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The University of Wisconsin fires the porn industry’s former chancellor, who wanted to stay on as a professor

The University of Wisconsin fires the porn industry’s former chancellor, who wanted to stay on as a professor

The University of Wisconsin Board of Regents voted unanimously Friday to fire a communications professor who wanted to keep his job after he was fired as chancellor of one of the system’s campuses for producing pornographic films. Joe Gow, who had served as UW-La Crosse’s chancellor for nearly 17 years, argued last week that he should be retained in a teaching position on campus. But the university’s lawyers argued that he behaved unethically, violated the terms of his employment contract, damaged the university’s reputation and compromised its mission. The regents met in closed session Friday morning before publicly voting to fire Gow. There was no public discussion before the board vote. Gow said he is considering filing a lawsuit to keep his teaching job. He did not immediately respond to a message Friday morning. Gow has been on paid leave from his faculty position since the regents fired him as chancellor in 2023, shortly after university leaders became aware of the videos posted on pornographic websites. The case has drawn national attention both for the salaciousness of a high-ranking university official making pornographic films and speaking publicly about them and for the questions it raises about free speech rights. Gow argued that his videos and two e-books he and his wife Carmen have published about their experiences in adult films are protected by the First Amendment. The university’s attorney argued that Gow’s videos themselves were legal, but that they were not protected by his employment contract. Zach Greenberg, an attorney at the free speech advocacy group Foundation for Individual Rights and Expression, called the regents’ decision “a major blow to…” academic freedom and the right to free speech.” “FIRE has said time and time again: Public universities cannot sacrifice the First Amendment to protect their reputation,” Greenberg said. “We are disappointed that the UW has caved to donors and politicians by alienating a tenured professor.” Republican lawmakers already view the Wisconsin university system as a liberal incubator. Last year they forced the company to scale back its diversity initiatives. System President Jay Rothman has tried to avoid further angering conservatives as he seeks approval for an $855 million increase in the next state budget. Gow’s hope of teaching in the classroom again was rejected by his department head, Linda Dickmeyer. She said because Gow hasn’t taught in 20 years, he will be assigned general education courses, but she refuses to allow him to return to teaching in any role. Gow was criticized in 2018 for inviting porn actress Nina Hartley to give a talk on campus. She received $5,000 from tuition fees for her performance. He came up with the idea of ​​bringing her to campus after filming a pornographic video with her, the university said. Gow and his wife’s e-books were written under the pseudonyms “Monogamy with Benefits: How Porn Enhances Our Relationships” and “Married with Benefits.” Our real-life adventures in the adult industry.” But they also star in a YouTube channel called “Sexy Healthy Cooking,” in which the couple cooks meals with porn actors.

The University of Wisconsin Board of Regents voted unanimously Friday to fire a communications professor who wanted to keep his job after he was fired as chancellor of one of the system’s campuses for producing pornographic films.

Joe Gow, who served as UW-La Crosse’s chancellor for nearly 17 years, argued last week that he should retain a teaching position on campus. But the university’s lawyers argued that he behaved unethically, violated the terms of his employment contract, damaged the university’s reputation and compromised its mission.

The regents met in closed session Friday morning before publicly voting to fire Gow. There was no public discussion before the board vote.

Gow said he is considering filing a lawsuit to keep his teaching job. He did not immediately respond to a message Friday morning.

Gow has been on paid leave from his faculty position since the regents fired him as chancellor in 2023, shortly after university leadership became aware of the videos posted on pornographic websites.

The case has drawn national attention both for the salaciousness of a high-ranking university official making and speaking publicly about pornographic films and for the questions it raises about free speech rights.

Gow argued that his videos and two e-books that he and his wife Carmen published about their experiences in adult films were protected by the First Amendment. The university’s attorney argued that Gow’s videos themselves were legal, but that they were not protected by his employment contract.

Zach Greenberg, an attorney with the free speech advocacy group Foundation for Individual Rights and Expression, called the regents’ decision “a major blow to academic freedom and the right to free expression.”

“FIRE has said time and time again: Public universities cannot sacrifice the First Amendment to protect their reputations,” Greenberg said. “We are disappointed that the UW has caved to donors and politicians by alienating a tenured professor.”

Republican lawmakers already view Wisconsin’s university system as a liberal incubator. Last year they forced the company to scale back its diversity initiatives. System President Jay Rothman has tried to avoid further angering conservatives as he seeks approval for an $855 million increase in the next state budget.

Gow’s hope of teaching in the classroom again was rejected by his department head, Linda Dickmeyer. She said that because Gow had not taught in 20 years, he would be assigned general education courses, but she declined to allow him to return to teaching in any capacity.

Gow was criticized in 2018 for inviting porn actress Nina Hartley to speak on campus. She received $5,000 from tuition fees for her performance. The university said he came up with the idea of ​​bringing her to campus after filming a pornographic video with her.

Gow and his wife’s e-books were written under the pseudonyms “Monogamy with Benefits: How Porn Enhances Our Relationships” and “Married with Benefits – Our Real Adventures in the Adult Industry.” But they also star in a YouTube channel called “Sexy Healthy Cooking,” in which the couple cooks meals with porn actors.

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Watch Wisconsin vs USC game today: channel, time, streaming information

Watch Wisconsin vs USC game today: channel, time, streaming information

Bye weeks are usually welcome during football season. But it was necessary for Wisconsin.

Not only did the Badgers lose 42-10 to No. 4 Alabama two weeks ago, but they also lost quarterback Tyler Van Dyke for the season to a torn ACL. Suddenly, backup quarterback Braedyn Locke is now QB1 on the depth chart.

Locke’s first start will come Saturday in UW’s Big Ten opener at No. 13 USC. The Trojans lost 27-24 to No. 12 Michigan last week in Ann Arbor.

Watch: Wisconsin vs. USC live on Fubo (Free Trial)

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Watch Wisconsin vs USC game today: channel, time, streaming information

Watch Wisconsin vs USC game today: channel, time, streaming information

Bye weeks are usually welcome during football season. But it was necessary for Wisconsin.

Not only did the Badgers lose 42-10 to No. 4 Alabama two weeks ago, but they also lost quarterback Tyler Van Dyke for the season to a torn ACL. Suddenly, backup quarterback Braedyn Locke is now QB1 on the depth chart.

Locke’s first start will come Saturday in UW’s Big Ten opener at No. 13 USC. The Trojans lost 27-24 to No. 12 Michigan last week in Ann Arbor.

