title: Roland Freisler

text: He strongly advocated the creation of laws to punish "Rassenschande" ("race defilement", the Nazi term for sexual relations between "Aryans" and "inferior races"), to be classed as "racial treason". Freisler looked to racist laws in the United States as a model for Nazi legislation to target Jews in Germany. Freisler considered American Jim Crow racist legislation "primitive" for failing to provide a legal definition of the term black or negro person. Nevertheless, while some more conservative Nazi lawyers objected to the lack of precision with which a person could be defined as a "Jew," he argued that American judges were able to identify black people for purposes of laws in American states that prohibited "miscegenation" between black and white people, and laws that otherwise codified racial segregation, and, therefore, German laws could similarly target Jews even if the term "Jew" could not be given a precise legal definition.


title: Roland Freisler

text: In 1933, he published a pamphlet calling for the legal prohibition of "mixed-blood" sexual intercourse, which met with expressions of public unease in the dying elements of the German free press and non-Nazi political classes and, at the time, lacked public authorization from the policy of the Nazi Party, which had only just obtained dictatorial control of the state. It also led to a clash with his superior Franz Gürtner, but Freisler's ideological views reflected things to come, as was shown by the enactment of the Nuremberg Laws within two years.


title: Roland Freisler

text: In October 1939, he introduced the concept of 'precocious juvenile criminal' in the "Juvenile Felons Decree". This "provided the legal basis for imposing the death penalty and penitentiary terms on juveniles for the first time in German legal history." Between 1933 and 1945, the Reich's Courts sentenced at least 72 German juveniles to death, among them 17-year-old Helmuth Hübener, found guilty of high treason for distributing anti-war leaflets in 1942.


title: Roland Freisler

text: On the outbreak of World War II, Freisler issued a legal "Decree against National Parasites" (September 1939) introducing the term "perpetrator type", which was used in combination with another Nazi ideological term, "parasite." The adoption of racial biological terminology into law portrayed juvenile criminality as 'parasitical', implying the need for harsher sentences to remedy it. He justified the new concept with: "in times of war, breaches of loyalty and baseness cannot find any leniency and must be met with the full force of the law."


title: Roland Freisler

text: On 20 January 1942, Freisler, representing the Reich Minister Franz Schlegelberger, attended the Wannsee Conference of senior governmental officials in a villa on the southwestern outskirts of Berlin to provide expert legal advice for the planning of the destruction of European Jewry.


title: Roland Freisler

text: On 20 August 1942, Hitler promoted Otto Georg Thierack to Reich Justice Minister, replacing the retiring Schlegelberger, and named Freisler to succeed Thierack as president of the People's Court ("Volksgerichtshof"). This court had jurisdiction over a broad array of political offences, including black marketeering, work slowdowns and defeatism. These actions were viewed by Freisler as "Wehrkraftzersetzung" (undermining defensive capability) and were punished severely, with many death sentences. The People's Court under Freisler's domination almost always sided with the prosecuting authority, to the point that being brought before it was tantamount to a capital charge. Its separate administrative existence beyond the ordinary judicial system, despite its trappings, rapidly turned it into an executive execution arm and psychological domestic terror weapon of Nazi Germany's totalitarian regime, in the tradition of a revolutionary tribunal rather than a court of law.


title: Roland Freisler

text: He chaired the First Senate of the People's Court wearing a blood scarlet judicial robe, in a hearing chamber bedecked with scarlet swastika-draped banners and a large black sculpted bust of Adolf Hitler's head upon a high pedestal behind his chair, opening each hearing session with the Nazi salute from the bench. He acted as prosecutor, judge and jury combined, and also as his own recorder, thereby controlling the record of the written grounds for the sentences that he passed.


title: Roland Freisler

text: The frequency of death sentences rose sharply under Freisler's rule. Approximately 90% of all cases that came before him ended in guilty verdicts. Between 1942 and 1945, more than 5,000 death sentences were decreed by him, 2,600 of these through the court's First Senate, which Freisler controlled. He was responsible in his three years on the court for as many death sentences as all other senate sessions of the court combined in the court's existence between 1934 and 1945.


title: Roland Freisler

text: Freisler became known during this period for berating each member of the steady stream of defendants passing before him. He was known to be interested in Andrei Vyshinsky, the Chief Prosecutor of the Soviet purge trials, and had attended those show-trials to watch Vyshinsky's courtroom performances in a similar capacity in Moscow in 1938.


title: Roland Freisler

text: On February 18, 1943, Sophie Scholl and Hans Scholl were captured by the Gestapo. Through questioning, it became clear that the two siblings were part of a resistance group called the White Rose that was attempting to sow discord in Germany by the use of mailing pamphlets urging passive resistance. On February 22, 1943, Freisler was flown into Munich for the sole purpose of presiding over their “trial”. The verdict was as expected: Guilty. Freisler had sentenced them to death by hanging, but fearful of them being raised to martyrdom status if they were publicly killed, it was decided to kill them by Guillotine.


title: Roland Freisler

text: On April 19, 1943, Freisler was flown back again to stand as judge over the second trial of the White Rose members. Out of the thirteen defendants, three were sentenced to death, nine were given prison sentences, and one was acquitted.


title: Roland Freisler

text: In August 1944, some of the arrested perpetrators of the failed assassination of Adolf Hitler were brought before Freisler for punishment. The proceedings were filmed in order to be shown to the German public in cinema newsreels, and portray how Freisler ran his court; he would often alternate between questioning the defendants in an analytical manner, then suddenly launch into a furious verbal tirade, even going so far as to shout insults at the accused from the bench. The shift from cold, clinical interrogation to fits of screaming rage was designed to psychologically disarm, torment and humiliate those on trial, while discouraging any attempt on their part to defend or justify their actions. At one point, Freisler yelled at Field Marshal Erwin von Witzleben, who was trying to hold up his trousers after having purposely been given old, oversized and beltless clothing: "You dirty old man, why do you keep fiddling with your trousers?"


title: Roland Freisler

text: Another instance is from Freisler's public appearance during the trial of defendant Ulrich-Wilhelm Graf Schwerin von Schwanenfeld. The footage taken shows Freisler drowning out Schwerin's weak and muted testimony, prompted by his concern over the Wehrmacht's "numerous murders in Poland", by roaring at him in an exaggerated and theatrical manner, declaring ""Sie sind ja ein schäbiger Lump!"" (roughly, "You really are a lousy piece of trash!").


title: Roland Freisler

text: Nearly all of the accused were sentenced to death by hanging, with some of the sentences being carried out within two hours of the verdict being delivered.


title: Roland Freisler

text: On the morning of 3 February 1945, Freisler was conducting a Saturday session of the People's Court when United States Army Air Forces bombers attacked Berlin, led by the B-17 of Lieutenant Colonel Robert Rosenthal. Government and Nazi Party buildings were hit, including the Reich Chancellery, the Gestapo headquarters, the Party Chancellery and the People's Court. Hearing the air raid sirens, Freisler hastily adjourned the court and ordered that the prisoners before him be taken to an air raid shelter, but stayed behind to gather files before leaving. A bomb struck the court-building at 11:08, causing a partial internal collapse, and a masonry column came loose whilst Freisler was distracted by his documents. The column came crashing down on Freisler, causing him to be crushed and killed instantly. Due to the column collapsing, a large portion of the courtroom also landed on Freisler's corpse.


title: Roland Freisler

text: Among the files was that of Fabian von Schlabrendorff, a 20 July Plot member who was on trial that day and facing execution. The flattened remains of Freisler were found beneath the rubble still clutching the files he had stopped to retrieve. A differing account stated that Freisler "was killed by a bomb fragment while trying to escape from his law court to the air-raid shelter," and "bled to death on the pavement outside the People's Court at Bellevuestrasse 15 in Berlin". Von Schlabrendorff was "standing near Freisler when the latter met his end". Von Schlabrendorff was re-tried, acquitted, and survived the war, and ultimately followed Freisler as a judge, on the West German Constitutional Court.


title: Roland Freisler

text: A foreign correspondent reported, "Apparently nobody regretted his death". Luise Jodl, wife of General Alfred Jodl, recounted more than 25 years later that she had been working at the Lützow Hospital when Freisler's body was brought in, and that a worker commented, "It is God's verdict." According to Mrs. Jodl: "Not one person said a word in reply." His body was buried in the grave of his wife's family at the Waldfriedhof Dahlem Cemetery in Berlin. His name is not recorded on the gravestone.


title: Roland Freisler

text: Freisler appears in a fictionalized form in the Hans Fallada novel "Every Man Dies Alone" (1947). In 1943 he tried and handed down death penalties to Otto and Elise Hampel, who were both guillotined for distributing anti-Nazi postcards, and whose true story inspired Fallada's novel.


title: Roland Freisler

text: In the novel "Fatherland" (1992) by Robert Harris, which takes place in an alternate 1964 in which Nazi Germany won World War II, Freisler is mentioned as having survived until winter 1954, when he is killed by a maniac with a knife on the steps of the Berlin People's Court. It is implied that his death was actually caused by the Gestapo, to ensure that the Wannsee Conference and the Holocaust remained a secret.


title: Roland Freisler

text: Freisler has been portrayed by screen actors at least seven times: by Rainer Steffen in the German television film "Wannseekonferenz" (1984), by in the Anglo-French-German film "Reunion" (1989), by Brian Cox in the British television film "Witness Against Hitler" (1996), by Owen Teale in the BBC/HBO film "Conspiracy" (2001), by André Hennicke in the film "Sophie Scholl – The Final Days" (2005), by Helmut Stauss in the film "Valkyrie" (2008), and by Karl Knaup in "Rommel" (2012, uncredited).


title: Richard Perry

text: Richard Van Perry (born June 18, 1942) is an American record producer. He began as a performer in his adolescence while attending Poly Prep, his high school in Brooklyn. After graduating from college he rose through the late 1960s and early 1970s to become a successful and popular record producer with more than 12 gold records to his credit by 1982. From 1978 to 1983, he ran his own record label, Planet Records, which scored a string of hits with the main act on its roster, pop/R&B group The Pointer Sisters. After Planet's sale to RCA Records, Perry continued his work in the music industry as an independent producer. With hit records stretching from the 1960s through the 2000s, his successful modern releases include albums by Rod Stewart and Carly Simon.


