I recently went to LA to see the John Waters: Pope of Trash exhibit at the Academy Museum with one of my oldest friends. We’ve decided to take trips together for fun and random reasons like this, rather than the usual ones, aka weddings and funerals. The exhibit was a pretty comprehensive look at Waters’ films, with a lot of ephemera from his career (including a flyer for a puppet show he put on in his neighborhood as a child), costumes, great stills of actors, a compilation of all of his guest appearances in shows like Law & Order and the Simpsons and a cut of all the dancing in his work in a room with space to join along. You can’t talk about the films of John Waters without including the Dreamlanders, his early cast and crew of regulars, mainly outsiders who found each other early on … Divine, Mink Stole, David Lochary, Mary Vivian Pearce, Cookie Mueller, Edith Massey, Susan Lowe, Paul Swift, Victor Peranio … anyone who is still alive still works with Waters.
This is so good. Yes to how we became and lived! as people w/o computers in our pockets. And when we made our own algorithms, slowly building finding and Halleluiah to the recognition when we found some souls whose language we recognized. I think I watched all of Pink Flamingos with my jaw on the floor. Definitely changed me for the better! And when he was in town for an event, I passed him early morning (walk of shame early) and we were wearing (to my eyes, anyway) the same black thrifted trench (the 80s)! I said a too cheerful Hi!! and practically skipped the rest of the way to work (brunch opening, ofcourse). Pieces of ourselves for sure. Your reasons for taking trips feel like the best reasons. Glad you went! And saw! And claimed/reclaimed!
“the weirdos always find the other weirdos, for survival, for support, for inspiration. A gift.” ❤️ the best things in life are the weirdos, the non-normative. This made my day.
I’ve been thinking a lot about John Waters and how we attribute what we see today as hyper progressive as the TikTok youth but really it’s all Cry Baby and Pink Flamingos.
This is so good. Yes to how we became and lived! as people w/o computers in our pockets. And when we made our own algorithms, slowly building finding and Halleluiah to the recognition when we found some souls whose language we recognized. I think I watched all of Pink Flamingos with my jaw on the floor. Definitely changed me for the better! And when he was in town for an event, I passed him early morning (walk of shame early) and we were wearing (to my eyes, anyway) the same black thrifted trench (the 80s)! I said a too cheerful Hi!! and practically skipped the rest of the way to work (brunch opening, ofcourse). Pieces of ourselves for sure. Your reasons for taking trips feel like the best reasons. Glad you went! And saw! And claimed/reclaimed!
“the weirdos always find the other weirdos, for survival, for support, for inspiration. A gift.” ❤️ the best things in life are the weirdos, the non-normative. This made my day.
I randomly have a Myopic Books t-shirt because I also love it! (And Spoonbill is the best bookstore in NYC to me!!!)
This made me happy on a Monday. Thank you!!
I’ve been thinking a lot about John Waters and how we attribute what we see today as hyper progressive as the TikTok youth but really it’s all Cry Baby and Pink Flamingos.