, Imitation of Horace (1685), "On Fortune", Book III, Ode 29, l. 81 - 87.

[in Kenya]...any woman who is single and has multiple male sex partners is considered to be a prostitute, whether or not money changes hands.

New Internationalist, Issue 252 - February 1994.

[in India] Any sexual intercourse outside socially acceptable unions is likely to be regarded as prostitution.

New Internationalist, Issue 252 - February 1994.

[In Iran] Under mut'a, it is possible to be 'married' for as little as half an hour.

New Internationalist, Issue 252 - February 1994.

Egyptian law states that a man who is caught with a prostitute is not imprisoned; instead, his testimony is used to convict and imprison the prostitute.

New Internationalist, Issue 252 - February 1994.

Prostitutes are the inevitable product of a society that places ultimate importance on money, possessions, and competition.

Jane Fonda, in Thomas Kiernan, Jane: An Intimate Biography of Jane Fonda (1970).

Prostitution is organized rape.

Christine Stark

 
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