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Leatherface
The Texas Chainsaw Massacre character
First appearanceThe Texas Chain Saw Massacre (1974)
Last appearanceTexas Chainsaw Massacre (2022)
Created byKim Henkel
Tobe Hooper
Portrayed by
In-universe information
Full name
OccupationFormer butcher[7]
ClassificationMass murderer[8]
Primary locationNewt, Muerto County, Texas (1974)
Travis County, Texas (Remake timeline)
Signature weaponsChainsaw[7][9]
Sledgehammer[10]

Leatherface is a character from The Texas Chainsaw Massacre series. He first appeared in The Texas Chain Saw Massacre (1974) as the mentally disabled member of a family of deranged cannibals, featuring his face masks and chainsaw. Created by Tobe Hooper and Kim Henkel, Leatherface was partially inspired by the crimes of Wisconsin murderer Ed Gein. The character has subsequently been represented in various other media, including novels, video games, and comic books; appearing in all nine films in the series.

Actor Gunnar Hansen was the first and most well-known actor to portray the character, later going on to become a vocal advocate for the character. Since Hansen's portrayal of Leatherface, numerous other actors and stuntmen have assumed the role of the character throughout the series.

The character's physical appearance and personality have gone through many transformations over the years, with various writers and special makeup effects artists leaving their mark on the character and his design. Unique among horror villains, in which most antagonists of the genre are usually classified as sadistic or evil, Leatherface is characterized as committing his brutal acts as a means of following his family's orders, while also killing out of fear. Leatherface has gradually become a widely recognized figure in popular culture, gaining a reputation as a cultural icon within the horror genre. He has been credited as one of the most influential characters of the slasher genre for inspiring the stereotype of the hulking, masked, and silent killer, predating and even influencing horror characters such as Michael Myers and Jason Voorhees. Leatherface has since been parodied and referenced in novels, feature films, games, and television series; in addition to being an inspiration for many artistic outlets, fictional characters, heavy metal bands, and wrestling gimmicks.

Appearances

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Leatherface is the only character to appear in all nine films in the Texas Chainsaw Massacre franchise, with later films exploring different aspects of him, while changing the overall history of the character and his family. Following his first appearance on the silver screen, Leatherface has appeared in various other entertainment mediums, which include comic book lines, novelizations, and video games; each appearance expands upon the universe created by the films.

Films

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Leatherface made his first appearance in the original The Texas Chain Saw Massacre in 1974. Here, Leatherface (Gunnar Hansen) is depicted as wearing the human skin of his victims as a mask. He and his family capture and murder a group of teenagers one-by-one as they trespass upon their property.[b][12] The character's second appearance was in the 1986 sequel, The Texas Chainsaw Massacre 2. The film reveals that Leatherface (Bill Johnson) and his family have been on the run, and are being hunted by the uncle of a previous victim. Leatherface and most of his family are seemingly killed when a grenade detonates in their hidden lair.[13][14] In Leatherface: The Texas Chainsaw Massacre III (1990), Leatherface (R.A. Mihailoff) appears alongside new family members as they capture a young couple when they get lost on the back roads of Texas. Leatherface is eventually knocked unconscious and left to drown in a bog. He is later revealed to have survived, emerging from the bog with his chainsaw.[15][16] In Texas Chainsaw Massacre: The Next Generation (1995), a group of teenagers attending their high school prom stumble across Leatherface and his adoptive family; all but one are killed.[17][18]

Leatherface returns in the 2003 remake of the original film. Here, Leatherface (Andrew Bryniarski) and he and his family murder a group of teenagers. Leatherface loses one of his arms in a fight with one of the teens, before killing several police officers investigating his family home.[19] The Texas Chainsaw Massacre: The Beginning (2006) provides a backstory to how Leatherface and his family became cannibals. Throughout the film, Leatherface (Bryniarski) and his family torture and murder two couples as they drive through Travis County, Texas.[20]