Watch: Wisconsin vs. USC live on Fubo (Free Trial)

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This secret iOS 18 feature lets you create custom iPhone controls

This secret iOS 18 feature lets you create custom iPhone controls

Apple released iOS 18 released to the public on September 16, a week after the company announced its new product iPhone 16 series, Apple Watch Series 10 And More on this at the September event. The update brought many new features to your iPhone, such as the ability to Lock and hide specific apps on your iPhone and other options for customization Lock screen And Control center. And a feature that allows you to create custom controls is called Open App.

CNET Tips_Tech

Open App can be used either on your lock screen or in Control Center. There are many new controls in iOS 18, but this one lets you customize your iPhone to suit your needs.

Read more: Everything you need to know about iOS 18

Here’s what you need to know about Open App and how to access it.

What is Open App?

Open App is a pre-built shortcut that allows you to open any app from either your Control Center or your Lock Screen once you’ve unlocked your iPhone. This allows you to create new controls for your Control Center and Lock Screen that are not in the Controls Library. This means you can create a control to launch your favorite game, social media platform or other app from your lock screen or control center.

How to use Open App for your lock screen

The iPhone lock screen with the Hello Kitty Island Adventure and Quick Notes feature The iPhone lock screen with the Hello Kitty Island Adventure and Quick Notes feature

You can remove the lock screen controls or put your favorite game there, such as: B. Hello Kitty Island Adventure.

Apple/Screenshot from CNET

1. Open Settings.
2. Knock wallpaper.
3. Tap the screen you want to customize – your lock screen is always on the left.
4. Tap the minus sign () sign next to the control you want to remove at the bottom of the screen – you can only replace these two controls, you cannot add any more.
5. Tap the plus sign (+) Log in to the newly opened area.
6. Knock Open app.
7. Knock Choose in the context menu.
8. Tap the app you want to create a shortcut for.
9. Tap a space around the context menu.
10. Knock Completed in the top right corner of your screen.

Now you can access any app you want from your lock screen after entering your FaceID or passcode. So if you send a lot of emails to your phone for work or other reasons, you can go straight to your Mail app from your lock screen without being distracted by another app.

How to use Open App in your Control Center

1. Swipe down from the top right corner of your iPhone to open your Control Center.
2. Tap the plus sign (+) icon in the top left corner of your screen.
3. Knock Add a control at the bottom of the screen.
4. Knock Open app. You can find it under “Shortcuts” or search for it in the search bar at the top of your screen.
5. Knock Choose in the context menu.
6. Tap the app you want to create a control for.
7. Tap a space around the context menu.
8. Press and hold the new control to move it to the desired location.
9. Tap an empty space in your Control Center or lock your screen to complete the process.

Now you don’t have to swipe and search your phone for an app or game NBA 2K24 Arcade Editionyou can quickly find it in your Control Center.

You can find more information about iOS 18 here iOS 18 reviewwhat you should know about a hidden feature in your phone app and ours iOS 18 cheat sheet. You can also check what iOS 18.1 could bring to your iPhone.

Check this out: 11 hidden features in iOS 18

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Four Celebrities Who Rejected Conservative Fans: ‘I Have No Respect for You’

Four Celebrities Who Rejected Conservative Fans: ‘I Have No Respect for You’

With the November presidential election less than 40 days away, liberal celebrities are increasingly speaking out. Howard Stern recently caused controversy after attacking Donald Trump voters as “stupid” and saying he didn’t care if he lost them as listeners. But Stern wasn’t the first liberal celebrity to tell conservatives not to listen or watch.

Here are four prominent radio, television and music personalities who have bluntly told conservative fans that they are unwelcome.

1. Stern “hates” Trump voters and doesn’t mind losing “half of my audience.”

Earlier this month, SiriusXM radio host Howard Stern said he hates supporters of former President Trump.

“I don’t agree with Trump politically, I don’t think he should come anywhere near the White House. I don’t hate the guy. I hate the people who vote for him. I think she’s stupid. I do.” “I’ll be honest with you, I have no respect for you,” he said on “The Howard Stern Show.”

The Liberal shock player said he didn’t mind losing “half.” [his] “Listeners” who disagree with his policies and fully expect “hate mail” from Trump supporters after this polarizing statement.

It is not the first time that Stern has taken action against Trump supporters. Before the 2020 election, he said: “I don’t hate Donald. I hate you for voting for him, because you have no intelligence. Because you can’t see what’s going on with the coronavirus because you can’t see what the Justice Department is doing. I hate you. I don’t want you here.

Howard Stern says he ‘hates’ everyone who votes for Trump: ‘They’re stupid, I have no respect for them’

“I think they’re stupid.” I do. “I’ll be honest with you,” Stern said of Trump voters. (Photo by Dario Cantatore/Getty Images) (Getty Images)

2. Jimmy Kimmel on the fact that Republicans aren’t watching: “Well, not a good ending, but ending.”

In 2017, ABC late-night talk show host Jimmy Kimmel was asked whether he feared he was driving away his audience with his increasing left-wing turn after former President Trump entered the White House.

“I saw – I don’t know if it was a study or a poll or a combination of those two things – that I was equally popular with Republicans and Democrats about three years ago, and then the Republican numbers went way down. like 30% or whatever,” Kimmel said in a 2017 interview on “CBS Sunday Morning.”

“And as a talk show host, it’s not ideal, but I would do it again in a heartbeat,” he continued.

“Good riddance?” The reporter followed.

“Well, not a good riddance, but liberation,” Kimmel replied.

A January 2024 Media Research Center study found that 81% of all political jokes told on major late-night comedy shows in 2023 were aimed at conservatives. Kimmel’s show had the highest rate of anti-conservative jokes of all six shows. Of the 2,215 political jokes made on “Jimmy Kimmel Live!”, 1,960, or 88%, were aimed at conservatives.

CLICK HERE FOR MORE media and culture coverage

Biden and Jimmy Kimmel

TOPSHOT – U.S. President Joe Biden speaks with host Jimmy Kimmel during his first in-person appearance on “Jimmy Kimmel Live!” during his visit to Los Angeles to attend the Summit of the Americas in Hollywood, California, June 8, 2022. (Photo by Jim WATSON / AFP) (Photo by JIM WATSON/AFP via Getty Images) (Getty Images)

3. Paramore lead singer Hayley Williams says of DeSantis voters: “You’re fucking dead to me.”

“Paramore” singer Hayley Williams hounded supporters of Republican Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis and former President Trump during an onstage appearance.

