''Hoepla'' ("Whoops") was a Dutch experimental cultural television show broadcast in 1967. It aimed at a young teenage audience and was notable for being unpredictable and risky in its subject matter, featuring reports, performances, declarations, and interviews that tied in with the subversive atmosphere of the Provo movement. Three episodes were made for the
VPRO
The VPRO (stylized vpro; originally an acronym for , ) is a Dutch public broadcaster, which forms a part of the Dutch public broadcasting system. Founded in 1926 as a liberal Protestant broadcasting organization, it gradually became more soc ...
, and the show caused national controversy when a naked woman,
Phil Bloom
Phil Bloom (born 27 November 1945 in Berkel en Rodenrijs) is a Dutch artist, graphic designer and performer. She was the first person to appear completely nude on Dutch television, on 28 July 1967 during the show ''Hoepla'', which caused scandal ...
, appeared on the show, being the first time this happened on Dutch television. A fourth episode was taped but did not air until 2008. The show was written and produced by the team of
Wim T. Schippers
Willem Theodoor "Wim T." Schippers (; born 1 July 1942) is a Dutch artist, comedian, television director, and voice actor. During the 1960s, he worked mostly as a visual artist, associated with the international Fluxus-movement. As a television w ...
Willem de Ridder
Willem de Ridder ('s-Hertogenbosch 14 October 1939 – 29 December 2022) was a Dutch anarchist and artist, known as a founder of Fluxus. He was the foremost Fluxus member in the Netherlands. He showed and sold Fluxus works in his gallery, Amst ...
, and
Hans Verhagen
Hans Verhagen (3 March 1939 – 10 April 2020) was a Dutch journalist, poet, painter and filmmaker, born in Vlissingen. He gained the P. C. Hooft Award in 2009 "for his humour, his engagement, his poetic daring and whimsy."VARA
Vara or VARA may refer to:
Geography
*Vara (river), in Liguria, Italy
* Vara Parish, former municipality in Tartu County, Estonia
* Vara, Estonia, village in Peipsiääre Parish, Tartu County, Estonia
* Vara Municipality, municipality in western S ...
television show that ran from 1963 to 1966, ', "the most despised and controversial satirical TV program ever". That show, based on the BBC program ''
That Was the Week That Was
''That Was the Week That Was'', informally ''TWTWTW'' or ''TW3'', is a satirical television comedy programme that aired on BBC Television in 1962 and 1963. It was devised, produced, and directed by Ned Sherrin and Jack (aka John) Duncan, and pre ...
'', had aired a parody of the
Lord's Prayer
The Lord's Prayer, also called the Our Father or Pater Noster, is a central Christian prayer which Jesus taught as the way to pray. Two versions of this prayer are recorded in the gospels: a longer form within the Sermon on the Mount in the Gosp ...
("Give us this day our daily television"), on 4 January 1964, in a skit called "Beeldreligie" ("image worship") which led to criticism from television viewers and politicians; questions were asked in parliament, and one of the show's presenters, the wildly popular and by no means rebellious
Mies Bouwman
Maria Antoinette "Mies" Bouwman (31 December 1929 – 26 February 2018) was a Dutch television presenter.
Career
Born in Amsterdam, she started her career on the very first broadcasting evening of the Dutch broadcasting association KRO (Catholi ...
, was forced to resign from the show after receiving threats. Police were called in to protect the studio during subsequent tapings. Like ''Zo is het toevallig'', ''Hoepla'' would tackle controversial topics such as "the colonial past, the royal family, and sexuality" in a social system where "authority and community were central".
''Hoepla''
According to
Hans Verhagen
Hans Verhagen (3 March 1939 – 10 April 2020) was a Dutch journalist, poet, painter and filmmaker, born in Vlissingen. He gained the P. C. Hooft Award in 2009 "for his humour, his engagement, his poetic daring and whimsy." That ''Hoepla'' was in tune with happening developments in popular culture was indicated by its guest list: musical performances were given by some of the era's hippest artists, including
Soft Machine
Soft Machine are a British rock band from Canterbury formed in mid-1966 by Mike Ratledge (keyboards, 1966–1976), Robert Wyatt (drums, vocals, 1966–1971), Kevin Ayers (bass, guitar, vocals, 1966–1968) and Daevid Allen (guitar, 1966–196 ...
(episode 2),
The Mothers of Invention
The Mothers of Invention (also known as The Mothers) was an American rock band from California. Formed in 1964, their work is marked by the use of sonic experimentation, innovative album art, and elaborate live shows.
