Out of time: Repulsion

Abstract

In Austin Powers: International Man of Mystery, Mike Myers's joyously daft 1997 sixties-themed spy romp, there's a moment when the eponymous hero has it explained to him that he's been defrosted by Her Majesty's secret service and called back to active duty. It's now the 1990s, social and sexual mores are different, so perhaps he needs some help to acclimatise? Not to worry, Powers blithely assures his handlers: “as long as people are still having promiscuous sex with many anonymous partners without protection…in a consequence-free environment, I’ll be sound as a pound!”