title: Richard Perry

text: Born in Brooklyn, New York City, Perry came to his interest in rock music young. Perry has Jewish ancestry. He has 3 younger brothers. His brother, Fred Perry, who lives in New York, helped work as a promoter at Planet Records in the late 1980s. His parents sold and manufactured musical instruments and also served as musical teachers. He was classically trained on piano, guitar, drums, bass and oboe, and was a member of a doo-wop group in the 1950s called the Escorts, who were subsequently signed to Coral Records. In 1955, at the age of 12, he attended the first of Alan Freed's live rock shows at the Paramount Theatre. He began his career in rock music as a local performer during his adolescence. He attended Poly Prep Country Day School and graduated in 1960. After graduating from the University of Michigan (BMus ’64), he shifted into songwriting and acting briefly, working at Kama Sutra Records in its marketing division, collaborating with Kenny Vance. Perry was launched on his career as a producer, with early projects including Captain Beefheart's debut "Safe as Milk" and Fats Domino's "Fats Is Back". In 1967, Perry moved to Los Angeles and in 1968 produced "God Bless Tiny Tim", the debut album of Reprise Records artist Tiny Tim. The album was Perry's first charting hit, reaching No. 7 on "Billboard" magazine's Pop Albums chart.


title: Richard Perry

text: Perry was well established as a producer by 1970. His credits during the subsequent decade include albums by Harry Nilsson ("Nilsson Schmilsson", "Son of Schmilsson"), Barbra Streisand ("Stoney End", "Barbra Joan Streisand", "Live Concert at the Forum"), Carly Simon ("No Secrets", "Hotcakes", "Playing Possum"), Art Garfunkel ("Breakaway"), Diana Ross ("Baby It's Me"), Martha Reeves ("Martha Reeves"), Manhattan Transfer ("Coming Out"), Leo Sayer ("Leo Sayer"), and Andy Williams ("Solitaire"). Among his projects was the 1973 album "Ringo", by Beatles drummer Ringo Starr. The album featured work by the other three Beatles and reached No. 2 on the Pop Albums chart. Another high point was his work with Fanny. Perry produced the group's first three albums, "Fanny" (1970), "Charity Ball", which featured the top 40 title track (1971), and "Fanny Hill" (1972).


title: Richard Perry

text: According to AllMusic's Bruce Eder, the 1970s found Perry "the most renowned producer in the field of popular music"; Eder goes on to indicate that "his mere involvement with a recording project was enough to engender a mention in the music trade papers and even the popular music press, and the array of gold- and platinum-selling albums with which he was associated made his name synonymous with success." As early as 1973, "Village Voice" said of Perry that "the rungs on the ladder of success seem so much closer together when Perry is your guide."


title: Richard Perry

text: In 1978, Perry launched his own label, Planet Records, which he ran for six years until its 1983 sale to RCA, by which point Perry had produced throughout his career at least fifteen gold records (four of which had gone platinum) and a dozen gold singles. Perry had achieved these figures by February 2, 1982. Among the label's roster during his tenure were acts such as Billy Thermal, Bates Motel, the Plimsouls, the Cretones, Bill Medley, Sue Saad and the Next, and the Pointer Sisters, whose charting album "Energy" was the label's debut. After leaving Planet Records, Perry continued producing some of its acts, including the Pointer Sisters, as well as producing efforts by such artists as Streisand, Donna Summer, Julio Iglesias, Neil Diamond, and Randy Travis. While pursuing these projects, Perry spent the latter part of the 1980s also pulling together a passion project, 1989's "Rock, Rhythm & Blues", which featured contemporary artists like Elton John, Rick James, and Chaka Khan performing classic rock songs by musicians of the 1950s and early 1960s. Also in 1978, Perry played the part of a record producer in the film "American Hot Wax", which was based on the life of disc jockey Alan Freed.


title: Richard Perry

text: In the 1990s and the 2000s, Perry worked with Ray Charles on 1993's "My World", which was a minor chart success, reaching No. 145 on "Billboard" 200. He is credited with helping to craft Rod Stewart's charting pop standards albums in the Great American Songbook series, including "". Perry would go on to co-produce the first three records in the series. In 2004, he reunited with Carly Simon. The resultant collaboration was 2005's "Moonlight Serenade", which reached No. 7 on the Billboard 200 and was also a top Internet download. In 2006, he re-entered the studio with another previous collaborator, Art Garfunkel, receiving both producer and singing credits on 2007's "Some Enchanted Evening".


title: Set It Off (film)

text: Set It Off is a 1996 American crime action heist film directed by F. Gary Gray and written by Kate Lanier and Takashi Bufford. The film stars Jada Pinkett, Queen Latifah, Vivica A. Fox, and Kimberly Elise (in her film debut). It follows four close friends in Los Angeles, California, who plan to execute a bank robbery—each doing so for different reasons—to achieve better for themselves and their families.


title: Set It Off (film)

text: "Set It Off" was a box office success, grossing over $41 million against a budget of $9 million. The film earned positive reviews from critics, who praised the characters, music and performances of the cast (particularly that of Pinkett and Latifah, as well as the chemistry of the four leading actresses). The soundtrack was a commercial success, peaking at number four on the "Billboard" 200 and number three on the Top R&B/Hip-Hop Albums. Additionally, the singles "Set It Off", "Don't Let Go (Love)", "Days of Our Livez", "Angel", "Come On", "Let It Go" and "Missing You" each charted.


title: Set It Off (film)

text: Francesca "Frankie" Sutton (Fox) is a Los Angeles bank teller who is fired after a robbery, because she recognized one of the robbers, although she did not personally know him. Frankie goes to work at Luther's Janitorial Services with her three best friends, Lida "Stony" Newsom (Pinkett), Cleopatra "Cleo" Sims (Latifah), and Tisean "T.T." Williams (Elise). The owner, Luther, treats them with disrespect and pays them paltry wages.


title: Set It Off (film)

text: Tired of working a low-paying job, Cleo explains that they should rob a bank themselves. Frankie agrees, but Stony and T.T. are reluctant. However, after Stony's younger brother is gunned down by the police in a case of mistaken identity and T.T.'s son is taken away from her by Child Protective Services, they too now have the motivation to join the robbery.


title: Set It Off (film)

text: While casing a bank with T.T., Stony meets bank manager Keith Weston, whom she starts dating. The four women embark on a series of successful bank robberies, due to Frankie's inside knowledge of bank protocol with money and security. An investigation by LAPD Detective Strode ensues. Strode suspects that Cleo (because of her prior convictions), Frankie (because of her inadvertent connection to the earlier robbery and subsequent firing) and Stony (because of her brother's death) are involved. But his superior refuses to allow him to bring them in for questioning because he doesn't feel the evidence is sufficient.


title: Set It Off (film)

text: Concerned with the safety of their money, the four women stash the money in an air vent at one of their work sites. However, when Cleo, Frankie, and T.T. show up for work one day and find a new boss in charge, they quickly realize that Luther has discovered the money and fled with it. While Stony attends a banking event with Keith, the three women track Luther to a motel, where he is sleeping with a prostitute.


title: Set It Off (film)

text: The women demand the return of their money, but Luther refuses to give it up and pulls a gun on Cleo, forcing T.T. to shoot him dead in self-defense. Stony is disappointed with Frankie and T.T. about the missing money and Luther's death. Frankie and Cleo persuade T.T. and Stony that they need to rob another bank and leave town the next day.


title: Set It Off (film)

text: The women decide to rob the Downtown Federal bank, where Keith works. Concerned for Keith's safety and not wanting him to know she's a bank robber, Stony calls Keith and tells him to meet her at a cafe, far from the bank's location. The four women quickly execute the robbery, but Cleo demands that T.T. grab more money, which gives Strode enough time to arrive.


title: Set It Off (film)

text: Strode and his partner try to talk them into surrendering. As T.T. and Stony begin to put down their weapons, a bank security guard shoots T.T. A shootout ensues as Stony shoots the guard, and an enraged Cleo opens fire on the detectives. The women eventually drive away, though T.T. succumbs to her wounds and dies in Stony's arms. The three remaining women attempt to outrun the police in vain. Cleo tells Stony and Frankie that they have to split up and to take her share of the money with them.


title: Set It Off (film)

text: The police find Cleo who proceeds to lead them on a high speed chase until she is cornered. She drives through a police barricade, which causes the police to shoot at her car and blow out her tires. Refusing to surrender, she leaps from her car firing her gun, and is killed by the police. Frankie is found a short time later, and Strode attempts to get Frankie to surrender. After defiantly sticking a gun in Strode's face and reminding him of how he got her fired to begin with, Frankie attempts to run, but one of the officers shoots her in the back, killing her. Stony, who managed to blend in with a tourist group heading to Mexico, tearfully watches this from a passing charter bus. Strode sees her from a distance but lets her go, realizing the part he played in driving the women to crime.


title: Set It Off (film)

text: In Mexico, Stony mourns the losses of her friends and brother, and cuts off her hair. She then calls Keith to assure him that she is alright and thanks him before smiling. After hanging up, she is seen driving through the mountains with her share of the money from the last robbery beside her.


title: Set It Off (film)

text: Takashi Bufford said that he wrote the script with Pinkett Smith and Queen Latifah in mind even though he had not yet met them. The script was offered to New Line three times before finally being accepted, and the studio filled in more about why the female leads turn to bank robbery in a way that wasn't in the original script. Later Vivica A. Fox said: “Originally, with the script, we were throwing out pages daily. Like, “No.” But that’s what you do when you have a good director who knows what he has to turn in. We were given the freedom with him to create things, and dialogue that would make sense. Everyone; once it started making sense, we came up with little moments, and it really was a team effort, to make that movie so successful.


title: Set It Off (film)

text: On a budget of $9 million and R-rated, "Set It Off" grossed $36,461,139 in the U.S. and Canada, $5,129,747 internationally, and total of $41,590,886 worldwide. "Tribute" magazine stated that it is New Line Cinema's highest-grossing film of 1996. Director F. Gary Gray won an Acapulco Black Film Festival award for Best Director, in 1997, and the Special Jury Prize at the Cognac Film Festival.


title: Set It Off (film)

text: "Set It Off" received generally positive reviews from critics and audiences. On Rotten Tomatoes, it has an approval rating of 70% based on 33 reviews, with an average rating of 6.4 out of 10. The site's consensus reads: "It may not boast an original plot, but "Set It Off" is a satisfying, socially conscious heist film thanks largely to fine performances from its leads." Audiences surveyed by CinemaScore gave the film a grade "A" on scale of A to F.


title: Set It Off (film)

text: Roger Ebert stated that "Set It Off" is "a lot more" than a thriller about four women who rob banks. Comparing it to "Waiting to Exhale", but "with a strong jolt of reality," he said, "It creates a portrait of the lives of these women that's so observant and informed." He gave the film three and a half stars, and added, "The movie surprised and moved me: I expected a routine action picture and was amazed how much I started to care about the characters." Gene Siskel gave it a thumbs down.