During a concert in Atlantic City, New Jersey in 2023, the rock singer insulted those in the audience who were thinking of voting for then-presidential candidate DeSantis 2024 presidential election.

“And if you vote for Ron DeSantis, you’re dead to me,” she said.

Last week at her band’s iHeartRadio Music Festival, Williams urged listeners to vote against Trump unless they wanted to “live in a dictatorship.”

“Project 2025 is Donald Trump’s plan to control and punish women, poor people, people of color and the LGBTQ+ community. “It’s time for all Americans to come together and finally defeat the Trump agenda,” she said directly into the camera. “And the only way to do that is to confront him at the polls.”

‘REACHER’ ​​STAR GOES POLITICAL AGAIN AND FEARS A ‘WHOLE PLATFORM OF THOSE WHO MOSTLY CLAIM TO BE CHRISTIANS’

Hayley Williams and Donald Trump

“Paramore” singer Hayley Williams recently attacked former President Trump at a concert. (Gareth Cattermole/TAS24 / Contributor | Spencer Platt / Staff)

4. Pink tells pro-lifers to “Never listen to my music again”

After the US Supreme Court overturned Roe v. Wade in June 2022, singer Pink took action against pro-life conservatives.

“Let’s be clear: If you believe that government belongs in a woman’s womb, in a business, or in a gay man’s marriage, or that racism is OK – THEN PLEASE, IN THE NAME OF YOUR LORD, NEVER LISTEN TO MY MUSIC AGAIN . AND ALSO F— RIGHT. the singer wrote on X (then Twitter), according to People Magazine and other media outlets. The social media post has since been deleted.

The singer recently performed at the 2024 Democratic National Convention.

Pink appears

MIAMI, FLORIDA – NOVEMBER 14: Pink performs during her “Trust Fall” Tour at Kaseya Center on November 14, 2023 in Miami, Florida. (Photo by Alexander Tamargo/Getty Images) (Alexander Tamargo/Getty Images)

CLICK HERE TO GET THE FOX NEWS APP

Conservative film critic Christian Toto, host of the podcast “The Hollywood in Toto,” told Fox News Digital these celebrities should “be careful what they wish for.”

“Today’s stars live in bubble-like communities where they don’t see, meet or be challenged by people with opposing views. They only read a select number of news outlets and have mentally demonized “the other.” For Stern, his millions are already in the bank, and now all he cares about is the approval of the Hollywood rockers who adopt this pose and think that they are nervous.

“Kimmel recently predicted that the end of late-night TV will come sooner than you think. His willingness to kiss off half his audience helps explain why,” Toto told Fox News Digital.

Fox News’ Yael Halon, Nikolas Lanum and Gabriel Hays contributed to this report.

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Law enforcement visits to specialized Michigan schools criticized

Law enforcement visits to specialized Michigan schools criticized

Twice in the same week in May 2023, sheriff’s deputies restrained and put 10-year-old Caleb Killingsworth in the back of a patrol car.

The second time, Caleb, an autistic child who weighed less than 90 pounds and stood less than 5 feet tall, according to his mother, was restrained on the ground and then handcuffed. The fifth grader came away with scrapes on his face.

Both times school staff called law enforcement after Caleb walked away from the Pine Tree Center, a specialized school in Lake Orion, Michigan, with a program for “emotionally impaired” students, a state designation that applies to roughly 10,000 Michigan students with behavioral disabilities.

There are at least two dozen such programs across Michigan, serving some of the state’s most vulnerable students with complex behavioral issues that may cause them to scream, swear, scratch or kick others, and run away. But critics say the schools are failing many of those students, evidenced by incidents where youths are restrained and secluded in the throes of a crisis, or in Caleb’s case, where law enforcement are called in to take over for school staff.

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Four Celebrities Who Rejected Conservative Fans: ‘I Have No Respect for You’

Four Celebrities Who Rejected Conservative Fans: ‘I Have No Respect for You’

With the November presidential election less than 40 days away, liberal celebrities are increasingly speaking out. Howard Stern recently caused controversy after attacking Donald Trump voters as “stupid” and saying he didn’t care if he lost them as listeners. But Stern wasn’t the first liberal celebrity to tell conservatives not to listen or watch.

Here are four prominent radio, television and music personalities who have bluntly told conservative fans that they are unwelcome.

1. Stern “hates” Trump voters and doesn’t mind losing “half of my audience.”

Earlier this month, SiriusXM radio host Howard Stern said he hates supporters of former President Trump.

“I don’t agree with Trump politically, I don’t think he should come anywhere near the White House. I don’t hate the guy. I hate the people who vote for him. I think she’s stupid. I do.” “I’ll be honest with you, I have no respect for you,” he said on “The Howard Stern Show.”

The Liberal shock player said he didn’t mind losing “half.” [his] “Listeners” who disagree with his policies and fully expect “hate mail” from Trump supporters after this polarizing statement.

It is not the first time that Stern has taken action against Trump supporters. Before the 2020 election, he said: “I don’t hate Donald. I hate you for voting for him, because you have no intelligence. Because you can’t see what’s going on with the coronavirus because you can’t see what the Justice Department is doing. I hate you. I don’t want you here.

Howard Stern says he ‘hates’ everyone who votes for Trump: ‘They’re stupid, I have no respect for them’

“I think they’re stupid.” I do. “I’ll be honest with you,” Stern said of Trump voters. (Photo by Dario Cantatore/Getty Images) (Getty Images)

2. Jimmy Kimmel on the fact that Republicans aren’t watching: “Well, not a good ending, but ending.”

In 2017, ABC late-night talk show host Jimmy Kimmel was asked whether he feared he was driving away his audience with his increasing left-wing turn after former President Trump entered the White House.

“I saw – I don’t know if it was a study or a poll or a combination of those two things – that I was equally popular with Republicans and Democrats about three years ago, and then the Republican numbers went way down. like 30% or whatever,” Kimmel said in a 2017 interview on “CBS Sunday Morning.”

“And as a talk show host, it’s not ideal, but I would do it again in a heartbeat,” he continued.

“Good riddance?” The reporter followed.

“Well, not a good riddance, but liberation,” Kimmel replied.

A January 2024 Media Research Center study found that 81% of all political jokes told on major late-night comedy shows in 2023 were aimed at conservatives. Kimmel’s show had the highest rate of anti-conservative jokes of all six shows. Of the 2,215 political jokes made on “Jimmy Kimmel Live!”, 1,960, or 88%, were aimed at conservatives.

