Pasalini was making a film criticising contemporary italy in which consumerism and cmodification knew no bounds. He wanted to draw our attention to the fact that these young bodies were being used time and again for purely commercial purposes. His death on the beach in astria, outside rome, was initially thought to be the result of a sexual encounter gone wrong. But evidence would come to light, specifically the injuries that he had sustained, which showed that the idea of a lone murderer was highly improbable.