Willem Whitfield | On 15, Apr 2016

There are two kinds of people. Those who understand Transgressive Cinema – and assholes.

John Waters, The Pope of Trash, turns 70 this year and it feels like the season to look back at the monstrous films he’s created over the years. His classics like Pink Flamingos (1972) and Female Trouble (1974) still manage to shock the uninitiated. His character Babs Johnson (played by iconic drag queen Divine) screeches into the barrel of a TV camera towards the climax of Pink Flamingos: “Kill everyone now! Condone first degree murder! Advocate cannibalism! Eat shit!” and makes many people wonder: “Why?” John Waters sits upon the throne of the underground film making world because what Babs says actually does make sense.

The Cinema of Transgression was a term coined by underground filmmaker, Nick Zedd, to describe films that use shock value and humor as their style. Usually these films have no budget, are loosely planned and critically panned. They emerged from the anarchist philosophy that became popular in the 1970’s. Anarchism advocates the abolishment of hierarchy and, in a film making sense, the subversion of existing methods of of film production and distribution. In the works of Nick Zedd contained within the Cinema of Transgression Manifesto:

We propose that all film schools be blown up and all boring films never be made again. We propose that a sense of humour is an essential element discarded by the doddering academics and further, that any film which doesnâ€™t shock isnâ€™t worth looking at. All values must be challenged. Nothing is sacred. Everything must be questioned and reassessed in order to free our minds from the faith of tradition. Intellectual growth demands that risks be taken and changes occur in political, sexual and aesthetic alignments no matter who disapproves. We propose to go beyond all limits set or prescribed by taste, morality or any other traditional value system shackling the minds of men. We pass beyond and go over boundaries of millimeters, screens and projectors to a state of expanded cinema.

Becoming popular with the popular musical Hairspray (1988) John Waters has fooled a lot of people into expecting him to be a mainstream and accessible director. Many of his films have all the stylings and merit of the most preppy teenage blockbusters. 1990’s Cry Baby, which starred the teen heart throb Johnny Depp, features a troubled teen romance in the 50’s where a bad boy “drape” falls for a “square” girl. Save for some of the most intense make-out scenes in history, Cry Baby is not immediately what you would expect to a Transgressive film to be. It’s well made, there aren’t really any rude words and no one literally eats shit. Instead, Cry BabyÂ denies all of the standard elements of a teen romance movie in favour of a lavish and exaggerated portrayal of the outdated high school politics which make these films work. It’s not just the kids the have cliques, the whole town does. This explodes into a mess of insanity where society excuses riots, jailbreaksÂ and life threatening stunts are excused in the name of love. Unlike inÂ Grease (1978) ,Â you quickly realise that you’re meant to be shocked by the deplorable antics of the characters in this film because people that act this way are dumb.

The key to understanding any John Waters film is to know that it’s all in bad taste.

To understand bad taste one must have very good taste. Good bad taste can be creatively nauseating but must, at the same time, appeal to the especially twisted sense of humor, which is anything but universal.â€ – John Waters

As Nick Zedd demands in his manifesto, transgression requires a sense of humor and the ability to cross boundaries. Pink Flamingos (1972)Â is John Waters best worst film, as it crosses every boundary it can get its hands on while leaving its audienceÂ in rapturous laughter. The central character Babs Johnson, in her final onscreen act, follows a puppy down the street and waits for it to defecate. She then picks up the feces and places them in her mouth, gagging and grinning to prove that she is the ‘filthiest person alive’. This act works with humour and shock value as a transgressive statement about the idiocy people who go to extreme lengths to get what they want (such as the filmmakers themselves in that moment).

Some people shit on it as Modernist insanity, but the Cinema of Transgression is a vital anti-establishment tool. The idea of it can be leveraged to expose any dumb thing in society that gets on your nerves. You’re allowed to hate these films, and often times you’re supposed to because they’re not meant for you. However, the central idea of transgression is for everybody: All values must be challenged.

If you’re in Brisbane for John Water’s 70th and you’re looking to celebrate, the John Waters Movie Fest is for you. Hosted by Brisbane’s cult icon, Kristian Fletcher, it runs on the 16th and 17th of April at the Fox Hotel and New Farm Cinemas. And as if you needed another reason to to party,Â John Waters himself has endorsed the event:

“I canâ€™t think of a better 70th birthday present than an Australian Filth Film Festival and party in honor of me. Kristian Fletcher is like an ambassador of cult movies”

Buy your tickets today at http://www.kristianfletcher.com/Â Â or check the event out on Facebook.

Image Credits: New Line Cinema, Universal Pictures, Artisan Entertainment