Lucy NcFauzean

2
!"# %&'()(*+ &, -./0 (1 )"# 2&34 &, 5&"1 2.)#3+

This essay will uiscuss whethei the teim camp can be appiopiiately
applieu to }ohn Wateis's woik, specifically in the films %(14 6'./(17&+ anu
%&'8#+)#3. It will begin by showing why Wateis's woik is typically vieweu as
'camp' by uiscussing two key featuies of the films - the chaiacteis playeu by
Bivine anu the theme of bau taste. By exploiing the numeious anu vaiieu camp
effects unuei each theme, this essay will show the necessaiy iepiesentational
excess embouieu in the teim. Within this ieneweu unueistanuing of 'camp' as a
chaotic teim, this essay will show that whilst we can uesciibe }ohn Wateis's
woik as camp, oi as piouucing camp feelings anu ways of seeing, the ieveise
cannot be tiue. We cannot use Wateis's woik to uefine camp, anu so, by the same
logic it follows that we cannot label camp as political.

%(14 6'./(17&+ anu %&'8#+)#3 have been chosen specifically because they
both stai many membeis of Wateis's 'Bieamlanueis' Cast, anu they both maik
impoitant tuining points in Watei's caieei. %(14 6'./(17&+ is Wateis's most
notoiious film anu one that fiist biought him into the limelight as the 'king of bau
taste', anu %&'8#+)#3 is Wateis's fiist commeicial film. Whilst touching on the
same key themes, the two films have conflicting stoiylines anu chaiactei
iepiesentations, meaning they have come unuei vaiying ciiticisms foi theii
'change' in tact. Foi instance, %(14 6'./(17&+ has a metanaiiative of filth, anu
%&'8#+)#3 of hygiene. Whilst Kleinhams views the financial success of %&'8#+)#39
anu moie uemuie stoiyline as 'finally' valiuating Wateis, Seugwick anu Noon see
the film as anticipating 'the cumulatively compiomising effect of Wateis's
Lucy NcFauzean
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commeicial success.'
1
Yet, these opposing ciitiques uo not uiveige fiom
asseitions that the films aie camp. So, %(14 6'./(17&+ anu %&'8#+)#3 aie iueal foi
uisplaying the iepiesentational excess embouieu in the teim.

To begin this essay will ciitique some impoitant woiks that attempt to
uefine camp. This will highlight some symptoms of camp style, but will also show
pioblems with limiting the teim in semantic uefinitions. This essay will then
assess two of the bioauly unueistoou continuities in Wateis's woik, namely
Bivine anu bau taste. 0nuei each of these heauings, scenes fiom both %(14
6'./(17&+ anu %&'8#+)#3 will be uiscusseu. The camp tiaits, oi symptoms, of these
scenes will be explaineu, anu so the common conviction that Wateis's woik is
camp will be unueistoou. Then, when we obseive the multiple, excessive ways in
which camp thoughts, feelings, chaiacteis anu scenaiios aie piouuceu unuei
each theme, an unueistanuing of the veiy elusiveness of a single uefinition of
camp will foim. Whilst the chaiacteis of Bivine, anu the theme of bau taste in
%(14 6'./(17&+ anu %&'8#+)#3 may piouuce camp ways of seeing, they cannot
uefine the teim. Whilst }ohn Wateis's films my have camp effects, they aie not
the be-all-anu-enu-all of camp. Anu, whilst campness may in many contexts have
political effects, camp cannot be labelleu as political.

To unueistanu why Watei's woiks aie often uesciibeu as camp, it is
impoitant to outline, anu then ciitique, some key theoiies anu assumptions