CLICK HERE FOR MORE media and culture coverage

Biden and Jimmy Kimmel

TOPSHOT – U.S. President Joe Biden speaks with host Jimmy Kimmel during his first in-person appearance on “Jimmy Kimmel Live!” during his visit to Los Angeles to attend the Summit of the Americas in Hollywood, California, June 8, 2022. (Photo by Jim WATSON / AFP) (Photo by JIM WATSON/AFP via Getty Images) (Getty Images)

3. Paramore lead singer Hayley Williams says of DeSantis voters: “You’re fucking dead to me.”

“Paramore” singer Hayley Williams hounded supporters of Republican Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis and former President Trump during an onstage appearance.

During a concert in Atlantic City, New Jersey in 2023, the rock singer insulted those in the audience who were thinking of voting for then-presidential candidate DeSantis 2024 presidential election.

“And if you vote for Ron DeSantis, you’re dead to me,” she said.

Last week at her band’s iHeartRadio Music Festival, Williams urged listeners to vote against Trump unless they wanted to “live in a dictatorship.”

“Project 2025 is Donald Trump’s plan to control and punish women, poor people, people of color and the LGBTQ+ community. “It’s time for all Americans to come together and finally defeat the Trump agenda,” she said directly into the camera. “And the only way to do that is to confront him at the polls.”

‘REACHER’ ​​STAR GOES POLITICAL AGAIN AND FEARS A ‘WHOLE PLATFORM OF THOSE WHO MOSTLY CLAIM TO BE CHRISTIANS’

Hayley Williams and Donald Trump

“Paramore” singer Hayley Williams recently attacked former President Trump at a concert. (Gareth Cattermole/TAS24 / Contributor | Spencer Platt / Staff)

4. Pink tells pro-lifers to “Never listen to my music again”

After the US Supreme Court overturned Roe v. Wade in June 2022, singer Pink took action against pro-life conservatives.

“Let’s be clear: If you believe that government belongs in a woman’s womb, in a business, or in a gay man’s marriage, or that racism is OK – THEN PLEASE, IN THE NAME OF YOUR LORD, NEVER LISTEN TO MY MUSIC AGAIN . AND ALSO F— RIGHT. the singer wrote on X (then Twitter), according to People Magazine and other media outlets. The social media post has since been deleted.

The singer recently performed at the 2024 Democratic National Convention.

Pink appears

MIAMI, FLORIDA – NOVEMBER 14: Pink performs during her “Trust Fall” Tour at Kaseya Center on November 14, 2023 in Miami, Florida. (Photo by Alexander Tamargo/Getty Images) (Alexander Tamargo/Getty Images)

CLICK HERE TO GET THE FOX NEWS APP

Conservative film critic Christian Toto, host of the podcast “The Hollywood in Toto,” told Fox News Digital these celebrities should “be careful what they wish for.”

“Today’s stars live in bubble-like communities where they don’t see, meet or be challenged by people with opposing views. They only read a select number of news outlets and have mentally demonized “the other.” For Stern, his millions are already in the bank, and now all he cares about is the approval of the Hollywood rockers who adopt this pose and think that they are nervous.

“Kimmel recently predicted that the end of late-night TV will come sooner than you think. His willingness to kiss off half his audience helps explain why,” Toto told Fox News Digital.

Fox News’ Yael Halon, Nikolas Lanum and Gabriel Hays contributed to this report.

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IND vs. BDESH 2024/25, IND vs. BAN 2nd test match report, September 27th – October 1st, 2024

IND vs. BDESH 2024/25, IND vs. BAN 2nd test match report, September 27th – October 1st, 2024

Bangladesh 107 for 3 (Mominul 40*, Shanto 31, Akash Deep 2-34) vs India

A drizzle ensured there was no play on the second day of the second Test between India and Bangladesh in Kanpur. The entire area remained covered throughout the day. At times, three Super Soppers came out and ran across the ceiling, but there wasn’t much the ground staff could do beyond that.

It drizzled steadily until about 10 a.m., but after that the rain was so light that the game could have continued had it still been in progress. However, there was heavy rain yesterday evening and overnight, which appears to have caused the most damage.

With no chance of an immediate start, the players returned to their hotel around 10:20 a.m. Finally, at 2 p.m., the referees stopped the fight.

Things went only slightly better on the first day. A combination of rain and poor light allowed just 33 overs in which Bangladesh scored 107 for 3. After India won the toss, which was delayed by an hour, Rohit Sharma opted to bowl. This is not what India normally does at home; The last time they chose to bowl first in a home Test was nine years ago: against South Africa in Bengaluru in 2015. Coincidentally, that Test was also marred by rain.

Bangladesh openers Zakir Hasan and Shadman Islam survived Jasprit Bumrah and Mohammed Siraj’s openers. But Akash Deep dismissed both of them soon after to give India the lead. Mominul Haque and Najmul Hossain Shanto then steadied the innings before R Ashwin ended his 51-run stand by trapping Shanto lbw. However, before either team could gain a significant advantage, the weather intervened.

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Ongoing cockroach problems. Flies. Leaks. Wichita KS restaurant, hotel inspections

Ongoing cockroach problems. Flies. Leaks. Wichita KS restaurant, hotel inspections

Seventeen restaurants, hotels and other businesses in and around Wichita were out of compliance during food safety and lodging inspections conducted by the Kansas Department of Agriculture from Sept. 15-21.

They were cited for a number of violations, including ongoing cockroach infestations, flies landing on food and surfaces that touch food, moldy bathtub caulking, water leaks, missing information and equipment, dirty equipment, missing smoke detectors and fire extinguishers, foods that weren’t stored at safe temperatures, an employee who didn’t wash their hands and more, according to inspection reports.

Information about the food establishments and hotels and motels, as well as a summary of their violations, appears below. All of the businesses listed are located in Sedgwick County. The list was compiled Sept. 25.

More than 40 establishments passed their inspections Sept. 15-21. A list of those also appears below. Some may have been non-compliant in previous weeks.

Business owners and managers can contact Eagle reporter Amy Renee Leiker at 316-268-6644 or [email protected] to comment on inspection results that appear in this story. Comments will be added to the online version of this article.

More details about inspections are in The Eagle’s searchable database of non-compliant restaurant and hotel inspections at www.kansas.com/databases.

Out-of-compliance inspections

54 Craft & Co., 549 S. Rock Road in Wichita — One violation on Sept. 16 during a follow-up inspection. Water wasn’t hot enough at a three-compartment sink. Next inspection: Nov. 16.

