John Waters, the man who calls himself a “filth elder,” has emerged as a kind of prescient oracle whose principles are threaded through eight books, 12 feature films, speeches, artworks, one-man shows and an exhibition devoted to him at the Academy Museum of Motion Pictures.
(Farrar, Straus and Giroux)
For decades, film director and professional provocateur John Waters has been asked to explain himself and his movies, if not to censors, then to film critics, fans and book editors. That steady practice has crystallized into a belief system and a teachable aesthetic that has become — in our view — an ever-expanding handbook for life.
The man who calls himself a “filth elder” has emerged as a kind of prescient oracle whose principles are threaded through eight books, 12 feature films, speeches, artworks, one-man shows and since September, in “John Waters: Pope of Trash,” an exhibition devoted to his films at the Academy Museum of Motion Pictures. The museum’s exhibitions curator Jenny He and associate curator Dara Jaffe found working with him delightful and insightful.
“Every sentence he drops, you’re like, ‘We gotta write that down,’ not only because he is so witty, but because it is so enlightening, especially if you try to understand his career, and the culture as reflected in his career,” Jaffe says.
There are many life lessons to be derived from Waters’ vast body of work. Some can be gleaned from the museum exhibit, his films or books. Here are a few to keep in mind before your next viewing of “Hairspray,” or what he calls the trash trilogy of “Pink Flamingos,” “Female Trouble” and “Desperate Living.”