1
Chuck Kleinhans, 'Taking 0ut the Tiash: Camp anu the politics of paiouy,' in Noe
Neyei, eu., !"# %&'()(*+ .1: %&#)(*+ &, -./0, (Lonuon: Routleuge, 1994), 191. Anu, Eve
Seugwick anu Nichael Noon, 'Bivinity: a uossiei, a peifoimance piece, a little
unueistoou emotion,' in Eve Seugwick, !#1:#1*(#+ (Lonuon: Routleuge, 1994), 249.
Lucy NcFauzean
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about the teim. 0ne of the foimative woiks uiscussing the point is Susan
Sontag's ;&)#+ &1 -./09 publisheu in 198S. Inteiestingly, Sontag has ie-imagineu
the foimat of the acauemic essay in oiuei to uiscuss camp. By uoing this she is
cleaily alluuing to the elusiveness of the teim, as in hei acknowleugement that
'to talk about camp is. to betiay it'.
2
Bespite this, she attempts to outline some
featuies of camp, uesciibing it as an 'aestheticism,' a 'way of seeing the woilu'
with a 'uegiee of aitifice' anu 'stylisation'.
S
Foi Sontag camp is a uisplay of 'being-
as-playing-a-iole,'
4
which begins to highlight a connection to peifoimativity. The
piece also iecognises camp's connection to taste anu kitsch. Bowevei, wheie
Sontag's woik fails is in cieating bounuaiies foi 'camp'. In uesciibing camp as
'apolitical'
S
anu uemaicating between 'nave' anu 'puie' camp,
6
Sontag limits a
teim that in its veiy natuie aims to uissolve anu iesist such histoiical anu
aesthetic foims of categoiisation. It will be seen, thiough Wateis's woik, that
camp aims to uissolve binaiies such as apoliticalpolitical anu of highlow anu
gooubau taste. So linguistic uefinitions ielating to these constiucts aie
antithetical to the teim. Anothei eaily use of the teim came fiom Chiistophei
Isheiwoou in his piece 'The Woilu in the Evening' publisheu in 19S4. Isheiwoou
uesciibes camp as 'expiessing what's basically seiious to you in teims of fun anu
aitifice anu elegance.'
7
Yet again, theie aie flaws in this uefinition, anu its
limitation of camp. Foi instance paits of Wateis's woik piouuce camp feelings

2
Susan Sontag, 'Notes on 'Camp',' in < =>+.1 =&1).7 ?#.:#3 (Baimonuswoith, 0K:
Penguin, 198S), 1u7.
S
Sontag, 'Notes on 'Camp',' 1u7.
4
Sontag, 'Notes on 'Camp',' 1u9.
S
Sontag, 'Notes on 'Camp',' 1u7.
6
Sontag, 'Notes on 'Camp',' 11u-111.
7
Chiistophei Isheiwoou, 'Fiom, The Woilu In The Evening,' in Fabio Cleto, eu., -./0@
A>##3 <#+)"#)(*+ .1: )"# %#3,&3/(17 =>BC#*)@ < ?#.:#3 (Euinbuigh: Euinbuigh 0niveisity
Piess, 1999),
Lucy NcFauzean
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thiough anything but elegance. In auuition, it will be shown that camp may be
about expiessing what is seiious, but that it may also be about questioning the
veiy hieiaichies which cieate seiiousness altogethei.

So, we look to contempoiaiy theoiies of 'camp,' the most compelling of
these being Fabio Cleto's. Cleto pioviues the ieauei with anu extensive iange of
camp's uefinitions. Foi instance, Beigman is quoteu uesciibing camp as 'a
style.that favouis 'exaggeiation', 'aitifice' anu 'extiemity'' anu that 'exists in
tension with populai cultuie. outsiue the cultuial mainstieam'. Finally, foi
Beigman 'camp is affiliateu with homosexual cultuie, oi at least with a self
conscious eioticism that thiows into question the natuialisation of uesiie.'
8
This
uesciiption outlines some symptoms of woiks that piouuce camp effects, but
again limits the teim. Wateis's woik will show these limitations. Baving
ciitiqueu these uefinitions Cleto is auamant anu all embiacing in his asseition
that camp necessaiily neeus a uimension of possibility, so cannot be limiteu by
being uefineu. Be explains that the only answei to the question of what camp (+,
is a camp one - 'only hei haiiuiessei knows foi suie.'
9
Rathei than iecieating
binaiies anu categoiies that camp is attempting to uemystify, we must iecognise
the teims neeu foi a 'uimension of possibility as an object of uiscouise'.
1u
As
such, insteau of uefinitions, we must look at camp effects of anu thiough camp
woiks. By looking at camp )"3&>7" Wateis's woik, anu then this way at its vaiieu
expiessions anu effects, the teim anu its essence will not be limiteu. What is