title: Set It Off (film)

text: Stephen Holden of "The New York Times" compared "Set It Off" to "Thelma & Louise", stating, "In formulaic Hollywood terms, "Set It Off" might be described as "Thelma and Louise Ride Shotgun in the Hood While Waiting to Exhale." A pop psychologist might translate the story into a fable called "Women Who Rob Banks and the Society That Hates Them."" He added that among "the long list of Hollywood heist movies that make you root for its criminals to steal a million dollars and live happily ever after, F. Gary Gray's film "Set It Off" is one of the most poignantly impassioned," and that "[i]f this messy roller coaster of a film often seems to be going in several directions at once, it never for a second loses empathy" for the female robbers.


title: Set It Off (film)

text: James Berardinelli said that if "Set It Off" owes any debt to films, those films are "Thelma & Louise" and "Dead Presidents", rather than "Waiting to Exhale." He stated that "[t]here's a freshness and energy in the way director F. Gary Gray attacks this familiar material that keeps "Set It Off" entertaining, even during its weakest moments" and that "[t]he concept of four black action heroines makes for a welcome change in a genre that is dominated by: (a) rugged white males with a perpetual five o'clock shadow, (b) rugged white males who speak English with an accent, and (c) rugged white males with the acting ability of a fence post." Berardinelli added that although "[t]he film doesn't get off to a promising start" and "[t]he first half-hour, which details the various characters' motives for becoming involved in a bank robbery, is unevenly scripted," and that some aspects of the plot are contrived, "[o]nce the setup is complete, however, things shift into high gear. The remainder of the film, which includes several high-adrenaline action sequences and some slower, more dramatic moments, is smoothly-crafted. There are occasional missteps, such as an out-of-place "Godfather" parody, but, in general, "Set It Off" manages to rise above these."


title: Set It Off (film)

text: The soundtrack was released on September 24, 1996, by East West Records and featured production from several of hip hop and R&B's top producers, such as Organized Noize, DJ U-Neek and DJ Rectangle. The soundtrack was a huge success, making it to number four on the "Billboard" 200 and number three on the Top R&B/Hip-Hop Albums. It featured seven charting singles: "Set It Off", "Don't Let Go (Love)", "Days of Our Livez", "Angel", "Come On", "Let It Go" and "Missing You". All of the singles had music videos made for them. The track "The Heist" by Da 5 Footaz also had a music video made, even though it was not released as a single. On November 12, 1996, the album was certified platinum by the RIAA.


title: Set It Off (film)

text: "Up Against the Wind" (runtime – 4:28), sung by Lori Perri and produced by Christopher Young, is not included in the soundtrack.


title: Set It Off (film)

text: Varèse Sarabande issued an album of Christopher Young's score for the film, including Lori Perri's "Up Against the Wind" on November 19, 1996.


title: Set It Off (film)

text: "Set It Off" became known as a staple in urban cinema as a cult classic. The film was also the center of many parodies and attracted spoofs in television, YouTube and social media alike with creators and actors recreating memorable scenes from the movie, particularly the rooftop scene; Stony's desperate decision to obtain money for her brother; the fight between Cleo and Stony and the final standoff scene. Notable social media creators and stand-up comedian/actor "KevOnStage" appeared as a detective in one of the 2014 parodies with content creators All Def Women, as well as social media actor and comedian Minks "(officalminks)" recreated and spoofed the final standoff scene in 2018.


title: Set It Off (film)

text: Queen Latifah reprised her role as 'Cleo" in a 1997 MADtv sketch with Phil Lamarr as weird stud 'Rick', who was trying to charm Cleo in a bar by coming on too strong, she dismisses him by threatening him with a gun, but assures him to relax and ask him if he has a car in which he gives her the keys. She tells him to relax and wants him to meet her friends (Stony, TT and Frankie) but first needs to stop at a local bank first. They leave as she calls her girlfriend Ursula, who was sitting at the bar to tag along. The sketch can be internalized and interpreted as possibly one the events that happened early on before the demise and downfall of the girls.


title: Set It Off (film)

text: Queen Latifah also surprised Anthony Anderson with the cast reunion (Jada, Vivica & Kimberly) as a spoof while presenting Best Male R&B artist at the 2005 BET Awards trying to antagonize and rob him of his clothing.


title: Set It Off (film)

text: The climatic song "Up Against the Wind" sung by Lori Perry became a popular viral internet meme sound bite in the late 2010s used in many TikTok and Instagram videos with only the music melody or piano instrument leading up to the vocal lyrics "<nowiki>'Day after Day"</nowiki>," usually following from something either sad, ridiculous, or embarrassing happening or a person throwing insults and shade in the video clip, sometimes added with the sound bite of a gunshot sound effect and/or vocal emotion of ""Bruh!!!"" before or following Lori's vocals of the lyric.


title: Set It Off (film)

text: The film drew many people to believe there would be a sequel after the cliffhanger at the end to which Jada Pinkett-Smith answered when asked in an interview with PeopleTV a subsidiary of Entertainment Weekly stating, ""That has been going on for years...my answer always is, there's no way I can do 'Set if Off' without Vivica, Queen and Kimberly, that's just not gonna happen. Sometimes you gotta let a classic be a classic and just don't touch it."." ET Live also asked Vivica Fox the same question regarding Issa Rae possibly making an attempt to create a sequel, to which Vivica made a disappointed face and stated ""It's a classic, leave it alone there's absolutely no reason to try to redo it, its been done, and we did it so well that people are absolutely going to compare it and I think that's her taking on a tremendous chore because that film has become a cult classic and some things are better left (alone)...create your own thing...and if its not good they are going to slay her for it.""


title: Set It Off (film)

text: Stage theater director and producer Je’Caryous Johnson, a well known renowned playwright in urban stage play productions, adapted Set It Off as an Off-Broadway play titled '"SET IT OFF: Live on Stage"' with the blessing of creator and writer of the movie, Takashi Bufford. The stage play had a multi-city tour production run in 2018 and 2021 with Da Brat starring as Cleo in both 2018 and 2021 productions. The 2018 main cast featured Kyla Pratt as Stony, LeToya Luckett as Frankie and Demetria McKinney as Tisean (T.T.). The 2021 cast featured Keshia Knight Pulliam as Tisean, Lil' Mo and Vanessa Simmons as Frankie (alternating shows), Drew Sidora, LaToya London and Marquita Goings as Stony (alternating shows) and Leon Robinson was added to the cast as Keith Weston. The ensemble featured James “Lil’ JJ” Lewis, Bakesta King, Michael Finn, Ericka Pinkett, Jason Raines, Steven J. Scott and Carson Pursley. The 2020 production run was halted due to the COVID-19 pandemic which led to a few rescheduling dates to premiere in early 2021 but was again delayed and resumed in October and officially closed with its final tour run in November 2021. The stage production was a -hour run. The play was received with mixed reviews.


title: Master of ceremonies

text: A master of ceremonies, abbreviated MC or emcee, is the official host of a ceremony, staged event, conference, convention, or similar performance.


title: Master of ceremonies

text: The term is earliest documented in the Catholic Church since the 5th century, where the master of ceremonies is an official of the Papal Court responsible for the proper and smooth conduct of the elaborate rituals involving the pope and the sacred liturgy.


title: Master of ceremonies

text: The master of ceremonies sometimes also refers to the protocol officer during an official state function, especially in monarchies.


title: Master of ceremonies

text: Today, the term is often used to connote a person who presents performers, speaks to the audience, entertains people, and generally keeps an event moving. This usage occurs in the entertainment industry, for example in reference to television game show hosts, as well as in contemporary hip hop and electronic dance music culture.


title: Master of ceremonies

text: Alternative names include "compère" (for men), "commère" (for women), host, presenter, announcer, and microphone controller.


title: Master of ceremonies

text: The office of the Master of Ceremonies itself is very old. The Master of Ceremonies is an official of the Papal household responsible for the proper and smooth conduct of the elegant and elaborate rituals involving the Pope and the sacred liturgy. He may also be an official involved in the proper conduct of protocols and ceremonials involving the Roman Pontiff, the Papal Court, and other dignitaries and potentates. Examples of official liturgical books prescribing the rules and regulations of liturgical celebrations are "Cæremoniale Romanum" and "Cæremoniale Episcoporum". The role of the master of ceremonies is outlined in the Ceremonial of Bishops, Nos. 34-36.


title: Master of ceremonies

text: According to the Catholic Encyclopedia, the most ancient ceremonials and rituals of the Catholic Church are the "Ordines Romani". Names of Masters of Ceremonies are known since the late Middle Ages (15th century) and the Renaissance (16th century). However, copies of books prescribing the forms of rituals, rites and customs of pontifical ceremonies are known to have been given to Charles Martel in the 8th century. The rules and rituals themselves are known to have been compiled or written by the pontifical masters of ceremonies, dating back to the time of Pope Gelasius I (492–496) with modifications and additions made by Pope Gregory the Great (590–604). It is reasonable to assume that the ceremonials themselves pre-date Gelasius. The duties of the Master of Ceremonies may have developed from the time Emperor Constantine the Great gave the Lateran Palace to the popes (324) or from the time Christianity became the official religion of the Roman Empire (380), and were no doubt influenced by imperial practices, customs and norms. However, documentary evidence from the late Roman period is scarce or lost. The ceremonies and practices of the Byzantine emperors are also known to have influenced the papal court. The accumulation of elaborations and complications since the Renaissance and Baroque eras continued well into the 20th century, until some of the ceremonies (i.e. the court, the rituals and norms) were simplified or completely eliminated by Pope Paul VI in the 1970s after Vatican II; much of the Renaissance pomp and ceremony has been completely abandoned by the popes of the modern era.


title: Master of ceremonies

text: Since the apostolic constitution "Pastor bonus" of June 28, 1988, the organizing and conducting of liturgies and other religious ceremonies performed by the pope comes under the Office for the Liturgical Celebrations of the Supreme Pontiff. It is headed by a "Master" appointed for a term of five years. Papal masters of ceremonies who assist him in sacred celebrations are likewise appointed to a term of the same length.


title: Master of ceremonies

text: According to the "General Instruction of the Roman Missal", "It is desirable, at least in cathedrals and in larger churches, to have some competent minister or master of ceremonies, to see to the appropriate arrangement of sacred actions and to their being carried out by the sacred ministers and lay faithful with decorum, order, and devotion." The Master of Ceremonies may also have responsibility for the physical security of the place of worship during the liturgy, and be familiar with appropriate procedures in case of a medical emergency. The Master of Ceremonies coordinates with any concelebrating priests, deacons, altar servers and sometimes the lectors and music ministers to make sure each knows when and how to perform their liturgical functions. At major festivities such as Christmas and Easter, when the liturgies are long and complex, the Master of Ceremonies plays a vital role in ensuring that everything runs smoothly.