Texas Chainsaw 3D (2013), a direct sequel to the original 1974 film. Picking up 40 years after the original, Leatherface (Dan Yeager) has been living in seclusion. It is only when his newly discovered cousin Heather (Alexandra Daddario) arrives that Leatherface emerges to commit a new string of murders.[21] A prequel to the original film, titled Leatherface, was released in October 2017.[22] It centers on Leatherface/Jedidiah (Sam Strike) being institutionalized after his family murdered the daughter of law enforcement officer. He escapes the mental hospital years later. Jedidiah suffers extensive physical trauma to his face by law enforcement. He eventually kills them and uses their skin to craft his first face mask to hide his disfigured face.[23]

Texas Chainsaw Massacre (2022) also served as a direct sequel to the original film. Picking up several decades after the original film, the story focuses on an aging Leatherface (Mark Burnham), living in relative peace with an elderly woman named Virginia "Ginny" McCumber (Alice Krige). When an altercation with a group of young adults leaves Ginny dead from a heart attack, he finally snaps. Fashioning a new mask out of Ginny's face before retrieving his old chainsaw, he begins slaughtering members of the group, gaining the attention of Texas Ranger Sally Hardesty (Olwen Fouéré). After slaughtering many people, including Sally, Leatherface returns to the house where the original 'massacre' began.[24]

Literature

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Leatherface's first foray away from the silver screen was in 1991, with Northstar Comics' four-issue miniseries Leatherface. This was a loose adaptation of the 1990 film Leatherface: The Texas Chainsaw Massacre III written by novelist Mort Castle. The miniseries followed the basic storyline of the film, with additional insight into Leatherface's mental state, as well as modifying character and plot elements to be different from that of the film.[25] In 1995, Nancy A. Collins wrote a three-issue, non-canonical miniseries involving a crossover between Jason Voorhees of Friday the 13th series and Leatherface. In the story, Jason meets Leatherface, who adopts him into his family after the two become friends before turning on each other.[26]

In 2004, a novelization of the 2003 remake was released. It was based on one of the film's earlier drafts, containing plot points that were discarded from the film's final draft, including Leatherface's murder of Jedidiah, one of his younger family members who had decided to help Erin escape.[27] In 2005, Avatar Press began publishing comic books based on the 2003 remake continuity. Leatherface made his official appearance in The Texas Chainsaw Massacre Special #1, a one-shot comic, centering on a group of three escaped convicts who rob the Hewitt family General store, bringing them into direct conflict with Leatherface and his family.[28] In The Texas Chainsaw Massacre: The Grind, a three-issue miniseries where Leatherface and the rest of the Hewitt family terrorize and kill a group of choir students and teachers whose bus breaks down near the Hewitt residence.[29] Leatherface appears in Avatar's final one-shot comic, The Texas Chainsaw Massacre Fearbook, which features Leatherface killing a group of cross-country travelers, except one girl, who is forced to wear the face of her dead friend and dance with Leatherface.[30]

From January to June 1, 2007, WildStorm began publishing a six-issue series titled "Americanivore". Set one year after the events of the 2003 film, Leatherface and his family are hunted by the FBI led by agent Baines who seeks to avenge the death of his niece Pepper. Leatherface is also being tracked by a news crew who attempts to capture him on film. The series climaxes in a bloody standoff, leaving most of the news crew and pursuing agents dead, and the sole surviving crew member escaping with Leatherface's chainsaw.[31] On July 18, 2007, the company released The Texas Chainsaw Massacre: About A Boy, which chronicles Leatherface's journey through adolescence.[32] In Wildstorm's one-shot The Texas Chainsaw Massacre: Cut!, Leatherface comes across a group of independent filmmakers, thirty years after the events of the 2003 remake, who are making a documentary about the Hewitt family.[33]

A three-issue limited series, titled Raising Cain, was published by WildStorm in late 2008. The story centered on twins Cain and Abel, who are born into the Hewitt family, with their mother wanting her children to escape the family's blood-soaked heritage, bringing her and the twins into conflict with Leatherface and the rest of his family.[34] Leatherface made a brief appearance in New Line Cinema's Tales of Horror anthology, published by WildStorm, which features Leatherface and the Hewitt family meeting a traveling salesman who tries to sell them chainsaws.[35]