8
Baviu Beigman, -./0 D3&>1:+@ =)8'# .1: E&/&+#F>.'()8 (Amheist: 0niveisity of
Nassachusetts, 199S), 4-S, quoteu in Fabio Cleto, eu., -./0@ A>##3 <#+)"#)(*+ .1: )"#
%#3,&3/(17 =>BC#*)@ < ?#.:#3 (Euinbuigh: Euinbuigh 0niveisity Piess, 1999), 4.
9
Fabio Cleto, eu., -./0@ A>##3 <#+)"#)(*+ .1: )"# %#3,&3/(17 =>BC#*)@ < ?#.:#3
(Euinbuigh: Euinbuigh 0niveisity Piess, 1999), 22.
1u
Cleto, -./0, 4.
Lucy NcFauzean
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moie, the excessive camp effects of %(14 6'./(17&+ anu %&'8#+)#3 will begin to be
an inuication of the teims semantic inuefinability.

ulenn Nilsteau plays the cential chaiacteis in both %(14 6'./(17&+ anu
%&'8#+)#3. In his iole of a glamoious female uiag queen, he shows genuei to be
peifoimative. A questioning of the natuial assumptions suiiounuing genueis
anu sexualities is a common effect of camp piactice, anu this is often uone
thiough uiag. By poitiaying highly aitificial female chaiacteis thiough a male
anatomy, Bivine 'peifoims' genuei. In %&'8#+)#39 Bivine plays Fiancine Fishpaw
|FIu. 1j, a Baltimoie housewife, eagei to maintain the peifect nucleai family anu
householu. Bei clothing, haii anu makeup ieflect this 'noimality'. Fiancine weais
mouest, polyestei uiesses, with an assoitment of fiills, polka uots anu peails
thioughout the film, so that hei outeiweai poitiays that of the typical Ameiican
housewife. This stylistic uepiction of femininity thiough uiag foims the classic
camp paiouy. The uiscieet genueis that aie enacteu aie shown to be an act,
subveiting typical notions of masculine anu feminine. As Butlei eloquently puts
it 'the 'noimal', the 'oiiginal' is ievealeu to be a copy, anu an inevitably faileu one,
an iueal that no one *.1 embouy.'
11


Living unueicovei as Babs }ohnson, 'the notoiious beauty Bivine,' |FIu. 2j
is also the female piotagonist in %(14 6'./(17&+.
12
As the opening scenes play
out, the viewei is intiouuceu to Babs, who is weaiing hei 'sleeveless, golu

11
}uuith Butlei, 'Fiom Inteiioiity to uenuei Peifoimatives,' in Fabio Cleto, eu., -./0@
A>##3 <#+)"#)(*+ .1: )"# %#3,&3/(17 =>BC#*)@ < ?#.:#3 (Euinbuigh: Euinbuigh 0niveisity
Piess, 1999), S6S.
12
}ohn Wateis, !3.+" !3(&@ )"3## +*3##10'.8+ (Lonuon: Fouith Estate Ltu, 1988), 4.
Lucy NcFauzean
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piinteu cocktail uiess anu spike heels.'
1S
Bivine's haiiline has been shaveu back
beyonu hei foieheau, wheie eyebiows have been uiawn on anu gaiish glitteiing
eye shauow has been geneiously applieu. Bei uiess is eye-catching anu sexy -
quite the opposite to Fiancine Fishpaw. Yet this image is also unuoubteuly anu
oveitly feminine, even 'peifoimeu' fiom a male bouy. Again the viewei is leu to
uoubt theii assumptions suiiounuing natuial malefemale genuei ioles. So, a
camp stylisation of femininity juxtaposeu with a male bouy, has shown that
genuei can be confuseu fiom anatomy.


"#$% &

If highlighting the peifoimativity of genuei thiough uiag makes Wateis's
woik camp, then when this logic is ieveiseu, camp is uefineu by highlighting of
genuei peifoimativity. Yet, whilst maybe the most eviuent, it will be shown that

1S
Wateis, !3.+" !3(&9 2u.
Lucy NcFauzean
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this is not the only featuie of Bivine's peifoimance that biings about camp ways
of seeing. Insteau the multituue of chaotic questions aiising out of Bivine's
female ienuitions, cieate a wiue spectium of camp effects. Not only uo they uo
this, but this continual questioning is intiinsic to campness. Rathei than a single
camp ieflection oi viewpoint, we aie given a 'poweiful uiamonu-like iefiactoi'
piesenting multiple inteilinking accounts anu cultuial ciiticisms.
14
So, when we
come to uefine camp it cannot be limiteu to just one of these effects.