Andy’s Frozen Custard, 10788 W. 21st St. in Wichita — Three violations on Sept. 17 during a routine inspection. Water wasn’t hot at a bathroom sink, containers of brownies and candies didn’t have lids on them to protect them from contamination including from flies, flies in restaurant were landing on food and surfaces that touch food. Next inspection: Sept. 27.

Andy’s Frozen Custard, 3425 E. Douglas in Wichita — Three violations on Sept. 18 during a routine inspection. Water wasn’t hot at a bathroom sink, flies in the restaurant were landing on food and surfaces that touch food, a fly landed on brownies that weren’t covered. The next inspection date wasn’t provided.

Baymont Inn & Suites by Wyndham Wichita East, 12111 E. Central in Wichita — Sixteen violations on Sept. 17 during a complaint inspection. There was no cleaning or sanitizing solution in the fitness rooms for guests to use, no towels in the fitness room, no ground fault circuit interrupter (GFCI) outlets by sinks in some rooms, emergency lights didn’t work, carbon monoxide detectors weren’t checked every six months, smoke alarms didn’t work in two rooms, issue with smoke alarm testing logs, broken microwave, freezers in rooms had individual ice trays in them which isn’t allowed, moldy bathtub caulking, bottles of floor and surface cleaners weren’t labeled, the carbon monoxide detectors in the boiler room and the laundry room weren’t working, no carbon monoxide detector testing logs on site, smoke alarms aren’t checked every six months, no single-use gloves in laundry room. Next inspection: Sept. 27.

Chick N Max, 3520 N. Maize Road, Suite 200 in Wichita — Four violations on Sept. 18 during a routine inspection. Several foods including cheeses and chicken weren’t cold enough in a refrigerated preparation table, leaky carbonator below soda dispenser, hand-washing sink was blocked by a drink cooler and a bucket, equipment including lids and spatulas were still dirty even though they were in clean storage. Next inspection: Sept. 28.

Delux Inn, 8401 W. Kellogg Drive in Wichita — Nine violations on Sept. 17 during a complaint inspection. No records showing carbon monoxide detectors are checked every six months, bottle of air freshener wasn’t labeled, no single-use gloves in laundry room, leaky sink in laundry room, no fire extinguishers on the outside of the motel, no records showing smoke detectors are checked every six months, no emergency management plan available to employees, no smoke detectors in some rooms, battery is missing in a smoke detector. Next inspection: Sept. 27.

Economy Hotel Plus Wichita, 5805 W. Kellogg Drive in Wichita — Three violations on Sept. 17 during a follow-up inspection. Leaky pipe in laundry room ceiling and standing water in the basement, water was coming from under the door for the electrical and sprinkler room, standing water in the hallway, trash and dirt on carpets throughout the building. Next inspection: Nov. 17.

Fat Ernie’s Family Dining, 2806 S. Hydraulic in Wichita — Five violations on Sept. 18 during an inspection that was a follow-up to an administrative order. A pitcher was blocking hand-washing sink, cockroaches in cabinets and in dining room, cockroaches in kitchen, flies, large gap above screen door in kitchen, several dead insects in building including bugs next to bakery supplies and in clean containers, dead cockroaches, containers and pans soiled with sticker residue were in clean storage. Next inspection: Nov. 18.

Fish and More, 2021 S. Oliver in Wichita — Four violations on Sept. 17 during a routine inspection. Cooked food wasn’t held at a safe temperature, no probe food thermometer, catfish nuggets and catfish steaks weren’t kept hot enough, there isn’t a hand-washing sink in a shed where the restaurant prepares yams and cornbread. Next inspection: Sept. 27.

Jacky Chan Sushi, 7820 E. Harry in Wichita — Six violations on Sept. 19 during a routine inspection. Cooked rice left at room temperature, cabbage and cooked pork weren’t held at safe temperatures, no paper towels at bathroom sink, tuna was thawing in intact vacuum packaging, missing information related to cooking and storage procedures for cooked sushi rice, no soap at sink, sushi rice wasn’t labeled with the time it was made. Next inspection: Sept. 29.

Magnolia Cafe, 2424 N. Woodlawn, Suite 111 in Wichita — Nine violations on Sept. 19 during a routine inspection. Several containers of food including chicken salad and sausage gravy weren’t labeled with the correct preparation dates, sticker residue on pans in clean storage, sanitizer stored above uncovered containers of sugar and flour, pan of raw salmon was stored above pan of cooked sausages, bottle of degreaser wasn’t labeled, restaurant doesn’t have a disclosure on menu warning customers of the risks of eating undercooked or raw meats and seafood, cooked sausage wasn’t kept hot enough, the date wasn’t recorded on seafood shell stock tags, shell stock tags weren’t kept in chronological order. Next inspection: Oct. 19.

McDonald’s, 3430 S. Hydraulic in Wichita — One violation on Sept. 17 during a complaint inspection. Flies throughout restaurant. Next inspection: Sept. 27.

O.J. Watson Park Concession Stand, 2901 S. Old Lawrence in Wichita — One violation on Sept. 15 during a routine inspection. No test strips to measure the strength of chlorine sanitizer. Next inspection: Sept. 25.

Old Chicago Pizza & Taproom, 7626 E. Kellogg Drive in Wichita — Five violations on Sept. 17 during a complaint inspection. Gap in back door, flies throughout restaurant, restaurant had cans of insecticide that are rated for use in homes only, several foods including yogurt and meatballs weren’t kept cold enough in refrigeration, sticker residue on plastic containers in clean storage. Next inspection: Sept. 27.

Tom’s Lotus Garden, 822 S. Broadway in Wichita — Three violations on Sept. 19 during an inspection that was a follow-up to an administrative order. A gap around a screen door could let pests in the building, cockroaches in cooler and other areas including in kitchen and by ice machine, dead bugs and grease throughout the kitchen. The next inspection date wasn’t provided on the inspection report.

U Hungry Truck (mobile vendor/food truck), 4701 N. Glendale in Bel Aire — Four violations on Sept. 20 during an inspection that was a follow-up to an administrative order. Flies, lettuce and cheese weren’t cold enough in refrigeration, fly landed on serving spoon, employee didn’t sanitize spoon after washing it. Next inspection: Nov. 20.

Ziggy’s Pizza, 13605 W. Maple, Suite 111 in Wichita — Six violations on Sept. 16 during a routine inspection. No test strips to measure concentration of sanitizer, dirty can opener, no probe food thermometer, hard-boiled eggs weren’t labeled with their preparation dates, employee didn’t wash hands between handling dirty and clean dishes, pans of cooked chicken wings weren’t covered in the walk-in cooler. The business was in compliance during a follow-up inspection conducted the same day.