Other appearances

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Leatherface made his video game debut in the controversial 1982 video game adaption of the first film released on the Atari 2600 by Wizard Video. In the game, the player assumes the role of Leatherface as he attempts to murder trespassers, all the while avoiding obstacles such as fences and cow skulls.[36][37] Leatherface also appears as a playable character in the fighting game Mortal Kombat X, as a downloadable content bonus character.[38] He became a downloadable playable killer for Dead by Daylight in 2017, utilizing his signature chainsaw and sledgehammer as weapons.[39] The events of the game are set after Sally's escape in the 1974 film, as he begins to panic at the thought of his family's atrocities being exposed to the police. Amid his trepidation, he is taken to the universe of Dead by Daylight by some unknown force.[40] The character appears in The Texas Chain Saw Massacre, a 2023 survival horror game developed by Gun Media, set months before the events of the original film.[41]

Concept and creation

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Created by Tobe Hooper and Kim Henkel, the concept for Leatherface was developed while Hooper worked as an assistant film director at the University of Texas at Austin and as a documentary cameraman during the late 1960s.[42][43] During this period, Hooper had grown increasingly disillusioned by what he referred to as the "lack of sentimentality and the brutality of things" witnessing the graphic and dispassionate violence depicted in the news at the time. This led Hooper to believe that "man was the real monster here, just wearing a different face", a belief that he later instilled into the character.[44][45] For Henkel, the decision to make Leatherface human was practical and made him more frightening, stating "the only genuinely frightening thing to people is [other] people".[46][47]

Some aspects of Leatherface were inspired by the crimes of Wisconsin murderer and grave-robber Ed Gein[i] Gein's crimes, committed around his hometown of Plainfield, Wisconsin, had gained widespread notoriety in 1957 after authorities discovered that he had exhumed corpses from local graveyards and fashioned keepsakes from their bones and skin.[55][56] Hooper claimed to have heard details of Gein from relatives when he was young, though Hooper admitted he did not know it was Gein until after the film's release.[ii] One detail from Gein's crimes that Hooper found particularly disturbing, and a trait that he and his fellow co-writer instilled into the character was Gein's penchant for crafting and wearing human flesh as masks;[51][48] In later years, Hooper commented that additional inspiration was taken from an event that occurred in his early years of college. While at a Halloween party, a friend of his who had been a pre-med student at the time, had arrived at the party wearing the face of a cadaver as a 'joke'. Hooper was deeply shaken by the incident, later confiding to actor William Butler about the event, which he would call 'the most disturbing thing I have ever seen'.[60][61]

Earlier drafts included a backstory to Leatherface, describing him as being tortured as a child, with his face skinned off. Script rewrites later removed this aspect in favor of leaving him undefined while adding the concept of alternating personalities.[62] While developing the script, filmmakers envisioned Leatherface as a large, menacing figure with child-like behavior.[citation needed] According to Hooper, the concept of Leatherface having a developmental disability, which affected his ability to think and speak rationally and coherently,[63] was partially inspired by cartoon character Baby Huey.[64][65] The idea of using a chainsaw as a murder weapon, according to Hooper, came while he was in the hardware section of a busy store, contemplating how to speed his way through the crowd.[iii]

Portrayers

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The difficult part of the movie was that, physically, it was so demanding.... Just generally, the demand of doing a movie where you're shooting 12 or 16 hours a day, seven days a week and it's 100 degrees — I think that was the worst part for me.

— Gunnar Hansen on the physical requirements for the role.[71]

The role of Leatherface is noted for its physical and emotional challenges, with actors required to perform the necessary stunts associated with the role under grueling working conditions, while portraying emotional depth for the character.[71][72]