"#$% '

Babs's actions thioughout %(14 6'./(17&+ aie continuously conflicting
anu confusing. Bivine's chaiactei nevei completely becomes one uefinitive
genuei, bouy oi sexuality anu the auuience aie left questioning both themselves
anu Babs thioughout the film. As such, the campness of Babs is nevei about one

14
Cleto, -./09 7.
Lucy NcFauzean
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aspect of hei chaiactei. Towaius the beginning of %(14 6'./(17&+9 the viewei
takes a tiip with Bivine to Baltimoie, wheie she is having one of hei famous
'glamoui fits.'
1S
These 'fits' consist of Bivine thiowing hei heau back, pouting
anu posing. Again typical acts associateu with femininity anu beauty aie
poitiayeu. Wateis has hiuuen the cameia in a moving cai, piouucing, in the
viewei, feelings of seciecy anu illegitimacy, anu leaving the ieal-life Baltimoie
iesiuents with no clue that theii ieactions to Bivine aie being iecoiueu. The
iesults aie a confusing combination of Bivine's unashameu femininity, next to a
public ieacting with 'astonishment, laughing, pointing. jumping back in fiight,'
16

anu the vieweis own viewing position of seciecy, peihaps even shame, which
they aie unable to altei. Nichael Noon has uesciibeu Bivine's 'unsanitizeu uiag'
as fieice, aggiessive, anu peitaining to the uangei of uiag itself, the glamoui fits
in %(14 6'./(17&+ aie suiely an example of this.
17
Fiom simply questioning the
vieweis unueistanuing of genuei ielating to the bouy, Wateis's film has now
come to question the vieweis anu otheis subjectivity on the point, anu the
uangeis involveu in openly 'peifoiming' genuei. It is not Bivine who is piouucing
the camp effects heie, but the Baltimoie iesiuents' unnatuial ieactions to hei
unquestioning beauty. The viewei is positioneu to laugh G()" Bivine - not .) hei.
Abnoimality anu exception is not helu with Bivine anu hei assumption anu
knowleuge that she is a feminine chaiactei within a male bouy, but is situateu
with those people who coulu possibly finu this confusing oi even fiightening.
Camp has been cieateu as an expeiience associateu with those outsiue the
mainstieam, thiough a level of genueieu aitifice anu exaggeiation, laughing with,

1S
Seugwick anu Noon, 'Bivinity,' 218.
16
Wateis, !3.+" !3(&9 2u.
17
Seugwick anu Noon, 'Bivinity,' 22u.
Lucy NcFauzean
1u
not at, the abject. What is moie, Wateis has put the viewei in the place of the
abject, anu of the hiuuen anu so we expeiience these camp feelings as one who is
not 'out'.

As the scene continues, Babs is enteiing a gioceiy stoie, wheie she oiueis
a steak fiom the butchei. 0n ieceiving the steak she unwiaps it anu aftei
fuitively looking aiounu the stoie, puts it up hei uiess anu into hei ciotch.
18
The
iesulting look of bliss that comes ovei hei face fiom the colu cutlet has
unueitones of sexual pleasuie. Again the viewei is ieminueu of Bivine's anatomy
- she has liteially just placeu a piece of meat by hei figuiative 'piece of meat',
which hei peifoimance as a 'women' suggests she 'shoulun't' even have. Beie,
Wateis biought into question societies use anu abuse of bouies as commouities
anu even foou.
19
Anu, if a uiag queen hau not maue the fluiuity of sexuality cleai
enough, implications of sex have been biought into the fiame. What make's
Bivine's peifoimance camp now, is the liteial ieplacement of sexual oigans foi
the commouities they aie compaieu to. It is not an act that Bivine has 'a piece of
meat' between hei legs - figuiative oi not. Whilst camp is ceitainly uealing with
iueas of aitifice heie, it is uoing this with the opposite of aitifice, the liteial
enactment of metaphois into ieality. It is the, unexaggeiateu, the liteial that
gives camp its powei heie - uiametiically opposeu to many uefinitions of camp
that have been outlineu.


