Happy Thanksgiving
For those times you're watching a movie and thinking.....What the Fuck?
For personal ramblings check out Hey There Cupcke!
For personal ramblings check out Hey There Cupcke!
Freaks (1932, dir. Tod Browning)
“How she got that way will never be known. Some say a jealous lover. Others, that it was the code of the freaks. Others, the storm. Believe it or not, there she is.”
Stills and set photos from Freaks (1932 dir. Tod Browning).
Joining a circus at the age of sixteen, Browning insisted on use actual sideshow attractions for the cast rather than make-up and effects. Though based on the short story “Spurs,” Browning based aspects of the movie from his experiences in the circus, portraying “freaks” as honorable trusting people while those that are “normal” were monsters.
Audiences mostly reacted negatively, not comfortable seeing actual freaks on the movie screen (it has even been said that Myrna Loy and Jean Harlow turned down roles as they were not comfortable starring alongside the rest of the cast) insuring that the film was a financial flop. Browning career’s was derailed as a result.
Oldboy (2003, dir. Chan-wook Park)
Anticrisht (2009, dir. Lars Von Trier)
Pola X (1999, dir. Leos Carax)
Today marks the birth of Divine, the transvestite actor famous for being a poster child for bad taste cinema. Back when the diva was in high school, he befriended director John Waters, and became Waters’ accomplice in making uber gross and uber taboo cult films of the 70s. Of said films he is best known for his star role in Pink Flamingos, where he stars as Babs Johsnon, the “Filthiest person alive.”
With the tagline “An Exercise in Poor Taste,” Pink Flamingos is known to be one of the sickest films ever made. This movie has it all: chicks with dicks, nazis, cannibalism, murder, chicken loving, egg eating, voyeurism, fellatio, black market adoption rings, fecal feasts, and singing assholes (and I don’t mean that metaphorically).
Truly, I’m at a loss for words on what to post about this film, as there are so many things fucked up about it. ^_^
“Now, Mama, that’s just egg paranoia. I think you’re being very silly. There will always be chickens…….Chickens are plentiful, Mama. The world will never be without chickens.”
While watching a music video for The Poly Opto’s Bombardis, it jogged my memory of this little gem. According to IMDB, this particular scene was banned from TV. Which makes me wonder, where the hell did I see this as a kid? Part of me wants to believe it was during elementary school. Maybe one of those tapes they shove in during the after school care so kids will sit down and shut up since the 16 year old “counselors” can get back to the more important shit. Like bitching about who stole thire pothead boyfriend or skimming through those totally relevant and interesting articles on “how to look extra hot in bed”(cause just being naked will never be enough ladies! Never!) featured in that new issue of Cosmo they snatched from under the mom’s bed.
This is a little fucked up if you think about. Sure it’s not like this clip is uber gory violence or hardcore pornography, but who shows this to kids? But maybe I’m going too far. I remember this clip being depressing, but I doubt it bummed me out as much as it does now as an adult. Maybe I should be less critical. Who knows? This might be the clip that’s absolutely responsible for my fascination with bizarre, surreal, and totally fucked up movies today! Furthermore, this thing was probably never meant for lil’ chillens. I guess you could say it was a little ahead of it’s time, since nowadays there’s tons of claymation/animation aimed to a purely adult audience. I salute you weird claymation! Thanks for helping to mold me into the bizarre gal I am today.
Much to my amusement, the night I first heard about Roman Polanski being arrested by the good old Swiss and that they were shipping him back to the states was them same night I had my first exposure to MSNBC’s How to Catch a Predator or rather, Predator Raw, the behind the scenes look at the show. Let’s face it, no matter how much desensitization the media pushes us through in this country, chances are you still find it pretty fucked up to hear what these charming gents caught on this show were hoping to do with the youngins (unless you’re pedophile yourself. And if you are, why are you reading this? Dude! I’m in my mid-twenties! There’s nothing here for you). Now at the end of Predator Raw they had a little paragraph at the bottom of you screen explaining how Mr. Sillyhand was sentenced to like a year in prison for attempting to re-enact a Marquis De Sade novel with some 13 year old kid but only served maybe a month cause of good behavior and all that shit.
You could hop on over to imdb and go on the Polanski message board and debate till the end of time all the fucked up things that did or didn’t happen in this sex crime case. But I can’t help but think how fucked up it is that if Director Ski-ski just went ahead to prison, he probably would serve some crappy small amount of time and be out and about instead of having to avoid the land of the free for the past thirty years. I mean think about it. If these ewe-gly, unemployed Chester Molesters are able to avoid any real prison time nearly a decade into the new century, then I’m sure good ole Ro with his wealth and influence could’ve been out in a jiffy during the ‘70s.
Oh well. Good luck in prison Roman. Be sure to get a soap-on-a-rope.