title: Master of ceremonies

text: The current papal Master of Pontifical Liturgical Celebrations is Monsignor Diego Giovanni Ravelli, who succeeded Bishop Guido Marini.


title: Master of ceremonies

text: Historically certain European royal courts maintained senior offices known as Masters of Ceremonies (or some variant thereof), responsible for conducting stately ceremonies such as coronations and receptions of foreign ambassadors. Examples included:


title: Master of ceremonies

text: The function is prevalent in the culture of chivalric orders, as well as in more modern fraternal orders, such as Freemasons and Odd Fellows.


title: Master of ceremonies

text: Most large corporate and association conferences and conventions use an MC to keep the events running smoothly. This role is sometimes performed by someone inside the group but usually by an outside professional expert MC. Their role could include - introducing and thanking speakers, introducing the theme of the conference, facilitating a panel discussion and interviewing guests.


title: Master of ceremonies

text: During the wedding reception, the multifaceted responsibility of the Master of Ceremony (MC) is to keep the agenda flowing smoothly by:


title: Master of ceremonies

text: The role of the wedding master of ceremonies incorporates a wide range of skills, and those who serve in this capacity have frequently undergone extensive training in the following areas:


title: Master of ceremonies

text: Masters of ceremonies at weddings and private events also ensure the coordination of their event, including liaison with catering staff.


title: Master of ceremonies

text: In hip hop and electronic dance music, "MC" refers to rap artists or performers who perform vocals for their own or other artists' original material. Such genres of electronic dance music where MCs perform on are house, drum and bass, and UK garage.


title: Master of ceremonies

text: In the late 1970s, the term emcee, MC or M.C. became used for rappers and for their role within hip hop music and culture. Initially, MCs were those who introduced the DJs to the crowd and explained what was taking place during the event. Often these events were parties at locations including clubs or outdoor public spaces. The term is typically used as a term of distinction, referring to an artist with good performance skills. Many rappers have MC in their stage name, such as MC Hammer, MC Lyte, MC Ren, MC Shan or MC Eiht.


title: Master of ceremonies

text: In the context of a comedy club, the role of MC is traditionally filled by a "compère". In any comedy show, the compère is the host of the evening's events, but the precise role and responsibilities will vary depending on the country, venue, and style of event. The compère is usually a working comedian, and whilst they may incorporate elements of their regular set, the role broadly requires a greater level of improvisation – creating a sense of place and community, interacting with the audience, dealing with any hecklers, and encouraging them to focus on the other acts. The compère will normally do longer bits at the start of the show and after any interval, and shorter bits between acts. They may also be required to make announcements, such as birthdays, anniversaries, and bar promotions.


title: Montero (Call Me by Your Name)

text: "Montero (Call Me by Your Name)" is a song by American rapper and singer Lil Nas X. First previewed in a Super Bowl LV commercial in February 2021, the song was released on March 26, 2021, through Columbia Records as the lead single and title track from his debut studio album of the same name. It was written by Lil Nas X along with its producers, Take a Daytrip, Omer Fedi, and Roy Lenzo.


title: Montero (Call Me by Your Name)

text: The song is noted for its queer themes, including its sexually explicit homosexual lyrics, taking its name from the 2017 film "Call Me by Your Name" which centers on a gay romance. The camp, sexually charged music video for the song depicts Lil Nas X in a number of biblically-inspired scenes, including the artist riding a stripper pole to Hell, and giving a lap dance to Satan. The song and video were praised by some commentators for their boldly queer sensibilities, but were also the subject of backlash from a number of conservative figures in the United States who deemed the content immoral or harmful to children.


title: Montero (Call Me by Your Name)

text: "Montero (Call Me by Your Name)" debuted at the top the "Billboard" Hot 100, giving Lil Nas X his second number-one hit on the chart after "Old Town Road". It was certified platinum in the United States by the RIAA on April 22, 2021. Outside of the United States, "Montero (Call Me By Your Name)" topped the charts 20 other countries including Canada, France, and the United Kingdom. The song received nominations for Record of the Year, Song of the Year and Best Music Video at the 2022 Grammy Awards.


title: Montero (Call Me by Your Name)

text: In 2019, Lil Nas X released "Old Town Road", a single that would go on to set a record for the longest-charting number-one song on the "Billboard" Hot 100. However, with some people dismissing his success as a one-hit wonder, Lil Nas X wanted to depart from the country trap sound of "Old Town Road" when working on his debut album; instead, he focused on rap, pop, and R&B, influenced by Drake and Nicki Minaj. Take a Daytrip, who produced the song, described the process behind creating the song as serendipitous. In early 2020, Lil Nas X asked the production duo to executively produce his debut album, and started recording ideas on his phone during COVID-19 lockdown. In a recording session, Lil Nas X came up with the lyrics "Call me when you want, call me when you need, call me in the morning", which led to producer Omer Fedi recording a guitar part, which was then done on banjo.


title: Montero (Call Me by Your Name)

text: Originally titled "Call Me by Your Name", Lil Nas X played a snippet of the song in a Twitter video on July 9, 2020, as well as in the background of various TikTok videos, including one that was addressed to hip-hop rapper 6ix9ine. It was featured in a Logitech commercial that aired during Super Bowl LV in February 2021. On March 9, 2021, its release date was announced via Twitter, along with its cover. The single cover was created by Spanish–Croatian artist Filip Ćustić and features Lil Nas X as both Adam and God in a reinterpretation of Michelangelo's "The Creation of Adam".


title: Montero (Call Me by Your Name)

text: The song's title is taken from Lil Nas X's first name, while the subtitle is a reference to the 2017 LGBT romance-themed film of the same name. André Aciman, author of the novel from which the film was adapted, expressed that he was grateful and humbled that Lil Nas X had written a song with the same name as his novel. Lil Nas X later stated the film was one of the first queer movies he had ever seen that felt "very artsy" and made him interested in the concept of "calling somebody by your own name as lovers and trying to keep it between you two", inspiring him to write about it.


title: Montero (Call Me by Your Name)

text: In an interview with Zane Lowe on the day before the release, he described his new-found self-confidence after being able to express himself freely in his new song. Furthermore, in the May issue of "GQ Style", he described the conflict between his sexuality and his Christian upbringing, notably his father's role as a gospel singer, calling the new song and video "rebellious" because they allowed him to express himself in a way he hadn't before. On the day of the single's release, Lil Nas X shared an open letter to his 14-year-old self on Twitter, reflecting on his choice to come out at an early age and his nervousness about the song. However, he ultimately says it "will open doors for many other queer people to simply exist" and expressed his desire to let people be who they are.


title: Montero (Call Me by Your Name)

text: "Montero (Call Me by Your Name)" is a hip hop and electropop song with guitar and handclaps in syncopation. "Billboard" described the track as a "flamenco-like track with a subtle trap beat", while "Consequence of Sound" called it "flamenco and reggaeton dipped in pop". "Slate" noted the song's "dembow-style rhythm" while the chorus was compared to technopop in the style of Gary Numan. Lil Nas X's vocals in the second verse were likened to a cross between Juice Wrld and Iann Dior. The humming section following the chorus was included as a sort of mating call. A longer version of the song, dubbed "Satan's extended version", adds an extra half-minute and features an additional iteration of the chorus as well as a longer outro.


title: Montero (Call Me by Your Name)

text: The song is played "alla breve" at 90 beats per minute and was originally published in G minor, with a vocal range from G to G. Like previous songs by production duo Take a Daytrip, "Montero (Call Me by Your Name)" is in the Phrygian mode and was described as having a "Middle Eastern or Moorish or Spanish sound". Its chord progression, D–E–E–D, goes up and down a minor second, which was intended to create and release tension. Guitarist Omer Fedi plays the banjo on a harmonic minor scale, which was later processed with reverb and Auto-Tune.


title: Montero (Call Me by Your Name)

text: The song, like many of Lil Nas X's past projects, features queer themes. Renting out an Airbnb at the start of the COVID-19 pandemic to work on his debut album, Lil Nas X revealed that it was written about a man he met in mid-2020, who was partying and taking drugs while in quarantine. In its lyrics, Lil Nas X tells his lover he no longer wants to be on the down-low. He features the line "shoot a child in yo' mouth while I'm ridin', which was intended to help break the stigma around references to gay sexual practices in music. Lil Nas X revealed he was afraid of turning away straight fans with an explicit lyric about gay sex, but decided "if they feel offended, they were never really here for me." The lyrics also discuss the pressure Lil Nas X feels in representing the LGBT community ("A sign of the times every time that I speak") and include a reference to the 19 weeks his single "Old Town Road" spent atop the "Billboard" Hot 100 ("A dime and a nine / It was mine every week").


title: Montero (Call Me by Your Name)

text: The original track and music video were released on March 26, 2021, with an extended version released on March 29. In addition, Lil Nas X released a number of follow-up videos via his YouTube channel, including a muffled version (titled "MONTERO but ur in the bathroom of hell while lil nas is giving satan a lap dance in the other room") on March 28, an instrumental version (subtitled "But Lil Nas X Is Silent The Entire Time") on March 31, a behind-the-scenes look behind the song's recording process (subtitled "Official Video except its not the official video at all") on April 5, and a lo-fi version (subtitled "but it's lofi and something you can study to lol") on April 9. The lo-fi version was produced by L. Dre and Zeuz Makes Music, and was previously uploaded to the latter's YouTube channel a few days earlier. On April 23, he released an a cappella version along with an accompanying music video in the style of "The Brady Bunch".


title: Montero (Call Me by Your Name)

text: Following the song's release, he launched a promotion on Twitter where he gave out $100,000 worth of Bitcoin. He also offered $10,000 through a pole dancing challenge on the social media platform TikTok, with the hashtag #PoleDanceToHell. Another promotional tool was a collaboration with augmented reality mobile app Jadu, in which users can interact with a volumetric video-generated Lil Nas X wearing red angel wings. In addition, a free browser game titled "Twerk Hero" was released, in which the player controls a virtual Lil Nas X twerking to "Montero (Call Me by Your Name)". Developed by Roni Games using the Unreal Engine, the rhythm game has four levels, each accompanying a scene from the song's music video, and was noted for its jiggle physics. Lil Nas X also unveiled several T-shirts in collaboration with Pizzaslime.