Actor Gunnar Hansen was the first to portray the role of Leatherface.[73][74] Hansen described the audition as lengthy, as the filmmakers discussed with him about the character and his relationship with his family.[75][22][76] The filmmakers were impressed with the actor's imposing figure, and later cast him in the role.[iv] Having never been involved in a feature film, Hansen wrote that he had felt participating in a horror film would be a unique experience.[81] During his first cast meeting with the filmmakers, Hooper explained the character in detail for Hansen; describing Leatherface as severely mentally impaired, and insane, which made the character violent and unpredictable.[82][83][84] In preparation, Hansen experimented with different vocal tones and pitches to find the right voice for the character. He also visited a special needs school in Austin,[c] observing how the students moved and spoke, in an attempt to find the proper movement and behavior.[82][86]

Characteristics

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Personality

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Mental capacity

Glimpses into this deteriorated mental state were depicted in the form of incomprehensible gibberish on two separate occasions in the film; once when Leatherface attempts to "speak" to Drayton (credited in the film as the "Old Man"), and the second occurring the famous dinner scene.[87] Leatherface was originally scripted to have several lines of dialogue in his conversation with Drayton where he reassures him that everything is 'ok'. Filmmakers were dissatisfied with the resulting scene as it was written, with Hansen noting it made the character seem "too rational", and was rewritten to fit the filmmaker's vision of a demented and mentally disabled maniac.[88]

References

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Footnotes

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  1. ^ Attributed to multiple sources:[48][49][49][50][51][52][53][54]
  2. ^ Attributed to multiple references:[52][57][58][59]
  3. ^ Attributed to multiple references:[66][67][68][69][70]
  4. ^ Attributed to multiple references:[77][78][79][80]

Notes

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  1. ^ In the 2017 prequel, the character is referred to as "Jackson" throughout most the film, having been renamed while in foster care.[4][5]
  2. ^ Although the name of the family was not mentioned in the first film, according to Gunnar Hansen, faint letters on the gas station that hints the family's surname as "Slaughter".[11]
  3. ^ Cited by Texas Monthly as the Austin State Hospital[85]