Bed bugs. Dead cockroaches. Flies. Grease. Wichita KS restaurant, hotel inspections

Cook didn’t wash after nose wipe. Feces. Bugs. Wichita KS restaurant, hotel checks

How do businesses fail inspections?

Businesses fall out of compliance when they have too many violations, issues that can cause a foodborne illness, when a problem can’t be fixed right away, such as bug and rodent infestations, and more. But most violations are minor and are corrected while an inspection is taking place.

Typically, establishments are reinspected within 10 days to ensure they are following the rules.

It’s rare for a business to shut down over a failed inspection. But it can happen. Usually, closures are temporary, voluntary and due to major problems, such as sewage backups, pest infestations, and water or power outages.

The lists in this story include only businesses from Sedgwick County. But you can search food and lodging inspection results anywhere in Kansas at https://foodsafety.kda.ks.gov/FoodSafety/Web/Inspection/PublicInspectionSearch.aspx.

Complaint? Here’s how to submit it

If you see problems at a food or lodging establishment, you can file a complaint.

To notify the state about unsavory or questionable conditions anywhere that serves or sells food to the public, email [email protected] or call 785-564-6767. You can also file a complaint at www.foodsafetykansas.org.

To report an illness you think was caused by a restaurant, food or event where food is served, contact the Kansas Department of Health and Environment at 877-427-7317 or www.foodsafetykansas.org.

Complaints about conditions at hotels and motels can be submitted at www.agriculture.ks.gov/public-resources/comments-complaints/lodging-complaint.

For more information about foodborne illnesses, visit www.foodsafety.gov.

These businesses passed inspections

  • Allen Elementary School, 1881 S. Elpyco in Wichita

  • Artichoke Sandwichbar (mobile vendor/food truck), 811 N. Broadway in Wichita

  • Breezy’s Snow Shack, 716 E. Dover Drive in Valley Center

  • Calvin’s Hamburger Haven, 2417 S. Seneca, Suite 100 in Wichita

  • Chisholm Trail Elementary School, 6015 Independence in Park City

  • Clearwater Elementary School West, 100 S. Prospect in Clearwater

  • Clearwater High School, 1201 E. Ross in Clearwater

  • Culver’s, 3220 N. Maize Road in Wichita

  • Dollar General, 3445 N. Womer in Wichita

  • DZ Ice Cream & Frozen Treats (mobile vendor/food truck), 142 S. Meridian in Valley Center

  • Friends University – Retail, 2100 W. University in Wichita

  • Grace Market, 1030 S. Oliver in Wichita

  • Haysville Middle School, 900 W. Grand in Haysville

  • Holiday Inn Express & Suites Wichita Northeast, 2340 N. Greenwich in Wichita

  • Hong Kong Express, 7900 E. Harry in Wichita

  • Lady Burritos, 204 W. Greenway in Derby

  • Leeker’s Deli on the Go (mobile vendor/food truck), 6223 N. Broadway in Park City

  • Lee’s Chinese Restaurant, 6215 W. Kellogg Drive in Wichita

  • Maize Middle School, 4600 N. Maize Road in Maize

  • Natural of Course, 8000 W. Central, Suite 100 in Wichita

  • Ossman Concessions (mobile vendor/food truck), 1221 N. Curtis in Wichita

  • Panda Express, 2760 N. Maize Road in Wichita

  • Paradise Donuts, 612 E. Douglas in Wichita

  • Pink Elephant Games and Cafe, 2431 W. Pawnee in Wichita

  • Rex Elementary School, 1100 W. Grand in Haysville

  • Riverside Cafe, 9125 W. Central in Wichita

  • Round1 Bowling & Arcade inside Towne East Square, 7700 E. Kellogg Drive, Suite G03J in Wichita

  • Scooter’s Coffee, 3123 N. Rock Road in Wichita

  • Scooter’s Coffee, 13335 W. Maple in Wichita

  • SnackShack and Us (mobile vendor/food truck), 9923 W. Binter Lane in Wichita

  • Sonic Drive-In, 1024 E. Louis Blvd. in Mulvane

  • St. Elizabeth Ann Seton Catholic School, 645 N. 119th St. West in Wichita

  • Super 8 by Wyndham Wichita North, 3741 N. Rock Road in Wichita

  • Supermercado Del Pueblo, 2128 N. Broadway in Wichita

  • Taco Bell, 6515 E. 37th St. North in Wichita

  • Taco Shop, 1652 S. Webb in Wichita

  • Tacos Uruapan (mobile vendor/food truck), 1021 S. Topeka in Wichita

  • Tanganyika Wildlife Park, 1037 S. 183rd St. West in Goddard

  • Tiendita La Pelota, 2819 S. Fees in Wichita

  • Viola Groceries, 26320 W. K-42 Highway in Viola

  • Wadadli Island Cuisine (mobile vendor/food truck), 228 S. Ceymarie Circle in Wichita

  • Walmart Supercenter, 501 E. Pawnee in Wichita

  • Whiskey Dicks, 801 S. Seneca in Wichita

  • Wichita Heights High School, 5301 N. Hillside in Wichita

  • Ziggy’s Pizza, 13605 W. Maple, Suite 111 in Wichita

Note: Sometimes addresses listed — especially for mobile vendors and food trucks — are not where food is actually served to the public. Contact those establishments directly for specific service locations.

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Could Amadeus be the most misunderstood Oscar winner ever?

Could Amadeus be the most misunderstood Oscar winner ever?

Alamy Tom Hulce and cast in a scene of Amadeus (Credit: Alamy)Alamy

(Credit: Alamy)

Released 40 years ago this month, Miloš Forman’s best picture-winning Amadeus is often accused of historical inaccuracies – but the film’s critics could be missing the point.

When it premiered 40 years ago, Amadeus drew an initial wave of praise. A historical drama revolving around the rivalry between two composers, Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart and Antonio Salieri, it went on to win eight Oscars, including for best picture. Miloš Forman took home the best director prize, Peter Shaffer won for best adapted screenplay and both of the lead actors were nominated: F Murray Abraham, who played Salieri, beat Tom Hulce, who played Mozart.