title: Montero (Call Me by Your Name)

text: On April 13, it was reported that the song was briefly removed from streaming services for unknown reasons, after Lil Nas X had asked his fans to stream the song "because it may no longer be available tomorrow". Columbia Records released a statement that the situation was "out of their control", but did not elaborate. However, later the same day, "Billboard" reported that the song was not being removed from streaming services, though no further explanation was offered.


title: Montero (Call Me by Your Name)

text: Tying into the music video's theme, Lil Nas X collaborated with art collective MSCHF Product Studio to create 666 individually numbered pairs of Nike Air Max 97 "Satan Shoes" adorned with pentagrams, inverted crosses, and the Bible verse Luke 10:18. They also contain of ink mixed with one drop of blood from a member of the MSCHF team in the sole, which was collected over the course of a week. The shoes, which were priced at $1,018 per pair and sold out in under a minute, were compared to comic books by rock band Kiss and Marvel Comics that were printed using the band members' blood. Nike, Inc. was not involved with the design or release of the shoes, and later filed a lawsuit against MSCHF for trademark infringement and dilution. In defense, MSCHF claimed that the shoes were meant to be a form of art for display and not to actually be worn. A U.S. District Court in New York approved of a temporary restraining order against MSCHF, thereby preventing further sales of the shoes, though they were already shipped to their buyers. The lawsuit was eventually settled, with MSCHF issuing a voluntary product recall and buying back any Satan Shoes at their original price.


title: Montero (Call Me by Your Name)

text: Lil Nas X performed the song as the musical guest on the last episode of season 46 of "Saturday Night Live". Airing May 22, 2021, and hosted by actress Anya Taylor-Joy, the episode also featured the performance of his newest song "Sun Goes Down". During the performance of "Montero (Call Me by Your Name)", a wardrobe malfunction occurred, splitting the seam of his trousers when he squatted during a pole dance routine, leaving him unable to perform it as planned. Lil Nas X also performed the song at the 2021 BET Awards on June 27, 2021. The ancient Egypt-themed performance was a tribute to the visuals of "Remember the Time" by Michael Jackson and ended with the singer kissing a male backup dancer. "Billboard" ranked the performance number-one out of the sixteen in the ceremony, noting it was "the highlight of the night". Madonna compared the performance with her 2003 MTV Video Music Awards performance, when she kissed Christina Aguilera and Britney Spears on stage while performing "Hollywood", by sharing the photos of both kisses one above the other on her Instagram stories and captioning it with "#DidItFirst". Fans immediately perceived the post as an insult and began to call the singer out; however, Lil Nas X dismissed the post as a joke and stated he's friends with Madonna.


title: Montero (Call Me by Your Name)

text: The music video for "Montero (Call Me by Your Name)" was directed by Ukrainian music video director Tanu Muino and Lil Nas X and was released along with the single. Shot over two days in February 2021, it features Lil Nas X as various characters in biblical and mythology-inspired scenes. While in Los Angeles, Muino expressed her interest in working with Lil Nas X to Columbia Records; the label contacted her in late January 2021 while she was working on the music video for Cardi B's "Up". She spent two weeks on pre-production with her collaborators before shooting with Lil Nas X. Muino drew inspiration from Dante's "Inferno" and paintings by Hieronymus Bosch, including "The Garden of Earthly Delights"—a triptych depicting heavenly and hellish imagery and the Last Judgment. It was Muino's first video as co-director, part of which was done remotely via Zoom after she had falsely tested positive for COVID-19. Anthony H. Nguyen was responsible for the make-up in the video while the hairstyling was done by Evanie Frausto. Visual effects for the music video were done by Mathematic, a French animation studio based in Paris, in a process that took seven weeks. They opted for a video game-inspired look in order to spread a "message of tolerance".


title: Montero (Call Me by Your Name)

text: In an interview with "Time", Lil Nas X revealed that inspiration for the video came from the animated television series "SpongeBob SquarePants" and the film "Call Me by Your Name". He also discussed the music video for "Cellophane" by FKA Twigs as an influence, stating, "I wanted to see some things people have done in music videos with the pole—and I felt like Twigs did a really amazing job at that... I wanted to do my own take on it." "Vulture" reported that this was an homage to honor Twigs following her loss to Lil Nas X in the Grammy Award for Best Music Video category. However, "Cellophane" director Andrew Thomas Huang posted a comparison of the two videos' visual similarities on Instagram, explaining that Lil Nas X's label had contacted him prior to the recording of the video to possibly direct it and had instead hired the same choreographer. He further elaborated, "When someone who is commercially successful makes work that lives so similarly next to ours and profits from it on such a massive scale, then I felt like I had to speak up", but said he blamed record labels rather than Lil Nas X. FKA Twigs and Lil Nas X later had a conversation regarding the comparison and praised each other's videos on Instagram.


title: Montero (Call Me by Your Name)

text: Following a voice-over introduction where Lil Nas X discusses not having to hide in shame, the music video begins with the singer portraying both Adam and the serpent in the Garden of Eden. The serpent seduces Adam using its third eye, and the two kiss. The next scene features Lil Nas X in chains at the Colosseum as he is judged by versions of himself in Marie Antoinette wigs and stoned by spectators. After he is killed by a thrown butt plug, he starts to ascend toward an angelic figure in Heaven before grabbing onto a pole, which sends him down to Hell as he pole dances. He makes his way over to Satan and proceeds to give him a lap dance wearing Calvin Klein underwear and thigh-high boots with stiletto heels. After snapping Satan's neck, Lil Nas X crowns himself with the horns as his eyes glow and wings emerge.


title: Montero (Call Me by Your Name)

text: In addition to its biblical references and symbolism, the music video features a running theme of duality, including good vs. evil and masculinity vs. femininity. A Greek quotation from Plato's "Symposium" is shown on the tree of life: "After the division the two parts of man, each desiring his other half". The scene in the Colosseum was seen as a reference to the trial of Jesus before Pontius Pilate, while the judges' costumes were inspired by the all-denim outfits worn by Britney Spears and Justin Timberlake in 2001. The Latin phrase "" is written on the ground below Satan, which translates to "they condemn what they do not understand". According to a press release accompanying the video, the final scene represents "dismantling the throne of judgement and punishment that has kept many of us from embracing our true selves out of fear."


title: Montero (Call Me by Your Name)

text: An analysis of the music video's symbolism by historians compared the snake figure to Lilith from Jewish mythology, who has often been depicted as a serpentine demon. The stoning scene saw Lil Nas X represented as a Christian martyr and the angelic figure was seen to represent Ganymede from Greek mythology, who is widely regarded as a symbol of homosexuality. The video also drew comparisons with the character HIM from the animated series "The Powerpuff Girls", for portraying the devil as a "queer-coded" entity or a "red, gay man", a trope that became prominent in cartoons from the 1990s. Rebecca Long wrote for "Observer": "Intentionally or not, Lil Nas X draws on this history in 'Montero', reclaiming the motif and continuing a long tradition of queer blasphemy".


title: Montero (Call Me by Your Name)

text: The song and music video received praise from several outlets for being "unabashedly queer". "Variety" Adam B. Vary wrote that the video "changed everything for queer music artists", noting that some LGBT artists like Jonathan Knight of New Kids on the Block and Lance Bass of NSYNC sang about women while staying closeted, while others like Elton John and Ricky Martin did not explicitly sing about their sexuality. He described the sexual imagery, including the pole dance, as evoking images of Madonna or Janet Jackson, without the need to hide his homosexuality. He also remarked that artists like Frank Ocean and Troye Sivan were bolder about their sexuality, but had never reached the same level of commercial success as Lil Nas X. David Harris, a magister of the Church of Satan, approved of the music video's portrayal of consensual sexuality as well as the ending of Lil Nas X crowning himself Satan.


title: Montero (Call Me by Your Name)

text: The music video received criticism from conservative commentators in the United States, some of whom deemed it immoral or harmful to children. Governor of South Dakota Kristi Noem, conservative pundit Candace Owens, and evangelical pastor Mark Burns all reacted negatively on Twitter, as did rapper Joyner Lucas and athletes Nick Young and Trevor Lawrence. In response to criticism, Lil Nas X wrote on Twitter: "There is a mass shooting every week that our government does nothing to stop. Me sliding down a CGI pole isn't what's destroying society" and "I am an adult. I am not gonna spend my entire career trying to cater to your children. That is your job", among other retorts. However, he also confessed that the backlash was "putting an emotional toll" on him.


title: Montero (Call Me by Your Name)

text: The negative reception to the song and music video was characterized by "Los Angeles Times" and "Vice" as illustrating a Satanic panic and compared to past moments in popular music history, including jazz music being referred to as "the devil's music" in the early 20th century, John Lennon's comment in a 1966 interview that the Beatles were "more popular than Jesus", backmasking accusations, the Parents Music Resource Center's "Filthy Fifteen", Madonna's music video for "Like a Prayer", Lady Gaga's music videos for "Judas" and "Alejandro", and Nicki Minaj's performance of "Roman Holiday" at the 54th Annual Grammy Awards. "Esquire" referred to it as "beelzepop" and similarly compared reception to Gaga's "Judas" and Minaj's "Roman Holiday".


title: Montero (Call Me by Your Name)

text: The controversy has been described as being part of the marketing strategy for the song. Neena Rouhani of "Billboard" depicted the social media outrage as his "greatest marketing tool", and Kevin Meenan, a music charts manager at YouTube, described it as "very explicit", and that controversy was his goal. Jon Caramanica of "The New York Times" compared the controversy to bait, and a performance of moral panic, noting how he uses Twitter as a "performance space [...] with an almost limitless audience".


title: Montero (Call Me by Your Name)

text: The visuals of the music video became popular on social media, with the pole dance becoming a meme on TikTok. Additionally, the music video and its reception were lampooned on a "Saturday Night Live" cold open, with Chris Redd as Lil Nas X discussing the controversy with Chloe Fineman as Britney Spears. In June 2021, a mural depicting three of Lil Nas X's looks in the music video was put up in Philadelphia's Gayborhood.


title: Montero (Call Me by Your Name)

text: "Montero (Call Me by Your Name)" debuted at the top of the "Billboard" Hot 100 for the week of April 10, 2021, with 21,000 downloads, 46.9 million streams, and 1.1 million radio airplay audience impressions. It also debuted at number one on "Billboard" Streaming Songs chart and the US "Rolling Stone" Top 100, and at number two on the "Billboard" Digital Song Sales chart. The song reached number one on the latter chart during its third week, selling 19,500 downloads and rising from number 3 to become his second leader after his 2019 hit "Old Town Road" solo or featuring Billy Ray Cyrus.