Citations

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  1. ^ Norman 2014, p. 130.
  2. ^ Sykes 2018, p. 66.
  3. ^ Rose 2013, p. 102.
  4. ^ Sneider, Jeff (March 9, 2015). "'EastEnders' Star Sam Strike in Talks for Lead in 'Texas Chainsaw Massacre' Prequel 'Leatherface' (Exclusive)". TheWrap. Archived from the original on November 29, 2021. Retrieved June 5, 2022.
  5. ^ Harkness, Jane (January 2, 2022). "Leatherface's Backstory Explained". Looper.com. Static Media. Archived from the original on October 7, 2022. Retrieved October 6, 2022.
  6. ^ Bachman, Mara (March 25, 2020). "Texas Chainsaw Massacre: Leatherface's Violent Backstory Explained". Screen Rant. Archived from the original on March 26, 2020. Retrieved October 28, 2022.
  7. ^ a b Cooper, Dalton (February 29, 2016). "Mortal Kombat X: Watch Leatherface's Fatalities, X-Rays, and Brutalities". Game Rant. Archived from the original on December 17, 2022. Retrieved March 31, 2020.
  8. ^ Fischoff, Stuart; Dimopoulos, Alexandra; Nguyen, François & Gordon, Rachel (June 1, 2003). "The Psychological Appeal of Movie Monsters". Journal of Media Psychology. 22 (4): 401–426. CiteSeerX 10.1.1.577.4336. doi:10.2190/CJ94-83FR-7HQW-2JK4. S2CID 12551614.
  9. ^ "MTV's Killer Halloween: Weapons Of Choice". MTV. October 25, 2011. Archived from the original on October 12, 2022. Retrieved October 12, 2022.
  10. ^ Stacy & Syvertsen 1984, p. 138.
  11. ^ Hansen 2013, p. 42.
  12. ^ Hooper 1974.
  13. ^ Hooper 1986.
  14. ^ Muir 2010, p. 545.
  15. ^ Burr 1990.
  16. ^ Muir 2011, p. 106.
  17. ^ Henkel 1995.
  18. ^ Muir 2011, p. 350.
  19. ^ Nispel 2003.
  20. ^ Liebesman 2006.
  21. ^ Luessenhop 2013.
  22. ^ a b Collis, Clark (October 4, 2013). "'Texas Chainsaw' memoir: Leatherface speaks!". Entertainment Weekly. Archived from the original on October 30, 2017. Retrieved September 30, 2017.
  23. ^ Bustillo & Maury 2017.
  24. ^ Garcia 2022.
  25. ^ Mort Castle (w), Kirk Jarvinen, Jason Moore (p), Jeff Austin, Dan Shaefer (i), Neil Trais, Suzanne Dechnik (col). "Leatherface" The Texas Chainsaw Massacre, vol. 1, no. 1-4 (May 1991-1992). Northstar Publications.
  26. ^ Nancy A. Collins (w), Jeff Butler (a). "Jason vs. Leatherface" The Texas Chainsaw Massacre, vol. 3, no. 1-3 (October 1995-January 1996). Topps Comics.
  27. ^ Hand, Stephen (March 1, 2004). The Texas Chainsaw Massacre. Black Flame. ISBN 978-1-84416-060-0.
  28. ^ Brian Pulido (w), Jacen Burrows (p), Jacen Burrows (i), Andrew Dalhouse
    Greg Waller (col), William Christianson (ed). The Texas Chainsaw Massacre: Special, vol. 1, no. 1 (April 2005). Avatar Press.
  29. ^ Brian Pulido (w), Daniel HDR (p), Daniel HDR (i), Andrew Dalhouse (col), William Christianson (ed). "The Grind" The Texas Chainsaw Massacre, vol. 3, no. 1-3 (May–June 2006). Avatar Press.
  30. ^ Antony Johnson (w), Daniel HDR (p), Daniel HDR (i), William Christianson (ed). "Fearbook" The Texas Chainsaw Massacre, vol. 1 (June 2006). Avatar Press.
  31. ^ Andy Lanning, Dan Abnett (w), Wes Craig (p), Wes Craig (i), Randy Mayor (col), Ben Abernathy, Kristy Quinn (ed). "Americanivore" The Texas Chainsaw Massacre, vol. 6, no. 1-6 (January–June 2007). Wildstorm Comics.
  32. ^ Dan Abnett, Andy Lanning (w), Joel Gomez (p), Randy Mayor (col), Ben Abernathy (ed). "About a Boy" The Texas Chainsaw Massacre, vol. 1 (September 2007). Wildstorm Comics.
  33. ^ Brian Pulido (w), Stefano Raffaele, Darick Robertson, J.D. Mettler (a), Stefano Raffaele (p), Randy Mayor (col), Ben Abernathy (ed). "Cut!" The Texas Chainsaw Massacre, vol. 1 (August 2007). Wildstorm Comics.
  34. ^ Bruce Jones (w), Christy Quinn (a), Ben Abernathy (ed). "Raising Cain" The Texas Chainsaw Massacre, vol. 3, no. 1-3 (July–September 2008). Wildstorm Comics.
  35. ^ Peter Milligan, Christos Gage (w), Tom Feister, Stefano Raffaele (a). Tales of Horror (New Line Cinema's…) (September 1, 2007). Wildstorm Comics.
  36. ^ Bradford 2006, p. 32.