But in the years that followed, a backlash grew over what some people saw as Amadeus’s litany of historical errors. An article in The Guardian declared that “the fart jokes can’t conceal how laughably wrong this is”, and the BBC commented that “the film plays shamelessly fast and loose with historical fact”. Salieri, critics noted, was no pious bachelor (as attested by his wife, eight children and mistress), and it’s after all an odd kind of hateful rivalry when the real Mozart entrusted the musical education of his own son to Salieri. As for Mozart’s lewd humor, that cheeky insouciance was actually commonplace in middle-class Viennese society. Most egregiously of all, world-famous Mozart was not dumped in an unmarked pauper’s grave. If this is a homage to history, the complaint goes, it’s akin to Emperor Joseph II fumbling ineptly on the pianoforte and bungling every other note.

But this kind of cavilling may be missing the point. Forman’s aim for Amadeus can be seen as radically different from a typical biopic, and that was to use a fictionalised version of an epic clash between musical composers to allegorise the defining global rivalry of the mid-to-late 20th Century: the Cold War. Put simply, the film may have played fast and loose with 1784 because its real preoccupation was 1984.

Salieri is the Soviet Lada trying to be a Ford Mustang. He can’t be as great as Mozart, so he resorts to undermining and manipulating him – Paul Frazier

The film opens in Vienna in 1823. Grizzled court composer Salieri howls through a bolted chamber door that he has murdered Mozart, then slashes his own throat. Days later, as he convalesces in an asylum, a priest arrives to hear his confession. It doesn’t disappoint. Salieri recounts that as boy he made a vow of chastity to God as an expression of gratitude for, as he sees it, ushering in the providential death of his father to clear the path for his musical development.

Jump ahead some years, and Salieri is now an eminent composer in the court of Joseph II (Jeffrey Jones), where he eagerly awaits an introduction to musical prodigy Mozart. That eagerness curdles when he sees the man in the flesh – he turns out to be a lascivious vulgarian with an ear-splitting cackle. Convinced that God means to mock his own mediocrity, Salieri hurls a crucifix in the fire and vows retaliation. When Mozart’s father dies, Salieri seizes on the misfortune with a dastardly stratagem: dupe Mozart into believing that his father has risen from the grave to commission him to write a requiem, then murder him and pass off the masterpiece as his own. Mozart, feverish and besotted with drink, dies, leaving Salieri addled with bitterness and destined for obscurity.

Alamy Forman eschewed big names, casting Tom Hulce as Mozart, F Murray Abraham as Salieri, and Elizabeth Berridge as Constanze (Credit: Alamy)Alamy

Forman eschewed big names, casting Tom Hulce as Mozart, F Murray Abraham as Salieri, and Elizabeth Berridge as Constanze (Credit: Alamy)

The premise wasn’t original to Forman. Drawing inspiration from Alexander Pushkin’s taut 1830 play Mozart and Salieri, Peter Shaffer wrote a highly stylised play called Amadeus, which premiered in London in 1979. Forman, sitting in on a preview, was entranced by the dramatic rivalry and convinced Shaffer to collaborate with him, not merely to adapt the play for the screen but to “demolish the original, then totally reimagine it as a film”. Across four irascible months cloistered in a Connecticut farmhouse with Shaffer, Forman fundamentally rebuilt the narrative with a fresh palette of political resonances.

The casting process for the coveted roles of Mozart and Salieri rivaled Gone with the Wind in scope and behind-the-scenes intrigue, all of which played out over a year and involved meetings with literally thousands of actors. Kenneth Branagh was nearly victorious in landing Mozart, then got dropped from consideration when Forman pivoted to a US cast. Mark Hamill endured grueling hours of auditions, only to be told by Forman: “No one is believing that the Luke Skywalker is the Mozart.” Al Pacino lobbied hard for the part of Salieri, in competition with Mick Jagger, Burt Reynolds, Donald Sutherland and Sam Waterson. In the end, Forman eschewed splashy celebrities for Hulce and Abraham, only to have casting drama explode again when Meg Tilly, slated to play Mozart’s wife, Constanze, broke her ankle playing football: she was replaced by Elizabeth Berridge a week before shooting was to commence. With the plot rebuilt and the cast in place, more than one rivalry was poised to come into focus.

The triumph of genius

The Czech-born Forman had been a galvanising force behind the Czechoslovakian New Wave film movement in the 1960s, reaching a climax with his 1967 film The Firemen’s Ball, which satirised the absurd inefficiencies of Eastern European communism. The film was initially warmly received within the reformist milieu of the Prague Spring, but when Soviet tanks rolled into Prague the following year and organised Czechoslovakia into the Eastern bloc, Forman, tarred as a “traitor” to the state, was forced to flee to the West and found refuge in the US.

Nearly all of Forman’s film work thereafter would show glimmers of opposition to Soviet-style censorship, confinement, and concentrated power. His first success in the US, for example, 1975’s One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest, depicted a mental health ward meting out cruelty and coercion to patients under the guise of benevolent care. Audiences barely needed to squint to see the asylum as gulag and Nurse Ratched as the embodiment of the drunk-on-power Soviet bureaucrat. Likewise, Forman’s 1996 film, The People vs Larry Flynt, depicted the founder of Hustler magazine squaring off against censorship at the cost of being jailed, locked up at a psychiatric facility and paralysed by an assassin’s bullet.

Alamy The film is based on a 1979 play by Peter Shaffer, which he and Forman adapted for the screen (Credit: Alamy)Alamy

The film is based on a 1979 play by Peter Shaffer, which he and Forman adapted for the screen (Credit: Alamy)

The Soviet allegory can certainly be applied to Amadeus. Perhaps Forman was less concerned with hewing to biographical facts as he was with presenting Mozart as a beleaguered type of ecstatic genius who, hostage to patronage, is stifled and finally crushed by the repressive apparatus of the state. Joseph II, absolute ruler of the Habsburg monarchy, is advised at court by a clutch of prudish sycophants who undermine Mozart’s achievements and smear his reputation. Whatever its loose correspondence to the late-18th and early-19th Centuries, this critique can be read as a stab at the USSR – a debilitatingly centralised bureaucracy hostile to insurgent ideas and innovation. But Forman showed that Mozart would get the last laugh. By the events of 1823, Salieri’s insipid, state-sponsored melodies have all been forgotten, while a few bars of Mozart draw immediate joy to the priest’s face. In the free market of popular tastes, Salieri’s mandated drivel has been suffocated by the triumph of genius.