title: Montero (Call Me by Your Name)

text: In the United Kingdom, "Montero (Call Me by Your Name)" was the most-streamed song during its week of release, with 6.8 million plays (including 2.5 million video streams), and debuted at the top of the UK Singles Chart on April 2, 2021 – for the week ending date April 8, 2021 – becoming Lil Nas X's second number one song in Britain following "Old Town Road" in April 2019. The song sold 62,000 copies and was streamed 8.6 million times in its second week at the top. The song spent five weeks atop the chart.


title: Montero (Call Me by Your Name)

text: In Ireland, the song also debuted at the top of the Irish Singles Chart on April 2, 2021 – for the week ending date April 8, 2021 – becoming Lil Nas X's second number one song in the Irish Republic following "Old Town Road" in April 2019. The following week, it stayed atop the chart and was the most-streamed song in the country that week.


title: Montero (Call Me by Your Name)

text: In Australia, the song debuted at number 16 on the ARIA Singles Chart as the highest debut of the week and soared to number 3 the following week becoming his second top ten hit on the chart. The song later reached its peak of number 1.


title: Harris Faulkner

text: Harris Kimberley Faulkner (born October 13, 1965) is an American newscaster and television host who joined Fox News Channel in 2005. She anchors "The Faulkner Focus", a daily daytime show, and hosts "Outnumbered". Additionally, she hosts her own primetime political franchise called "Town Hall America with Harris Faulkner". She has received six Emmy Awards, including the 2005 awards for Best Newscaster and Best News Special.


title: Harris Faulkner

text: Faulkner was born on October 13, 1965 at Fort McPherson in Atlanta, Georgia. Her father, retired Lieutenant Colonel Bob Harris, a United States Army officer and Army Aviator, was stationed at the base and had served three tours in Vietnam. Faulkner lived in different places as a child, including Stuttgart in West Germany.


title: Harris Faulkner

text: Faulkner attended the University of California, Santa Barbara, and graduated with a B.A. in mass communications.


title: Harris Faulkner

text: Faulkner's start was with "LA Weekly", where she contributed as a freelance business writer for $50 per article. Faulkner started her television career with an internship at KCOP-TV in Los Angeles, doing small tasks, then moved to Greenville, North Carolina, to work as a reporter and anchor at WNCT-TV.


title: Harris Faulkner

text: From 1992 to 2000, Faulkner worked for Kansas City's WDAF-TV as an evening anchor. While in Kansas City, Faulkner was the victim of harassment and stalking by a former acquaintance who followed her from North Carolina.


title: Harris Faulkner

text: Faulkner's next stop was at KSTP-TV in Minneapolis–Saint Paul, where she served as part of an evening anchor team. She left the station in July 2004.


title: Harris Faulkner

text: Faulkner joined Fox News in 2005. She was a correspondent for the 2005 revival of "A Current Affair" until its cancellation in October 2005.


title: Harris Faulkner

text: Faulkner anchored her first solo network newscast "Fox Report Weekend" from 2011-2017. In addition to "Midterm Election coverage 2018", Faulkner has substitute-anchored for Shepard Smith "Shepard Smith Reporting" and for Martha MacCallum "The Story". She also made frequent guest appearances on the night satire show "Red Eye" with Greg Gutfeld, prior to the departure of Gutfeld from that show.


title: Harris Faulkner

text: In April 2014, Faulkner began working as one of the co-hosts on the daytime Fox News show "Outnumbered". In 2017, she became the anchor of "Outnumbered Overtime", which has more of a hard news format rather than a discussion format. In early 2021, she started her new show called "The Faulkner Focus".


title: Harris Faulkner

text: While at ABC's Minneapolis affiliate KSTP, Faulkner received four regional Emmy Awards, including Best Anchor three years in a row (2002, 2003, and 2004) and for anchoring a news special, "Eyewitness to War". In 1998, she was awarded the Amelia Earhart Pioneering Lifetime Achievement Award for her humanitarian efforts. In 2021, she was honored by "Variety"s 2021 New York Women's Impact Report for her 2020 interview with then-president Donald Trump after the murder of George Floyd.


title: Harris Faulkner

text: In September 2015, Faulkner sued Hasbro for $5 million, claiming a plastic hamster in its Littlest Pet Shop line was an unauthorized use of her name and likeness. Hasbro settled with Faulkner in October 2016, agreeing to cease production of the toy.


title: Abarth

text: Abarth & C. S.p.A. () is an Italian racing and road car maker and performance division founded by Italo-Austrian Carlo Abarth in 1949. Abarth & C. S.p.A. is owned by Stellantis through its Italian subsidiary. Its logo is a shield with a stylized scorpion on a yellow and red background.


title: Abarth

text: Carlo Abarth was sporting director of the Cisitalia racing team starting in 1947. The following year, the manufacturer folded, and founder Piero Dusio flew to Argentina.


title: Abarth

text: Abarth, funded by Armando Scagliarini, took over Cisitalia's assets and on 31 March 1949, Abarth & C. was founded in Bologna. Carlo's astrological sign, Scorpio, was chosen as the company logo.


title: Abarth

text: From the Cisitalia liquidation, Abarth obtained five 204 sports cars (two complete Spiders and three unfinished), a D46 single-seater, and various spares. The Cisitalia 204s were immediately rechristened Abarth Cisitalia 204A. Abarth proceeded to build and race a series of sports cars developed from these last Cisitalia cars. In addition to Guido Scagliarini, the "Squadra Abarth" racing team lined up celebrated drivers, including Tazio Nuvolari, Franco Cortese, and Piero Taruffi. Notably, Tazio Nuvolari made his last appearance in racing at the wheel of an Abarth 204A, winning its class in the Palermo–Monte Pellegrino hillclimb on 10 April 1950. Alongside racing, the company's main activity was producing and selling accessories and performance parts for Fiat, Lancia, Cisitalia, and Simca cars, like inlet manifolds and silencers.


title: Abarth

text: On 9 April 1951, the company's headquarters were moved to Turin; Abarth began his well-known association with Fiat in 1952, when it built the Abarth 1500 Biposto on Fiat mechanicals.


title: Abarth

text: In the 1960s, Abarth was successful in hillclimbing and sports-car racing, mainly in classes from 850 to 2000 cc, competing with Porsche 904 and Ferrari Dino. Hans Herrmann was a factory driver from 1962 until 1965, winning the 500 km Nürburgring in 1963 with Teddy Pilette.


title: Abarth

text: Abarth promised Johann Abt that he could race a factory car free if he won all the races he entered. Abt almost succeeded: of the 30 races he entered, Abt won 29 and finished second once. Abt later founded Abt Sportsline.


title: Abarth

text: Abarth produced high-performance exhaust pipes, diversifying into tuning kits for road vehicles, mainly for Fiat. A racing exhaust was produced for the 1950s Lambretta models "D" and "LD". Original Abarth LD exhausts are now valuable collectors' items. Reproductions are available, which carry the Abarth name; how Fiat feels about this is not known. Lambretta even held several 125 cc motorcycle land speed records during the 1950s due partly to the exhaust that Abarth developed for them.


title: Abarth

text: Carlo sold Abarth to Fiat on 31 July 1971. The acquisition was not made public until 15 October. As Fiat was not interested in the Reparto Corse racing operations, these were taken over by Enzo Osella. Osella obtained cars, spares, technicians, and drivers (amongst them Arturo Merzario), and continued the racing activity, founding the Osella racing team. Thus ended for Abarth the days of sport prototype and hillclimb racing.


title: Abarth

text: Under Fiat ownership, Abarth became the Fiat Group's racing department, managed by engine designer Aurelio Lampredi. Abarth prepared Fiat's rally cars, including the Fiat 124 Abarth Rally and 131 Abarth.


title: Abarth

text: In December 1977, in advance of the 1978 racing season, the beforehand competing Abarth and Squadra Corse Lancia factory racing operations were merged by Fiat into a single entity named EASA ("Ente per l'Attività Sportiva Automobilistica", Organization for Car Sports Racing Activities). Cesare Fiorio (previously in charge of the Lancia rally team) was appointed director, while Daniele Audetto was sporting director; the EASA headquarters were set up in Abarth's Corso Marche (Turin) offices.


title: Abarth

text: The combined racing department developed the Lancia Beta Montecarlo Turbo Group 5 racing car which won the 1980 World Championship for Makes and the 1981 World Endurance Championship of Makes. It also created the Lancia Rally 037 Group B rally car, which won for Lancia the 1983 World Manufacturers' Championship).


title: Abarth

text: On 1 October 1981, Abarth & C. ceased to exist, and was replaced by Fiat Auto Gestione Sportiva, a division of the parent company specialised in the management of racing programmes that would remain in operation through to the end of 1999, when it changed to Fiat Auto Corse S.p.A.


title: Abarth

text: Some commercial models built by Fiat or its subsidiaries Lancia and Autobianchi were co-branded Abarth, including the Autobianchi A112 Abarth, a lightweight and inexpensive "boy racer". The A112 Abarth was introduced with a 58 hp engine, soon followed by a 7 hp one, and a specific "A112 Abarth trophy" was run from 1977 to 1984.


title: Abarth

text: In the 1980s, Abarth name was mainly used to mark performance cars, such as the Fiat Ritmo Abarth 125/130 TC.


title: Abarth

text: On 1 February 2007 Abarth was re-established as an independent unit with the launch of the current company, Abarth & C. S.p.A., controlled 100% by Fiat Group Automobiles S.p.A., the subsidiary of Fiat S.p.A. dealing with the production and selling of passenger cars and light commercial vehicles.


title: Abarth

text: The first models launched were the Abarth Grande Punto and the Abarth Grande Punto S2000. The brand is based in the Officine 83, part of the old Mirafiori engineering plant. The CEO as of 2022 is Olivier François.


title: Abarth

text: In 2015, Abarth's parent company was renamed FCA Italy S.p.A., reflecting the incorporation of Fiat S.p.A. into Fiat Chrysler Automobiles that took place in the previous months.


title: Abarth

text: In 2017, Abarth collaborated with Yamaha to produce a limited-edition motorcycle, the "Sport Heritage café racer special", named the XSR900 Abarth. It is based on the Yamaha XSR900 847 cc inline-triple neo-retro standard.


title: Deus Ex: Mankind Divided

text: Deus Ex: Mankind Divided is an action role-playing video game developed by Eidos Montréal and published worldwide by Square Enix in August 2016 for Microsoft Windows, PlayStation 4 and Xbox One. Versions for Linux and macOS systems were released in 2016 and 2017, respectively. It is the fourth game in the "Deus Ex" series, and a sequel to the 2011 game "". The gameplay—combining first-person shooter, stealth and role-playing elements—features exploration and combat in environments connected to the main hub of Prague and quests which grant experience and allow customization of the main character's abilities with Praxis Kits. Conversations between characters have a variety of responses, with options in conversations and at crucial story points affecting how events play out. Players can complete Breach, a cyberspace-set challenge mode, in addition to the main campaign. Breach was later released as a free, standalone product.