18
Wateis, !3.+" !3(&9 2u.
19
Seugwick anu Noon, 'Bivinity', 2S6.
Lucy NcFauzean
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Next, Babs is seen casually walking onto the lawn of a Baltimoie mansion,
squatting anu uiinating. Relieving oneself in public is iegaiueu as anything but
glamoious. Aftei cieating a styliseu feminine chaiactei Wateis has hau Bivine
step out of the 'feminine' steieotype. Wateis has not only unhingeu the vieweis
assumptions suiiounuing genuei ielating to the anatomical bouy, in case they
have become too comfoitable with this glamoious uepiction of Bivine, it is now
also being subveiteu. Butlei's theoiies of genuei peifoimativity, question the
tiuth of the eveiyuay acts anu living that cieate anu iepiouuce oui uiscieet
genuei noims, anu it seems that Bivines chaiactei uoes this too.
2u
Camp feelings
now exuue fiom the position of iepeateu uisplacement. Theie is no 'noimal,'
continuity with Babs, even if it is the abnoimal. Within one scene in %(14
6'./(17&+, Bivine the uiag queen, a steieotype of 'campness', has confuseu iueas
of genuei, uses of the bouy, femininity, sexuality, the vieweis subjectivity anu
even the continuities unuei these heauings. We can see that each of Babs's
actions cieate camp feelings anu outlooks, yet if we attempt to use any one of
these scenaiios to uefine camp, they aie not sufficient.

Theie aie yet moie camp siues to Bivine, anu Wateis's woik, in the
poitiayal of Fiancine Fishpaw in %&'8#+)#3. In contiast to Babs in %(14 6'./(17&+,
Fiancine's chaiactei is a paiouy of the typical Ameiican housewife. Thiough this
iole, anu within the metanaiiative of %&'8#+)#3, Wateis continually questions
notions of heteionoimativity anu the family. In the opening scenes of %&'8#+)#39
Fiancine anu hei husbanu aie having 'typical' spousal inteiactions,


2u
Butlei, 'Fiom Inteiioiity to uenuei Peifoimatives,' S62-S66.
Lucy NcFauzean
12
Elmei Fishpaw: "Stop that yammeiing anu fix me a uiink!"
21


"uet up Fiancine you big oaf! I want some bieakfast" ". I guess I'll
have to fix my own ceieal!"
22


When taken at face value, these inteiactions simply ieplicate many peoples
misogynist ieality. But, when placeu within a paiouy of 'noimality', with Bivine
as Fiancine at the centie, they seem anything but. Ceitainly the pioceeuing
scenes wheie Fiancine's husbanu leaves hei foi his mistiess, hei teenage
uaughtei becomes piegnant, hei son is ueclaieu ciiminally insane anu Fiancine
heiself becomes an alcoholic, piove this. But, yet again, Wateis nevei lets the
viewei settle in theii assumptions. Rathei than being satisfieu with a melouiama
in which noimality is pioven to be a sham, the stoiyline takes anothei tuin, anu
Fiancine's chiluien ietuin to hei, iehabilitateu anu 'noimal,'

Lulu Fishpaw: "I've uiscoveieu maciam! It's helpeu me finu myself,
I'm gentlei now, anu moie cieative,"
Bextei Fishpaw: "I'm an aitist now too Lulu. I'm off uiugs anu ieauy
foi a new beginning heie at home."
Fiancine Fishpaw: "0h you see chiluien, it's not haiu to be noimal.
0h, thank you gou. Thank you foi answeiing my piayeis. We'ie a ieal family
again. A noimal, Ameiican, family!"
2S


So, foi Fiancine Fishpaw in %&'8#+)#3, campness comes in the foim of extieme
paiouy, not only of the feminine peifoimeu by Bivine, but of hei ielation to the
family anu heteionoimativity.

21
%&'8#+)#39 uiiecteu by }ohn Wateis (0SA: New Line Cinema, 1981) BvB, uu:u6:S4.
22
%&'8#+)#39 Wateis, uu:18:S6.
2S
%&'8#+)#39 Wateis, u1:uu:uS.
Lucy NcFauzean
1S

Rathei than subveiting heteionoimative assumptions thiough a paiouy
of the 'noimal' family, %(14 6'./(17&+ goes to the othei enu of the spectium, anu
auuiesses the incest taboo. In staik contiast to 'motheily' Fiancine, Babs, in one
of the concluuing scenes of %(14 6'./(17&+, peifoims oial sex on hei son.

