To be honest, I never saw 'Professor Columbus'. I'd like to see it, though, but due to its inferior quality it obviously isn't for sale anywhere.
My purpose here is to write about Phil Bloom, who casts in this movie. She's some kind of celebrity in Holland, for causing quite a stir by appearing naked on Dutch TV. This happened back in 1967, and she was the first girl to do so.
But there's more about Phil Bloom. In the sixties several society-systems were attacked by people in their twenties. This happened in Holland, in France, in the USA, youngsters trying to liberate themselves from society's rigid structures. To enlarge their personal freedom. In hindsight this was a natural process, for these youngsters were not emotionally charged by the terrible experiences from World War 2. Their parents were, resulting in a greatly different outlook on life and on the way society should be run.
Young artists eagerly participated in this whirlwind of sixties-protests. By having a guerrilla, intending to shock and unsettle society's rigid structures. And this is where Phil Bloom comes in, with great success. After her naked performance Dutch society surely never wasn't anymore as it had been before.
It has to be emphasized that Phil participated out of artistic motives. Her naked appearance in 1967 was esthetically, and definitely not sexually charged. Of course this point was greatly missed by the public.
Exploiting her fame by taking part in 'Professor Columbus', and by having herself photographed by Playboy in a similar style, Phil Bloom soon tired of all fuss around her nakedness. Today she works as an artist in the Belgian city of Antwerp - close to Holland. Obviously she doesn't want to live in Holland anymore, for her reputation based on that 1967-tv show lives on. By now Phil's naked appearance more or less symbolizes the Dutch protest movement of the Sixties. Which surely is a fine artistic achievement.