title: Deus Ex: Mankind Divided

text: Set two years after "Human Revolution" in 2029, the world is divided between normal humans and those with advanced, controversial artificial organs dubbed "augmentations". After a violent event known as the Aug Incident, augmented people have been segregated; this prompts heated debate and an era of "mechanical apartheid". Main protagonist Adam Jensen, equipped with advanced new augmentations after "Human Revolution", is a double agent for the hacker group Juggernaut Collective to expose the Illuminati, which is orchestrating events behind the scenes. The story explores themes of transhumanism and discrimination, using the series' recurring cyberpunk setting and conspiracy theory motif.


title: Deus Ex: Mankind Divided

text: Production of "Mankind Divided" began after completion of the "Human Revolution" expansion "". Eidos Montréal wanted to improve its gameplay and narrative, and address criticism from fans and reviewers of "Human Revolution". The gameplay and graphics engine were rebuilt from scratch for next-generation hardware. A greater focus on realism and the story's darker themes resulted in a subdued color range compared to the previous game. "Human Revolution" composer Michael McCann returned to write the score with newcomers Sascha Dikiciyan and Ed Harrison.


title: Deus Ex: Mankind Divided

text: The game was announced in 2015, after a lengthy promotional campaign. Subsequent marketing slogans were criticized by journalists, and a divisive tier-based preorder campaign was cancelled due to player backlash. Post-launch, story-based downloadable content was released in 2016. Critical reception of "Mankind Divided" was positive, and the game's narrative, graphics and gameplay were praised. Criticism focused on the brevity of its campaign and the handling of its themes. Although the game placed highly on sales charts, it was rumored to be a commercial disappointment and it was speculated that the series would be put on hold.


title: Deus Ex: Mankind Divided

text: "Deus Ex: Mankind Divided" is an action role-playing game with first-person shooter and stealth mechanics. Players take the role of Adam Jensen, a man equipped with mechanical cybernetic implants called augmentations. The game's environments, ranging from open-world hubs to more scripted environments, are explored in first person; actions such as hiding behind cover, conversing with non-playable characters (NPCs) and some attack animations switch to a third-person view. In these environments, players can find NPCs that will advance the main story quest and optional side quests; completing quests and other actions such as finding hidden areas reward Adam with experience points (EXP). EXP unlock Praxis Points to upgrade his abilities. Also accessible are black-market vendors which supply equipment, materials and weapons for credits, the in-game currency.


title: Deus Ex: Mankind Divided

text: Players can approach situations in a number of ways; a violent approach shoots their way through environments while using cover to hide from enemy fire. Adam can take a stealthy approach, avoiding guards and security devices (again using cover to avoid enemy sight lines). He can move between cover elements and around corners while staying hidden. The melee takedown system offers lethal and non-lethal options, in addition to a variety of lethal and non-lethal weapons. Adam can move the bodies of enemies into hiding places, preventing them from being seen and raising an alarm. Adam's augmentations can be acquired and upgraded with Praxis Kits bought from vendors, found in the game environments or automatically unlocked by gathering enough EXP; higher-level augmentations require more Praxis Kits to unlock. Augmentation functions range from passive enhancements to Adam's vision or damage resistance; to active upgrades, such as increased strength or the ability to fall from great heights without being injured. The majority of augmentations are dependent on Adam's energy level, deactivating after energy has been drained. Other "experimental" augmentations force players to permanently deactivate another augmentation to prevent Adam from overheating.


title: Deus Ex: Mankind Divided

text: Non-lethal and lethal weapons, bought or picked up from enemies, can be modified with parts salvaged from other areas. New components and elements, such as the single-use multitool unlocking devices, can be bought from vendors or built from crafting parts in each area. Using parts to craft new components sometimes requires blueprints discovered in the overworld. Adam can hack a variety of devices, with the hacking divided into two modes. The first has Adam hacking static devices such as computers, which triggers a minigame allowing players to capture points (nodes) and access a device. The second mode involves hacking devices such as laser traps and security robots, triggering an altered minigame where zones on a graph must be triggered to deactivate a device within a time limit.


title: Deus Ex: Mankind Divided

text: Adam converses with NPCs about the main and side quests, and some of the conversations add information to the game's world. He has several conversation options, which affect its outcome; choosing the correct option can help complete objectives, and choosing an incorrect option closes the route and forces the player to find an alternate solution. A "social" augmentation better reads an NPC's expression and evaluates their psychological profile, improving the chance of selecting the correct dialogue option. Most boss battles can be negated by using certain dialogue options.


title: Deus Ex: Mankind Divided

text: In Breach mode, the player is a hacker infiltrating the Palisade Bank to retrieve data from "Deus Ex" companies and escape within a time limit. Similar to an arcade game with a surreal, polygonal graphic style, the player has an avatar and navigates environments with unique augmentations. The enemy monitor alters its responses, depending on player approach to a level. Although "Mankind Divided" does not have a multiplayer mode, Breach has leaderboards which allow players to compare scores and positions online. Its rewards for completing levels are random or alterations to gameplay elements in individual maps.


title: Deus Ex: Mankind Divided

text: "Mankind Divided" is set in 2029, two years after "". The "Deus Ex" series is set in a cyberpunk future rife with secret organizations and conspiracies, including the Illuminati. Before "Human Revolution", advances in biotechnology and cybernetics led to the development of "augmentations", artificial organs capable of enhancing human performance. Augmentation requires the use of Neuropozyne, a scarce, expensive immunosuppressive drug which prevents the body from rejecting the augmentation. They also created social divides between "augs", humans who have accepted augmentation technology; and normal humans who are either morally opposed to it, too poor to afford it, or whose bodies actively reject it.


title: Deus Ex: Mankind Divided

text: During "Human Revolution", the Illuminati planned to place limitations on augmented people with a biochip. They are opposed by Adam Jensen, chief of security at the pro-augmentation corporation Sarif Industries, who is heavily augmented after an attack on his employers critically injures him. Illuminati member Hugh Darrow subverts the Illuminati's plan in order to prejudice humanity against augmentations, broadcasting a signal from the Arctic research base Panchaea which drove anyone with the biochip insane; the mass chaos is later called the Aug Incident. Jensen stops the signal, and has a choice: to broadcast stories supporting Darrow, the Illuminati or his employer, or to destroy Panchaea and let humanity decide. Regardless of the ending chosen, Panchaea is destroyed anyway due to damage suffered during the Aug Incident, but social trauma from the Aug Incident and the Illuminati's manipulation cause augmented people to be stigmatized. Humanity has imposed a "mechanical apartheid" on augmented people by "Mankind Divided", isolating them in ghettos and stripping them of their rights.


title: Deus Ex: Mankind Divided

text: The story focuses on events in Prague, with some events set in Dubai and London. Several factions play key roles in the game world. One of the most prominent is the Illuminati, a group of corporate elites which influences society for its own aims. The Illuminati are opposed by the Juggernaut Collective, a group of hacktivists led by the shadowy Janus and precursors of underground movements in the original "Deus Ex". The two main factions in "Mankind Divided" are Task Force 29 (TF29), an Interpol-run anti-terrorist team based in Prague; and the Augmented Rights Coalition (ARC), originally an aid group for augmented people and now a controversial militant organization opposing the abuse of the augmented.


title: Deus Ex: Mankind Divided

text: "Human Revolution" protagonist Adam Jensen returns as the lead character. Presumed dead after Panchaea's destruction, he was rescued and secretly implanted with advanced augmentations. Due to a genetic trait which allows augmentations without Neuropozyne, Jensen occupies a middle ground between humans who mistrust augmented people and those whose augmentations are decaying due to a lack of Neuropozyne. Adam becomes part of TF29 as a double agent for the Juggernaut Collective to expose the Illuminati, interacting with the Collective's unseen leader Janus through Alex Vega. His co-workers in TF29 are director Jim Miller and psychologist Delara Auzenne. Adam's main opponents are ARC leader Talos Rucker and Viktor Marchenko, a member of ARC who becomes a terrorist. Central characters in the downloadable content (DLC) episodes are Frank Pritchard, an old associate from Sarif Industries; Shadowchild, a skilled hacker with a grudge against the Palisade Bank corporation; and Hector Guerrero, an undercover agent in the "Pent House" prison for augmented criminals.


title: Deus Ex: Mankind Divided

text: During a mission in Dubai for TF29, Adam is attacked by an augmented mercenary group and narrowly escapes. He returns to Prague and speaks to Vega; they are caught in a bomb attack, which damages Adam's augmentations. After repairing them and learning about the hidden augmentations planted during his recovery after Panchaea, Adam spies on a meeting between Miller and his superiors and learns that the recent attacks will be attributed to ARC by the United Nations leadership. Adam is sent by Miller to the Golem City ghetto and confronts Rucker, who dies after confirming that ARC was not responsible for the attacks. The Illuminati-aligned Marchenko takes Rucker's place, and begins steering ARC towards militancy. Adam learns that TF29 director Joseph Manderley and VersaLife CEO Bob Page—prominent Illuminati members—used Orchid, a biological weapon, to kill Rucker.


title: Deus Ex: Mankind Divided

text: Rucker's death causes unrest in the augmented population, and the Czech authorities impose martial law. With help from Vega and Janus, Adam learns about two opportunities to confront Marchenko: Orchid data stored in a Palisade Bank vault, and Allison Stanek (a fanatical, augmented ex-soldier who helped produce the bomb). By either route, Adam infiltrates Marchenko's base in the Swiss Alps and Marchenko injects him with Orchid. Adam survives because of his genetic traits, and gives an Orchid sample to Vega for analysis when he returns to Prague. After spying on a local crime family, he learns that Marchenko is planning an attack on a London summit hosted by influential CEO Nathaniel Brown. Brown is lobbying against the Human Restoration Act, an Illuminati-backed law which would permanently segregate the augmented in the isolated metropolis of Rabi'ah.


title: Deus Ex: Mankind Divided

text: Adam fails to convince Brown of the threat and confronts Marchenko's men after they infiltrate the summit, poisoning Miller with Orchid. Miller's fate depends on Adam's earlier actions—if Adam fails to save Brown, his death at the hands of ARC galvanizes support for the Human Restoration Act; saving Brown empowers him to block the act. After confronting Marchenko, Adam can kill or apprehend him. Vega vows that the Juggernaut Collective will pursue Manderley and Page, and Adam insists that Vega introduce him to Janus. In a post-credits scene, a council of Illuminati members (led by Lucius DeBeers) convenes and decides to watch Adam closely. DeBeers then tells Auzenne, his TF29 agent, that they are using Adam to find Janus.