Babs: "Ny only baby, Ciackeis! Ny own flesh anu bloou, my own
heiitage, my own genes. Let Nama ieceive you like Communion. Let Nama
make a gift to you, a gift so special it will cuise this house yeais aftei we'ie
gone. 0h, Ciackeis, a gift of supieme motheigoou, a gift of BIvINITY!"
24


This melouiamatic speech cieates multiple camp questionings. Not only is
the viewei piesenteu with the biash juxtaposition of ieligion anu incest, evoking
thoughts of the viigin Naiy anu hei son, }esus anu mocking the pioposeu
sanctity - uivinity if you will - of such topics. They aie also piompteu to iethink
the iole of motheihoou anu familial ielations, whilst being ieminueu again of
Babs's iole as Bivine in uiag. The chaiacteis of Babs anu Ciackeis aie
peifoiming an act of incest, but the ieality is a homosexual one.
2S
Again, sexuality
is biought into the fiame. This is, in fact, a constant question in both %(14
6'./(17&+, with Ciackeis's eailiei sexual encounteis with a chicken, anu
%&'8#+)#3, wheie Fiancine's son Bextei has a foot fetish. This can be seen as a
iauical ieuefinition of the bounus of sexuality itself. Rathei than simply
auuiessing the homoheteio binaiy, Wateis has intiouuceu a spectium of
sexualities. Beie it is impoitant to note camp's histoiy with the stiuggle foi

24
Wateis, !3.+" !3(&9 61.
2S
Paul, Roen, E(7" -./0@ < 7.8 7>(:# )& *./0 .1: *>') ,('/+, vol.1 (San Fiancisco:
Leylanu Publications, 1994), 1S4.
Lucy NcFauzean
14
sexual libeiation. Theie is no uoubt that camp piactices anu ways of seeing weie
ciucial in highlighting the peifoimativity of genueis anu sexualities, so helping
with the stiuggle foi sexual fieeuoms. Bowevei, it is also impoitant to
unueistanu, within the elusive anu ieflexive iuea of camp that is slowly foiming,
that the teim cannot be labelleu as 'gay'. The uiveise camp iepiesentations of
sexual attiactions anu uesiies iepiesenteu in Wateis's %(14 6'./(17&+ anu
%&'8#+)#39 shoulu help us go some way to unueistanuing this. So, fiom camp as a
foim of paiouy of the noim in %&'8#+)#39 it has now become a iepiesentation of
possibility thiough the iauically abnoimal anu abject.

Bivines chaiactei poitiayals anu actions in %(14 6'./(17&+ anu %&'8#+)#3
have uisplayeu vaiious camp ways of seeing. Camp has come in the foim of
paiouy, aitifice, liteial enactment of metaphois, exaggeiation anu stylisation. But
it has not been any one of these things. In fact, it has contiauicteu evei becoming
any one of these ways of seeing, anu has become about possibilities anu
questions. What is moie, the camp effects of Bivine's peifoimances have been
vaiieu too. Not only genuei anu sexuality have come into question, but many of
the steieotypical noims ielating to the teims, anu subjectivities on this point.
Camp has not just ieauuiesseu binaiies, but has queeieu the iuea that
categoiisation can woik at all. So, Bivine in the woik of }ohn Wateis, has begun
to foim an unueistanuing of camp as neithei having one iepiesentation, noi
cieating one effect.

}ohn Wateis is often calleu "the king of bau taste" oi "the pope of tiash."
0ne ieason foi this accieuitation is his use of the kitsch Ameiican imageiy of
Lucy NcFauzean
1S
Baltimoie in all of his films. Camp anu kitsch have been histoiically linkeu as
aesthetic categoiies both uealing with unueivalueu, mass-piouuceu anu mass-
consumeu piouucts. Whilst we must be caieful not to limit camp's aesthetics to
the use of kitsch objects oi style, we can ceitainly iecognise theii
coiiesponuence on ceitain values, anu as such the ability foi kitsch to assist in
cieating camp ways of seeing. Peihaps the most ienowneu, if lambasteu, woik on
Kitsch is Clement uieenbeig's 'Avant uaiue anu Kitsch.H In the essay uieenbeig
attiibutes spuiiousness, 'vicaiious expeiience anu fakeu sensations,' to Kitsch,
which is uesigneu foi those 'insensible to the values of genuine cultuie'.
26
Kitsch,
because it is woiking class, consumeiist, thiow-away, mass-piouuceu anu
outuateu, is seen as a kinu of bau taste, infeiioi to 'high' ait. Camp then, often
uses objects uisiegaiueu oi uismisseu as kitsch, anu celebiates theii value anu
cultuial woith. In uoing so, camp ieveises notions of high anu low cultuie, anu
subveits hieiaichies of taste. Foi Wateis, kitsch is cleaily a cential aesthetic.
%(14 6'./(17&+ is titleu aftei the plastic oinaments founu at the fiont of 'white
tiash' Ameiican homes |FIu. Sj. Similaily polyestei is a 1uu% man maue fabiic,
populaily useu foi clothes in the seventies, but iegaiueu as cheap anu
uncomfoitable, which of couise gives its name to %&'8#+)#3. Both these items aie
well iegaiueu as kitsch, paiticulaily uue to theii aitificial, mass-piouuceu anu
lowei-class ioots. Theii placement as the titles foi Wateis's films, ieassigns theii
woith fiom that of thiow-away, woithless objects, to cential, uefining anu
significant ones. This kinu of ie-fiaming of cultuial woith anu significance,
highlighting hieiaichies of 'taste' as constiucteu, is a common effect of camp.

