Wikipedia:Reference desk/Archives/Humanities/2016 March 19

= March 19 =

Formal title for customs agent
1. What's the most "formal title" for the guy who checks your passport when you enter the US? CBP Officer sounds like what I'm looking for but the photo and description of that subsection makes it sound like they all carry guns and mostly inspect vessels/vehicles and protect borders. Is "CBP Officer" the right name?

2. Sometimes movies have dialogue like: Customs agent: "Business or pleasure?" Smart-ass: "Hopefully both."

But I've never encountered that in real-life. Are there any countries that actually ask this question? Do they ask every traveller or it is based on citizenship and/or visa status? Johnson&#38;Johnson&#38;Son (talk) 04:23, 19 March 2016 (UTC)


 * Yes, I was once asked that question, trying to get to Yankeeland from Canada. I answered "business" instead of lying through my teeth. I didn't have the right documentation, so I had to get it and board the plane the next day. Clarityfiend (talk) 07:32, 19 March 2016 (UTC)
 * In the UK, we used to say "customs officer" but it's now a Border Force officers I believe. "Agent" always sounds a bit cloak-and-dagger to us. The scariest customs I've encountered were Bulgaria when it was Communist - you had to stand in a little booth while a humourless man behind a window checked your passport, weirdly there was a mirror in the ceiling so that he could see behind your back. Also Australia, where the customs officer pushed a panic button because I had a new type of visa and officers started running towards me from all directions. Alansplodge (talk) 09:13, 19 March 2016 (UTC)


 * On entry to the USA from the UK, the border agents have always ascertained the purpose of your visit, and they then write W/T (for waiver - tourism) or W/B (waiver - business) on the stamp in your passport.--Phil Holmes (talk) 10:35, 19 March 2016 (UTC)
 * You may have said "customs officer", but they have never (AFAIK) been the people that checked your passport, just your luggage (and maybe elsewhere). I think the general term used to be (and informally probably still is) "immigration officer". AndrewWTaylor (talk) 21:09, 19 March 2016 (UTC)
 * Mm... when I arrived at Rochford (now Southend) Airport at the end of a week - long journey from Australia there was one guy there who was the customs officer and also looked at the passports of incoming travellers.  In those days you didn't have to show your passport when leaving Britain, or Australia for that matter - I don't know if that still applies.   People who do demand a sight of your passport, surprisingly, are the cashiers of the duty free shops in the departure area at UK airports.   Newspapers ran a story on this - apparently the shops sight your passport to verify you are leaving the country and then claim back the Value Added Tax on the sale.   They don't give the customer the benefit of the price reduction.
 * Anyways, you have it easy.  In Portugal before the revolution the customs posts were manned by the secret police. 87.81.154.77 (talk) 15:55, 21 March 2016 (UTC)
 * That's still the case in the UK.
 * Australia now calls the people staffing the immigration control counters "Border Force Officers", I think, but that's quite a recent thing. --PalaceGuard008 (Talk) 19:05, 21 March 2016 (UTC)
 * You're not asked to show your passport at Duty Free shops in the UK - it's your boarding pass.--Phil Holmes (talk) 19:32, 21 March 2016 (UTC)

Adagio in G minor
I've fallen in love with Albinoni/Giazotti's Adagio and have listened to a number of different performances online. Most are rather slow, 10 or 11 minutes long. On the other hand, I have two versions which run about 7 minutes, 30 seconds, which I like better. One is by the Academy of St. Martin in the Fields, the other I don't know. I'd like to know what group this is. How can I find out? --Halcatalyst (talk) 17:49, 19 March 2016 (UTC)
 * Where did you find it? If it's some (copyright-violating) youtube clip that doesn't mention its source, there's not much you can do, beyond listening around through online clips of all available commercial recordings. Fut.Perf. ☼ 18:10, 19 March 2016 (UTC)
 * I have it on a USB, which is probably equally copyright-violating. --Halcatalyst (talk) 20:27, 19 March 2016 (UTC)
 * I found it here! It is by the Orpheus Chamber Orchestra. I recognized the music from the Preview on the site. (I've listened to the piece so often I can easily recognize the few measures played.) I'm particularly taken by the strong organ performance. Thanks for pointing me in the right direction. --Halcatalyst (talk) 20:42, 19 March 2016 (UTC)

Cold War, Dictatorship, Etc., themed films
I am trying to compile a list for some friends who have settled in the US of top-tier movies of any genre that, basically, would have been banned or suppressed under certain dictatorships. (Even movies more recent than 1991 would fall under the category, and the original language is not so important as long as there are subtitles.) My library's search engine is useless, and I haven't had much luck on google. Examples of movies I have selected as candidates are:


 * The Third Man
 * Doctor Strangelove
 * 1984
 * Logan's Run
 * The Lives of Others
 * Der Untergang
 * Our Man in Havana
 * Full Metal Jacket
 * Doctor Zhivago
 * Brazil
 * The Manchurian Candidate
 * North by Northwest
 * The 39 Steps

I would appreciate either links to articles at WP or links to lists outside that aren't too broad. Movies dealing with Franco, Hitler and Red China would be good too, but I am looking for film-quality over any specific ideological viewpoint, so long as the film does not glorify murderers like Guevara. Thanks. μηδείς (talk) 20:34, 19 March 2016 (UTC)


 * Somewhat nebulous criterion: "would have been banned". Anyway. I give you The Great Dictator, fwiw. --Tagishsimon (talk) 20:41, 19 March 2016 (UTC)


 * Any film about the Tiananmen Square massacre is sure to be banned in China. StuRat (talk) 20:45, 19 March 2016 (UTC)


 * The Great Dictator would definitely fit, although it's a bit dated. But I am looking for specific films, not events like Tiananmen Square.  That was the problem with my library searches.  And like I said, I am looking for quality (fiction/fictionalized) films that people who have emigrated from a dictatorship may not have seen but might like to see.  Thanks. μηδείς (talk) 21:05, 19 March 2016 (UTC)


 * If you followed my link, you would have found The Gate of Heavenly Peace, an award winning movie about the event, among many other media listings. We can't do all the work for you.  StuRat (talk) 00:19, 20 March 2016 (UTC)


 * First, Stu, you should have given the name of the documentary, instead of piping it through the event. Second, I am interested in fictional(ized) movies, which should be clear from my list of candidates and my clarification above.  But thanks for the effort you were willing to make. μηδείς (talk) 00:49, 20 March 2016 (UTC)
 * I'm a little curious why you think NxNW would have been banned. I thought it was a fun little spy movie with no particular political axe to grind.  Did Hitchcock slip something past me? --Trovatore (talk) 01:09, 20 March 2016 (UTC)
 * I have looked into this a bit, Trovatore, and basically anything that was not explicitly permitted or is not permitted by various marxist states is ipso facto banned. Usually the state is the only legal source of printed or broadcast material.  In NxNW, the bad guys are spies for the Soviet Union.  Things that seem innocuous or ridiculous to people not brought up under such regimes can be very threatening to those under such regimes, even if they are just self-censoring.  My interest is to get a list of quality films that will interest some recent immigrés to the US, one which includes entertaining works it is unlikely they would have seen in their homeland. — Preceding unsigned comment added by Medeis (talk • contribs)
 * Hmm, you might throw in Silk Stockings, then. "Quality" arguable, certainly not a great film by any means, but I enjoyed it. --Trovatore (talk) 20:37, 20 March 2016 (UTC)
 * Animal Farm (1954 film), maybe Brave_New_World (multiple film and tv adaptations have been made, see Brave New World (disambiguation)). Maybe Fahrenheit 451 (film). It is probably better if you tell them to read the books (imho). Or at least offer them that option before they see the movie. Certain Soyuzmultfilms would've probably been banned if they would've reached an international audience. If you want to make your friends depressed you can show them A Film Unfinished (warning: what has been seen cannot be unseen). Do not watch that movie, seriously. It is far worse than you imagine. The Quixotic Potato (talk) 11:45, 20 March 2016 (UTC)
 * If we know which part of the world they emigrated from it would be easier to suggest stuff that they probably haven't seen. And maybe the censorship aspect is not really important, because the limiting factor is not necessarily censorship, but also far more mundane stuff, like a lack of availability. There are many things that aren't explicitly forbidden, but simply unavailable in certain countries. The Quixotic Potato (talk) 21:33, 20 March 2016 (UTC)


 * You might find some at List of banned films. CambridgeBayWeather, Uqaqtuq (talk), Sunasuttuq 00:50, 21 March 2016 (UTC)

Communism and Communalism
What's the difference between communism and communalism? Bonupton (talk) 21:06, 19 March 2016 (UTC)


 * (US perspective here.) I believe both come from the same roots, but communism has come to be associated with dictatorships that only used the ideals as propaganda, while enriching themselves and murdering anyone who complained. Communalism, on the other hand, is more often used to refer to small-scale communes which are much closer to the ideals of everyone contributing what they can, and taking only what they need. StuRat (talk) 21:53, 19 March 2016 (UTC)
 * For examples, the Soviet Union, as compared with the Amish. ←Baseball Bugs What's up, Doc? carrots→ 22:51, 19 March 2016 (UTC)