title: Deus Ex: Mankind Divided

text: The narrative is expanded with the DLC series, "Jensen's Stories". In "Desperate Measures", Adam discovers that footage of the bombing was edited by a member of Tarvos Security to protect a family member. In "System Rift", Adam is tasked by Pritchard to break into the Palisade's Blade vault and investigate the logistics of Rabi'ah; he infiltrates the vault with help from Shadowchild. When Pritchard's avatar is trapped in the system, Shadowchild and Adam punch a hole in the Blade's firewall as a diversion so he can escape. In "A Criminal Past", Adam talks with Auzenne about his first TF29 mission, in which he went undercover in the "Pent House", a maximum security prison for the augmented, when Guerrero, another TF29 operative, went dark. After contacting Guerrero and being involved in a prison riot, Adam discovers Junkyard: an augmentation-harvesting ring which uses the Fixer, an inmate. Guerrero has become affiliated with Junkyard and wants to kill the Fixer after he discovers their identities. Adam can defuse the situation or take sides (leading to different fates for Guerrero and the Fixer), asking Auzenne if she would kill to protect a mission.


title: Deus Ex: Mankind Divided

text: Eidos-Montréal developed "Human Revolution" as a prequel of "Deus Ex" and a reboot of the series after several years of dormancy. Although "Human Revolution" was greeted with skepticism during its development, it was released in 2011 to critical and commercial success. Lead writer Mary DeMarle said that the team had no plans for a sequel during production of "Human Revolution", since their primary goal was to return "Deus Ex" to the public eye. As development finished, the core team realized that they needed to produce a sequel. The sequel was originally to be produced by Obsidian Entertainment. Studio CEO Feargus Urquhart estimated that their version would have been released in 2014, but the plan failed to materialize due to unspecified circumstances.


title: Deus Ex: Mankind Divided

text: Production of "Mankind Divided" began in 2011 after the completion of "", an expansion of "Human Revolution". The team aimed to improve and streamline the experience of "Human Revolution" with "Mankind Divided", keeping well-received elements intact and polishing those which had been criticized at launch or left untouched due to time constraints. The sequel's production took five years, with its long development explained by DeMarle and gameplay director Patrick Fortier as due to upgraded technology and depth of narrative. Production was completed on July 29, 2016, with Eidos-Montréal confirming that the game was gold (indicating that it was being prepared for duplication and release).


title: Deus Ex: Mankind Divided

text: According to DeMarle, the team met to discuss where to go from "Human Revolution". Inspired by the Aug Incident at the end of "Human Revolution", they wanted to explore its impact and aftermath. Although "Human Revolution" ended with a player choice, the team realized that the world's population would be too busy dealing with the tragedy to notice. This allowed the development of a sequel where each player's choice was valid. DeMarle was in charge of the narrative design, overseeing a large group of writers who were split into teams; some handled the main narrative with DeMarle, others the side quests, and others helping with elements such as dialogue trees with boss characters. One of the contributors to the scenario was James Swallow, who had previously written additional media and helped with the writing of "Human Revolution" and "". Describing "Mankind Divided" narrative design, producer Olivier Proulx said that the team wanted to redesign the narrative structure with less opportunity for players to use a save to play through several set endings (as in "Human Revolution"). Key plot twists were present through to the end of the game, impacting dialogue and story options. Some plot elements were left unresolved by the end of "Mankind Divided", attributed by DeMarle to production time limits and problems caused by the game's narrative detail.


title: Deus Ex: Mankind Divided

text: About where the narrative was supposed to go, Fortier said that the team wanted to evolve the first game's focus on transhumanism. This led to incorporating the theme of discrimination, apparently the logical outcome of the social divisions created by augmentations. Although the themes aligned with contemporary real-world events, Fortier said that this was primarily coincidental. These elements played into the series' cyberpunk setting and its focus on conspiracy theories. Prague was chosen because the team wanted to focus on Europe after much of "Human Revolution" was set in America. Prague was a good example of a city with a combination of old and new architecture. The team also chose it because of the myth of the golem (originating, according to Fleur Marty, in central Europe), reflected by the Golem City ghetto.


title: Deus Ex: Mankind Divided

text: While creating her narrative, DeMarle needed to remember the established "Deus Ex" narrative. She approached it as , with established fact in the original "Deus Ex" not being accurate. This fit with the seeking of truth, a theme of "Mankind Divided". Supplementary information in the game helped connect "Mankind Divided" to "Human Revolution" and future "Deus Ex" games. The Illuminati, key antagonists in the series, were portrayed differently in "Mankind Divided" than they were in the original "Deus Ex", where they were part of a "'90s-era "X-Files"-style paranoia". DeMarle wrote them as a loosely aligned elite, where each member pursues their own goals. She compared the Illuminati of "Mankind Divided" with the bankers described in the book, "Too Big to Fail". Both were too arrogant to unite in a common cause, and the bankers were the closest she could get to the fictional Illuminati.


title: Deus Ex: Mankind Divided

text: An early decision brought "Human Revolution" protagonist Adam Jensen back for "Mankind Divided". According to Proulx, his "badass" persona made him a favorite of the staff. DeMarle did not see Adam as having a long life in the "Deus Ex" series, and he died at the end of one of her drafts for "Human Revolution". A core part of Adam's portrayal in "Mankind Divided" was his acceptance of his augmentations after they were forced on him. Described by game director Jean-François Dugas as "a tool and a weapon", Adam accepted his augmented status in "Mankind Divided" and decided to use it for the greater good and his personal goals. Although "Human Revolution" portrayed Adam as reactive, in "Mankind Divided" DeMarle insisted that he be rewritten as proactive. His interactions with Miller had to take into account Adam's reworked persona and the necessities of a mission-based game. Elias Toufexis returned to voice Adam, and was called in to begin recording in 2013. About returning to the role, Toufexis described it as easy since he knew Adam's character better; it was still difficult, however, since Adam's personality was defined by the player. Toufexis needed to have several versions of Adam in memory, so he could change his voice accordingly.


title: Deus Ex: Mankind Divided

text: Discussing the game design of "Mankind Divided", director Jean-François Dugas said that although their first game was characterized by their overall "naiveté", "Mankind Divided" required courage to bring "Deus Ex" gameplay to "the next level". They had a solid base with "Human Revolution", but the team wanted to evolve from that base and address problems raised by players and critics. Issues included balance problems, stiff mechanics, weak combat and boss fights which seemed to penalize a non-lethal playing style. Some of these problems were resolved in the , and feedback from that enabled the team to further tailor and balance the design of "Mankind Divided". The gameplay had to reflect the narrative surrounding Jensen's acceptance of his augmentations.


title: Deus Ex: Mankind Divided

text: The team focused on creating an immersive environment and opportunities for player choice (from non-linear exploration to primitively completing objectives) on a large and small scale. The Praxis upgrade system was carried over from "Human Revolution", and weapons were based on their real-life counterparts. The AI system was upgraded, with two different subsystems for open combat and stealth which would react differently and transition smoothly in response to player actions. Augmentations were based on telemetry from "Human Revolution" which indicated what was popular with players. The team evaluated boss battles in the context of "Mankind Divided", including classic bosses who needed to be fought and encounters which could be navigated verbally. Although Fortier did not want classic boss battles, he realized that the game's mechanical limitations necessitated them. In response to complaints about the outsourced boss battles in "Human Revolution", those in "Mankind Divided" were developed in-house; every boss was navigable with conversation or non-lethal options.


title: Deus Ex: Mankind Divided

text: Breach mode originated when the team wanted to diverge from the main game's realism. A "live" team, led by Fleur Marty, created Breach to bring "Mankind Divided" mechanics into a non-realistic setting. Although the team wanted to experiment with a multiplayer mode, it would be difficult to implement and explain in the "Deus Ex" setting and they decided on an asynchronous system. They implemented elements which encouraged fast completion. Early builds had a more difficult path back to each level's exit, which was changed due to its negative impact on stealth-based gameplay. The team included microtransactions, but Marty said in an interview that players were not required to pay anything. Their aim was to make Breach "lighter than "Hearthstone"": a mode which was part of a retail game rather than a free-to-play, standalone mode.


title: Deus Ex: Mankind Divided

text: "Mankind Divided" runs on the Dawn Engine, a game engine designed for eighth-generation gaming hardware. It was built on Glacier 2, an in-house engine created by IO Interactive. The team had several choices of engine technology after "Human Revolution". They included the Unreal Engine, used by another team in the company to develop the 2014 "Thief" reboot; the CDC engine, created by Crystal Dynamics for "" and its upcoming 2013 series reboot, and the IO Interactive Glacier 2 engine used by "". Due to its more-extensive tool suite, Eidos-Montréal chose Glacier 2 and expanded its basic framework to create the Dawn Engine. The team introduced physics-based rendering (a new animation system) as part of the redesign, and the engine was optimized for the game's narrative base.


title: Deus Ex: Mankind Divided

text: Creating the environments was a challenge for the developers, who wanted to be as realistic as possible within the game's planned design and available technology. The characters' hair, designed to appear as lifelike as possible, was animated with in-house technology based on TressFX. Dedicated lighting programming allowed realism in changing light conditions. Environmental scale was troublesome; interior rooms with realistic proportions and high detail were too large to fit in their exterior structures, and the team used programming tricks to maintain the illusion of reality. Multiple lighting filters were created at different levels to achieve a dynamic, realistic lighting system, and the game's use of light dovetailed with its artistic themes. Due to a lack of console-specific functions, in-house technology was used for the anti-aliasing filters to maintain a smooth image when navigating its environments.


title: Deus Ex: Mankind Divided

text: An element of the original Glacier 2 engine which was carried over into the Dawn Engine was the "entity system", an advanced AI system which allowed the quick creation of new AI behavior based on existing designs. This eliminated the need for a dedicated AI programmer. The advantage of Dawn Engine technology was its ability to hold a large number of entities at one time, which was suited to large game environments. Its "entity-driven" architecture allowed artists deep involvement with the environment and level-design teams. The more-powerful technology allowed the inclusion of more interactive and environmental objects and elements central to the "Deus Ex" series, such as air ducts and cover. The team wanted to avoid obvious walls preventing the player from moving beyond the map boundaries, so they integrated areas into the environment and looped major streets to create an illusion of size.