This week has been by far the most hilarious week of them all as our feature film was not only John Waters Pink Flamingos 1972. This is truly the filthiest movie alive as it’s plan was to do so. Waters only had around a total of $12,000 and a love for film but lack in technical skill. Waters wanted to create a piece that would shock and scare the everyday viewer with just as many awful cliches that you can think of. The plot is just as filthy as it’s intentions are. Following the proclaimed “filthiest person alive” a drag queen by the name of Divine who lives with their family in a trailer hidden away. A baby hustling, sex servant owning, kidnappers, public flasher, elementary school heroin plug couple believe they are the filthiest and attempt to claim the title of filthiest people alive. Starting a battle between the two sides and creating mayhem with as much filth on the way.

From the dead chicken sex to the singing ass holes. John truly didn’t miss out on anything as he completes it with a grand finale of Divines attempt of proving that they are truly the filthiest by eating fresh hot dog shit. This film was a true masterpiece of the worst. One of the most important aspects of the film was the amateurish way in how it was made. John loves film so he knew what to do with a little. Creating long scenes where the actors must say all of their lines at once. And bad sound and long scenes with great music make for great scenes with a realistic amateur aesthetic.

Of coarse when we watch Pink Flamingos we have to be talking about camp. All about bad taste and it’s ironic value, Pink Flamingos takes that to the extreme. Susan Sontag noted on number 56 “Camp taste is a kind of love for human nature. It relishes, rather than judges, the little triumphs and awkward intensities of “character.”. . . Camp taste identifies with what it is enjoying. People who share this sensibility are not laughing at the thing they label as “a camp,” they’re enjoying it. Camp is a tender dog feeling.” Camp isn’t a joke it’s a compliment. It’s a warm hug when you’re feeling gross. It’s humanity but the weird parts of it and that’s ok.

Another part of this week’s discussions where about transgression and freakery in cult cinema. All about what would normally be beyond the limits and breaks the laws of mortality. As in to relationship to Pink Flamingos this makes total sense as it break down all barriers of what would be seen as socially acceptable. In The Cult Film reader it’s says “Human bodies provide a ready point of reference for audiences. Therefore, the high visibility of freakery has attracted lots of analogies between freaks-on-screen and freaks-in-the-audience.” When speaking about triggering an audience the body is one of the most powerful ways to do so and was exactly done so by Waters.