Originally an R&B band ...
(ep. 2), and
The Jimi Hendrix Experience
James Marshall "Jimi" Hendrix (born Johnny Allen Hendrix; November 27, 1942September 18, 1970) was an American guitarist, singer and songwriter. Although his mainstream career spanned only four years, he is widely regarded as one of the most ...
(ep. 3), and there were declarations by and interviews with such idols as
Eric Clapton
Eric Patrick Clapton (born 1945) is an English rock and blues guitarist, singer, and songwriter. He is often regarded as one of the most successful and influential guitarists in rock music. Clapton ranked second in ''Rolling Stone''s list of ...
and
Mick Jagger
Sir Michael Philip Jagger (born 26 July 1943) is an English singer and songwriter who has achieved international fame as the lead vocalist and one of the founder members of the rock band the Rolling Stones. His ongoing songwriting partnershi ...
. The Experience performed "
Foxy Lady
"Foxy Lady" (or alternatively "Foxey Lady") is a song by the Jimi Hendrix Experience. It first appeared on their 1967 debut album ''Are You Experienced'' and was later issued as their third single in the U.S. with the alternate spelling. It is o ...
", "Catfish Blues", and "
Purple Haze
"Purple Haze" is a song written by Jimi Hendrix and released as the second single by the Jimi Hendrix Experience on March 17, 1967.
The song features his inventive guitar playing, which uses the signature Hendrix chord and a mix of blues and Ea ...
" in the studio on 10 November 1967, before playing an evening show in Rotterdam; that rendition of "Catfish Blues" was reissued on the 1994 compilation album ''
Blues
Blues is a music genre and musical form which originated in the Deep South of the United States around the 1860s. Blues incorporated spirituals, work songs, field hollers, shouts, chants, and rhymed simple narrative ballads from the Afr ...
''. (The section with "Foxy Lady" appears to be lost, and might have been stolen from the archive by a Hendrix fan.)
First episode
The first episode aired on 28 July 1967 and immediately redrew the earlier battle lines familiar from the "Beeldreligie" controversy. Opposition against the show was mobilized by the national daily newspaper ''
De Telegraaf
''De Telegraaf'' (; en, The Telegraph) is the largest Dutch daily morning newspaper. Haro Kraak,Gaat Paul Jansen de crisis bij De Telegraaf oplossen?, '' de Volkskrant'', 2015. Retrieved 1 August 2015. Paul Jansen has been the editor-in-chief s ...
'', who had complained earlier that ''Zo is het toevallig'' was a waste of the public's
television licence
A television licence or broadcast receiving licence is a payment required in many countries for the reception of television broadcasts, or the possession of a television set where some broadcasts are funded in full or in part by the licence f ...
, and published pictures of the cast and crew of ''Zo is het toevallig'' to accompany its coverage of ''Hoepla'', to remind its audience of what was at stake.Crone 157. Notable sections of the show included an interview of
Pete Townshend
Peter Dennis Blandford Townshend (; born 19 May 1945) is an English musician. He is co-founder, leader, guitarist, second lead vocalist and principal songwriter of the Who, one of the most influential rock bands of the 1960s and 1970s.
Townsh ...
by Hans Verhagen and the appearance of
Phil Bloom
Phil Bloom (born 27 November 1945 in Berkel en Rodenrijs) is a Dutch artist, graphic designer and performer. She was the first person to appear completely nude on Dutch television, on 28 July 1967 during the show ''Hoepla'', which caused scandal ...
, naked except for a strategically placed garland of plastic flowers, during a performance by the singer Teddy Lee J. (a 25-year-old singer from
Suriname
Suriname (; srn, Sranankondre or ), officially the Republic of Suriname ( nl, Republiek Suriname , srn, Ripolik fu Sranan), is a country on the northeastern Atlantic coast of South America. It is bordered by the Atlantic Ocean to the north ...
) who sang "I'm a sexman" Verhagen paid Bloom 150 guilders for her work, and the VPRO lost 67 members.
Second episode
For the second episode, the writers had upped the ante, and got Phil Bloom to appear completely naked. During a skit, she is reading a newspaper, sitting on a sofa; she reads, out loud, a review of the first episode of ''Hoepla'' that appeared in the Protestant daily ''
Trouw
''Trouw'' (; ) is a Dutch daily newspaper appearing in compact size. It was founded in 1943 as an orthodox Protestant underground newspaper during World War II. Since 2009, it has been owned by DPG Media (known as De Persgroep until 2019). ''Tr ...
