frbd1-6, Exercise 2: Testing the claim of influence

Model answer (check the details):

Evidence that would support the claim:
- Direct involvement: the artists worked on the films (production design, concept art), which can be checked in film credits and interviews.
- Statements by directors and designers that they looked at the magazine, with dates.
- Visual similarities that are specific (a particular design, composition or colour scheme), not just general likeness.
- Timing: the magazine's images appear before the film's, and the American edition of Heavy Metal (1977) was available to the film-makers.

Evidence that would weaken it:
- Similar looks existed already in earlier illustration, paperbacks and cinema, so the source cannot be pinned to one magazine.
- No documented link between the named people.
- Film-makers or designers who deny it, or who credit other sources.
- Influence claims made later by fans and critics, with no record from the time.

Care: influence is hard to prove, and "in the air" is often the honest answer. Check specific claims, for example about Alien and Blade Runner, in the credits and interviews.