26
Clement uieenbeig, 'Avant-uaiue anu Kitsch,' in uillo Boifles, I()+*"9 <1 <1)"&'&78 &,
J.: !.+)# (Lonuon: Stuuio vista, 1968)
Lucy NcFauzean
16
What is impoitant then, is not 'tasting' camp - that is, not biinging in hieiaichies
of say highlow oi navepuie camp. This categoiisation is the majoi uownfall of
many uefinitions of camp. By showing how %(14 6'./(17&+ anu %&'8#+)#3 uo not
simply ieveise hieiaichies boin of taste - gooubau, oiuinaiygiotesque,
cleanfilthy, highlow - but insteau question them all thiough vaiieu camp
fiames, we can again unueistanu the iepiesentational excess embouieu in the
teim.


"#$% (

In %(14 6'./(17&+ Wateis uses the competition between Bivine anu the
Naibles foi title of "the filthiest people alive" to cieate a woik infamous as 'an
Lucy NcFauzean
17
exeicise in bau taste'.
27
The uisplays of giotesque, abject anu filth thioughout the
film, uo not simply position bau taste above goou. It is the final scene of %(14
6'./(17&+ that is the most infamousfamous foi filth. Following a stoiyline
wheie we have alieauy seen the contenueis foi filthiest people alive commit
muiuei, iape, peifoim incest, senu faeces in the post, anu peifoim castiation - to
name but a few - it is haiu to see what moie Wateis coulu uo to shock anu
uisgust. Wateis uesciibes the scene in !3.+" !3(&: 'Babs iushes ovei to the uog as
it takes a shit. She scoops up the shit anu puts it in hei mouth. She iolls it aiounu
on hei tongue anu gags anu winks at the cameia. Zoom in on Babs giving a shit-
eating giin to the cameia anu the auuience.'
28
This juxtaposition of the
glamoious Bivine with the giotesque ceitainly piouuces some of the camp
effects alieauy mentioneu. Assumptions about glamoui, beauty anu the feminine,
have again been uestabiliseu anu questioneu. Kleinhans has uesciibeu this scene
as a kinu of 'low camp,' which 'simply assaults all auuience sensibilities fiom a
unique anu inexplicable position.'
29
This ciitical assessment of the scene seems
to miss the point of not only Wateis's 'tuif wai,' but also of camp itself. When the
iole of filth anu the abject in foiming the bounuaiies of acceptability anu
inclusion in society is unueistoou, it can show how feelings of extieme abjection
thiough giotesque, aie campy feelings that cannot be iankeu. Kiisteva explains
filth ielating to abjection as 'not a quality in itself, but it |filthj applies only to
what ielates to a B&>1:.38 anu, moie paiticulaily, iepiesents the object