'' and when she lowers the newspaper she is shown to be completely naked. But when photos of the taping leaked out and were published, the scene was shot again; this time Bloom is on a chair (likewise naked) reading another ''Hoepla'' article, this time from ''
Het Vrije Volk
''Het Vrije Volk'' was a Dutch social-democratic daily newspaper. It was the successor, after World War II, of the socialist daily '' Het Volk''. The paper appeared legally 1 March 1945 in Eindhoven. From 28 January 1946, all subdivisions of the ...
'', the social democratic daily paper, which states that the VPRO cut Bloom's scene after the photos leaked out. As soon as the scene is over, the screen shows the VPRO's postal address, to accommodate those who wished to cancel their membership.
Reactions were predictable: ''Telegraaf'' columnist
Leo Riemens
Leonardus Antony Marinus Riemens (3 December 1910 – 3 April 1985) was a Dutch musicologist and cultural journalist. He wrote a book about Maria Callas, and together with Karl-Josef Kutsch began a reference book about opera singers in 1962, which ...
referred to the show as "filth" and "pornography", and letters to the various editors struck the same chords. Other newspapers, though, were more positive, and the commentary in parliament by SGP representative C. N. van Dis (the
Staatkundig Gereformeerde Partij
The Reformed Political Party ( nl, Staatkundig Gereformeerde Partij, SGP) is a conservative CalvinistThese sources describe the SGP as a Calvinist political party:
*
*
*
*
* political party in the Netherlands. The term ''Reformed'' is not a refere ...
is a small, orthodox, Calvinist party), who strongly criticized the Minister of Culture
Marga Klompé
Margaretha Albertina Maria "Marga" Klompé (16 August 1912 – 28 October 1986) was a Dutch politician of the defunct Catholic People's Party (KVP) now merged into the Christian Democratic Appeal (CDA) party and chemist. She was granted the honor ...
for allowing women to be degraded, did not meet with approval in parliament or the press. The VPRO anticipated angry letters from some of its members, and had prepared a standard reply in which the organization said it understood that not everyone would agree with the show's message, but that it wanted to be an "open organization" which could adjust to the rapidly changing attitudes toward society's norms.
Third episode
The third episode was taped on 10 November 1967 but did not air until 23 November, minus two controversial items that the VPRO cut: a section called "Vleesch" (an old-fashioned spelling for "vlees", "meat"), which reported on the last five minutes in an abattoir of a cow's life, and a section in which a model performs a striptease over an audio tape of Dutch prime minister
Piet de Jong
Petrus Jozef Sietse "Piet" de Jong (; 3 April 1915 – 27 July 2016) was a Dutch politician of the defunct Catholic People's Party (KVP) now the Christian Democratic Appeal (CDA) party and naval officer who served as Prime Minister of the Neth ...
, responding to the questions asked in parliament by C. N. van Dis about ''Hoepla'' The "Vleesch" section had been moved from the second to the third episode; after a committee of child psychiatrists had delved into the matter, it was approved as safe for children but was again moved, to the fourth episode, which never aired. The section was conceived by Hans Verhagen and vegetarian Wim T. Schippers; Wim van der Linden filmed the section, and afterward became a vegetarian as well. The story on the missing episode was reported on ''Vlees Magazine'' ("Meat Magazine"), since it and the attendant video footage provided insight into slaughter procedures in the 1960s.
Fourth episode
A fourth episode was supposed to air on 8 January 1968 (and apparently a record number of people had tuned in to watch it), but it was decided on that very day to cancel it, with the explanation given that Phil Bloom had been photographed by ''
Playboy
''Playboy'' is an American men's lifestyle and entertainment magazine, formerly in print and currently online. It was founded in Chicago in 1953, by Hugh Hefner and his associates, and funded in part by a $1,000 loan from Hefner's mother.
K ...
'' during rehearsals, and such commercial ventures were not allowed on public television. The VPRO told the show's makers on 15 January that there would be no more new episodes. The tapes for the fourth episode were discovered early in the 21st century, unedited; they were newly edited and aired in January 2008.
Netherlands Institute for Sound and Vision
The Netherlands Institute for Sound and Vision (Dutch: Nederlands Instituut voor Beeld en Geluid, or short, Beeld en Geluid) is the cultural archive and a museum located in Hilversum. The Institute for Sound and Vision collects, looks after, and ...