In Forman’s hands, the Habsburg Empire bears the hallmarks of Soviet power. The masquerade balls, with their bewildering swirl of masked identities, conjure the confusion and paranoia that proliferated under the Soviet system. Salieri’s reluctant servant-spy (Cynthia Nixon) carries out covert surveillance, a nod to the 20th Century’s KGB, which had thousands of its moles burrow into the private lives of artists and dissidents. Meanwhile, Salieri’s heretical burning of the crucifix and war on God call to mind the ideological struggle between a Christian worldview and secular Soviet hubris. (After Abraham’s mother – a pious Italian woman – saw the cross-burning scene, she browbeat her son so relentlessly that he blurted out what he now tells the BBC was a lie: “I told her, ‘mum, that was an extra – somebody else threw it in there!'”)

And then there’s the mass grave into which Mozart’s corpse is dumped. This depiction does not fit the facts of what is known about his death, but it makes sense if read as an indictment of Soviet practices – the effacement of individual identity and literal mass murder. Grim excavations of these pits continue to this day. Forman, whose own parents perished in Nazi concentration camps, understood the power of this imagery.

Alamy Critics of the best-picture-winning film have repeatedly pointed out its historical inaccuracies (Credit: Alamy)Alamy

Critics of the best-picture-winning film have repeatedly pointed out its historical inaccuracies (Credit: Alamy)

Jeff Smith, author of Film Criticism, the Cold War, and the Blacklist, tells the BBC that Mozart’s struggle against the status quo tapped into Forman’s own frustrations with Soviet censorship. “The emperor’s fatuous judgment about Mozart’s opera ‘too many notes’ is just the kind of accusation that was used as a cudgel used against avant-garde artists and thinkers to imply their work isn’t pleasant or edifying to Soviet ears. Mozart’s enraged incredulity in that scene must have mirrored Forman’s own longstanding contempt for Soviet stagnation and repression.”

Amadeus behind the Iron Curtain

Shooting took place in 1983 over a six-month period in Prague, which had the virtue of offering basilicas, palaces and cobblestone squares virtually unchanged since the late 18th Century. Even with Soviet power waning, however, Czechoslovakia remained part of the Eastern bloc and Forman was still persona non grata, so a deal was struck: the director would refrain from meeting with political dissidents, and the regime would allow friends of Forman to visit with their repatriated prodigal son.

Forman’s own recollections from the shoot centred on the travails of Soviet interference. His landlady warned his phone is bugged. Informers lurked in every room. Two unmarked cars tailed him everywhere, which seemed redundant since his own driver was also a secret agent. In his autobiography, Turnaround, Forman is just shy of explicit about the degree to which themes of Soviet repression leaked into Amadeus. “As it had to be in the socialist Prague,” he wrote, “the spirit of Franz Kafka presided over our production”.

Perhaps even more telling is a story he recounts of negotiating with the general director of Czechoslovak film, Jiří Purš, who, as Forman recounted, wanted absolute assurance that the Communist Party would have nothing to fear: “I assume that politically there is nothing in the script that they could hang their hats on?” Forman’s reply is a model of plausible deniability and acid irony: “Look, it’s about Mozart!”

F Murray Abraham felt the strain of coercive scrutiny as he was traveling back and forth to the United States to shoot his role in Scarface (1983) while Amadeus was in production in Prague.

Abraham tells the BBC, “At the end of every shooting day I had to cross the border to get to the airport in Vienna to return to Hollywood. At the checkpoint, the Czechoslovak Police would make us sit idle at the gate, just as a way to throw their weight around, make you know who’s in charge. That sense of bullying and intimidation was everywhere, and even when the Czech people responded with subversive humor, the strain was palpable. We never forgot for a minute that we were under communist surveillance.”

That tension between the US crew and Soviet agents finally burst out into the open on 4 July. The production was shooting an opera scene, and the crew arranged so that when Forman yelled “action” a US flag unfurled and the national anthem played in lieu of Mozart’s music. Some 500 Czech extras burst forth into emotional song, in effect revealing their sympathies with the West. But not all of them.

Forman recalled, “All stood up – except 30 men and women, panic on their face, looking at each other [asking] what they should do. They were the secret police, dispersed among the extras.”

Alamy In the film, Joseph II, absolute ruler of the Habsburg monarchy, is advised at court by a clutch of prudish sycophants who undermine Mozart's achievements (Credit: Alamy)Alamy

In the film, Joseph II, absolute ruler of the Habsburg monarchy, is advised at court by a clutch of prudish sycophants who undermine Mozart’s achievements (Credit: Alamy)

As Amadeus continues to be reassessed at its 40th anniversary, the significance of the Cold War looms ever larger. Paul Frazier, author of The Cold War on Film, tells the BBC that the film brilliantly tapped into a deep vein of Soviet envy: “Salieri is the Soviet Lada trying to be a Ford Mustang. He can’t be as great as Mozart, so he resorts to undermining and manipulating him. This too was the approach of the old USSR towards the West: rather than being better than the West, the Soviets resorted to undermining and discrediting the West at every turn.”

Historian Nicholas J Cull echoes that analysis. “Think of the Jonathan Swift line: ‘When a true genius appears in the world, you may know him by this sign, that the dunces are all in confederacy against him.’ Whether it’s the 1780s or 1980s, what you have is true genius facing off against mediocre, conniving bureaucrats. You see this same dynamic at play in a Cold War film like last summer’s Oppenheimer, which in some ways is Amadeus with A-bombs. It makes sense that refugee film-makers like Forman and his creative team would be drawn to tell an allegory of communist mismanagement.”

Not everyone is sold on the idea that Amadeus wrestles with Soviet totalitarianism. Kevin Hagopian, a media studies professor at Penn State University, says there’s a risk of allegorising everything as an unseen Soviet menace, which ends up making art a mere handmaid to politics.

“That ultimately becomes a depressingly narrow way to appreciate the dazzling beauty and emotional breadth of Mozart’s music,” Hagopian tells the BBC. Nevertheless, he adds, we can’t ignore the political resonances. 

“The allegorical space that satirical Czech film-makers like Forman opened up meant that audiences began to look for, even perhaps invent, allegorical political meaning,” he says. “All films could be read against the grain of a regime that lacked not only humanity but any sense of irony about itself. So if Amadeus wasn’t really about Soviet-style tyranny, but audiences merely thought it was, well, I have a feeling that would be just fine with Miloš Forman.”

For his part, Abraham is candid about what he believes are the more contemporary political stakes of the film, as he told the BBC in June. “Think about how many Americans now idolise Putin. These autocrats are suddenly celebrated again. It’s disheartening, truly demoralising, but if Amadeus can help us see our current predicament through fresh eyes, that shows you how powerfully its message still resonates.”