  37. ^ Weiss 2011, p. 123.
  38. ^ Turi 2015.
  39. ^ Squire, John (September 14, 2017). "News [Exclusive] Leatherface Joins Slasher Game 'Dead by Daylight' TODAY!". Bloody Disgusting. Archived from the original on October 6, 2021. Retrieved May 17, 2022.
  40. ^ "Dead by Daylight - Manual". Dead by Daylight.com. Behaviour Interactive. September 11, 2017. Archived from the original on September 28, 2017. Retrieved September 11, 2022.
  41. ^ Kim, Matt (December 9, 2021). "Texas Chain Saw Massacre Online Game Announced What's that vrooming noise?". IGN. Archived from the original on June 14, 2022. Retrieved May 22, 2022.
  42. ^ Allon 2002, p. 248.
  43. ^ Martin 1982, pp. 24–27.
  44. ^ Bowen 2004, p. 17.
  45. ^ Glasby 2020, p. 41.
  46. ^ Huberman 1996, 16:32-16:48.
  47. ^ Lanza 2019, p. 23.
  48. ^ a b Gregory 2000, 9:00-12:46.
  49. ^ a b Rockoff 2011, p. 43.
  50. ^ Smith III 2009, p. 12.
  51. ^ a b Castleden 2011, p. 5.
  52. ^ a b Jaworzyn 2012, p. 39.
  53. ^ Muir 2015, p. 12.
  54. ^ Zinoman 2011, p. 39.
  55. ^ Smith III 2009, pp. 7–8.
  56. ^ Sokol 2018.
  57. ^ Carson 1986, p. 11.
  58. ^ Senn 2015, p. 315.
  59. ^ Schechter & Everitt 2006, p. 108.
  60. ^ Schwarz 2003, 15:35-17:29.
  61. ^ Lanza 2019, p. 3.
  62. ^ Hansen 2013, p. 98.
  63. ^ Hansen 2013, p. 17.
  64. ^ Schram, Jamie (September 21, 2016). "How a cute cartoon duck inspired an iconic slasher flick villain". The New York Post. Archived from the original on May 21, 2018. Retrieved June 13, 2020.
  65. ^ Squires, John (October 13, 2016). "Tobe Hooper Reveals Cartoon Character That Inspired Leatherface". Bloody Disgusting.com. Archived from the original on August 20, 2022. Retrieved August 20, 2022.
  66. ^ Baumgarten, Marjorie (October 27, 2000). "Tobe Hooper Remembers The Texas Chainsaw Massacre". The Austin Chronicle. Austin Chronicle Corporation. Archived from the original on June 5, 2011. Retrieved June 10, 2010.
  67. ^ Hawkes, Rebecca (November 8, 2015). "The Texas Chainsaw Massacre and Gunnar Hansen: 10 true stories". Telegraph.co.uk. Archived from the original on October 5, 2021. Retrieved March 14, 2024.
  68. ^ Wooley 1986, p. 68.
  69. ^ Mulleavy, Kate; Mulleavy, Laura (July 14, 2014). "Tobe Hooper". Interview Magazine. Archived from the original on April 23, 2022. Retrieved April 20, 2022.
  70. ^ Jaworzyn 2012, pp. 28–33.
  71. ^ a b Anderson, Kyle (October 4, 2013). "Leatherface Talks! An Interview with Gunnar Hanson". Nerdist. Archived from the original on June 18, 2018. Retrieved April 9, 2022.
  72. ^ Harden, Tim (2003). "Interview with Andrew Byniarski". Texas Chainsaw Massacre.net. Archived from the original on September 4, 2003. Retrieved May 16, 2022.
  73. ^ Lellis 1973, p. 15.
  74. ^ West 1974, p. 9.
  75. ^ Hansen 2013, pp. 8–9.
  76. ^ Jacobs, Evan (September 25, 2006). "Leatherface Himself, Gunnar Hansen Talks The Texas Chain Saw Massacre, the Remake and More [Exclusive]". MovieWeb.com. Valnet Inc. Archived from the original on February 27, 2021. Retrieved July 12, 2024.
  77. ^ Macor 2010, p. 24.
  78. ^ Hansen 2013, p. 5-16.
  79. ^ Foster 2001.
  80. ^ Zinoman 2011, pp. 139–141.
  81. ^ Hansen 2010.
  82. ^ a b Hansen 2013, pp. 5–16.
  83. ^ Macor 2010, p. 23.
  84. ^ Schultz, Jakob. "Interview with Gunnar "Leatherface" Hansen: The Man Behind The Mask". Geocities.com. Archived from the original on January 17, 1999. Retrieved May 22, 2022.
  85. ^ Bloom 2004, pp. 1–7.
  86. ^ Jaworzyn 2012, p. 30.
  87. ^ Towlson, Jon (October 14, 2013). "Interview: Gunnar Hansen: CHAIN SAW CONFIDENTIAL". Starburst. Archived from the original on May 31, 2022. Retrieved May 30, 2022.
  88. ^ Balun 1988, pp. 48–51.

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Works cited

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Bibliography

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Media publications

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