The very first shot of him, emerging from the water is very much demonic in appearance. The pale irises, thin white frame, large black lips and blacked out eyes make him seem almost non-human. This is similar to the many venus statuettes, (the first being found in Austria in 1908 ) as they were of something eye catching, and popular. Key sections of the stattuette were enlarged, whilst some were almost non-existent. This was because everyone looked at large breasts, and large stomachs back in that particular time period as beautiful because it was a symbol of fertility. In todays age, the ever growing want to be thin and made up, (which is NOW considered beautiful) has grown to such an extent that marilyn has created something of himself which over exaggerates this. No normal man could ever look like this non-human "person" naturally, without some kind of drug or surgery. Perhaps this is the reason why many see him as a symbol of Satan himself.
In the BBC documentary they spoke of baby seagull chicks recognising the red stripe on their mothers beaks, tapping at it for food. When faced with a stick with the same red stripe printed over it, they reacted in the same way, if not more when faced with a three striped stick. Like the birds favouring three stripes over one, Manson over exaggerates his looks to draw attention to himself. What he has done is drawn awareness to his own personal image through make-up, wigs and costume. He is the extreme of what people want to be. Skinny, made up and fake.
Standing clad in the robes and mitre of a bishop, he is presenting himself as a religious symbol. Bishops are said to be historically dated back to the original 12 apostles, greek icons of their time. It is an icon that he is trying so hard to become.
This is a strong contrast from the rudimentary begginings of his past, where at highschool he did not stand out from a crowd at all. Now people know him, fear him and worship him as a heavy metal god. Yet, underneath he is really just an average American like any other. People are only drawn to his persona, like the baby birds were drawn to the enhanced yellow stick.
[click on the tape below to see the video]
Hi Julieann
ReplyDeleteI have got to your blog and it looks like you have been doing some work but I can't read the dark blue text on black ground arrangement, even with my glasses on. Please change your settings so its easier for me to read. Thanks Grant
This is a well put together response. You have managed to dicuss something from your experience - Marilyn Manson - and drawn in material from the lecture in that discussion. I think your suggestion that Manson is attempting to make an icon of himself is spot on. An icon in some sense has no personality, no individuality, they embody a type and represent something that they may not be themselves. Manson is probably a jeans and t-shirt man at home but that icon has been done to death so he creates something outside of himself - a public persona that allows him a private life. An icon is something that an individual puts together but it is the crowd's the icon to life. good work. grant
ReplyDelete