27
}ohn Wateis, ="&*4 K.'>#@ . ).+)#,>' B&&4 .B&>) B.: ).+)# (New Yoik: Running Piess,
2uuS), viii.
28
Wateis, !3.+" !3(&9 9u.
29
Kleinhans, 'Taking 0ut the Tiash,' 191.
Lucy NcFauzean
18
jettisoneu out of that bounuaiy, its othei siue, a maigin.'
Su
The ielationship of
camp with the maiginal, with feminine, homosexuality anu with kitsch, has
alieauy been iuentifieu. Wateis uses the giotesque element of Bivine eating shit,
to bieak uown constiucteu social bounuaiies fuithei. Eating faeces is not the
most unacceptable act the viewei sees in %(14 6'./(17&+9 yet it is the most
poweiful in its .,,#*). Peihaps it is the knowleuge that Bivine ieally is eating
exciement, a waste piouuct, associateu with uecay, infection, uisease anu
ueath.
S1
In pievious scenes, theie is still an appieciation that the incest, oi
castiation, is only occuiiing in the plot. Peihaps it is watching Bivine's own
uncontiollable gagging. Eithei way, the scene piovokes neivousness, anxiety anu
uiscomfoit in the viewei, those emotions we have the least contiol ovei, anu so
the viewei tuins away in uisgust. Foi some, these emotions will even tiiggei the
physical -what Wateis uesciibes as his 'stanuing ovation' - vomit.
S2
So, the
vieweis themselves become uncontiollably embioileu in the abject. This is no
'simple assault' on sensibilities. Rathei, twenty-five yeais befoie Zizek even
knew it, peihaps Wateis's camp was enacting the call to iuentify univeisality
with the point of exclusion.
SS
Bivine is the ,(')"(#+), most abject, excluueu, peison
.'(L#, in the univeise. Camp effect has come fiom an act of extieme abjection.
This extiemity though, has not come fiom 'playing-a-iole'. It is the ieality of
eating shit that makes the scene so hoiiific anu poignant. So anothei
contiauiction within camp has been foimeu.


Su
}ulia Kiisteva, %&G#3+ &, E&33&3@ <1 M++.8 &1 <BC#*)(&1, tians. Leon S. Rouuiez (New
Yoik: Colombia 0niveisity Piess, 1982), 69.
S1
Kiisteva, %&G#3+ &, E&33&39 71.
S2
Wateis, ="&*4 K.'>#, 2.
SS
Slavoj Zizek, 'Nulticultuialism, oi, the cultuial logic of multinational capitalism,' ;#G
N#,) ?#L(#G 22S (1997), 44.
Lucy NcFauzean
19
In staik contiast to %(14 6'./(17&+ theme of filth, %&'8#+)#3's cential focus
is cleanliness anu hygiene. Fiancine spenus the uuiation of the film, 'sniffing out'
bau ououis, ououis that leau hei to uiscovei the impeifections in hei noimal
family life. The smell of peifume on hei cheating husbanu's shiit anu, hei son's
fetish foi feet anu implication as the Baltimoie foot stompei, foi instance, both
aiise fiom hei fiantic sniffing. This sniffing is anything but noimal. In fact, at the
beginning of %&'8#+)#3, Fiancine's husbanu Elmei uesciibes hei as "snoiting
aiounu the place like a gouuamneu anteatei".
S4
This association with an animal,
juxtaposeu with Fiancine's image, piouuces a camp questioning of the natuial.
But this is uone using natuie, anu again, camp is not aitificial. Biametiically
opposeu to eating faeces, Bivine spenus %&'8#+)#3 wieluing a can of aii fieshenei,
in an attempt to ieinstate the 'noim'. Effectively, as Seugwick has pointeu out,
Fiancine is 'sniffing out embouiments anu enactments of filthy flesh, the piimaiy
business of the eailiei films.'
SS
Again, sanitation iepiesents a bounuaiy, similai
to the giotesque, positioneu against pollution, 'a type of uangei which is not
likely to occui except wheie the lines of stiuctuie, cosmic oi social, aie cleaily
uefineu.'
S6
So, how aie we to unueistanu the campness of this iepiesentation of
hygiene, when we have alieauy seen camp as giotesque in anothei
ciicumstance. Wheie camp once came fiom asseiting the uncomfoitable anu
giotesque ieality, it now comes fiom a iepiesentation of cleanliness anu
sanitation. Neithei scenaiio is poitiayeu as ieal, anu neithei seems natuial oi
noimal. So camp cannot be unueistoou as being foi oi against eithei position.

S4
%&'8#+)#39 Wateis, uu:u7:SS.
SS
Seugwick anu Noon, 'Bivinity', 2S9.
S6
Kiisteva, %&G#3+ &, E&33&39 69.
Lucy NcFauzean
2u
Insteau, camp questions noimality anu natuialness in its entiiety, fiom both
extiemes of the spectium, using aitificial anu natuial imageiy.

Thiough the theme of bau taste in Wateis's woik, camp feelings have
been cieateu thiough conflicting iepiesentations of the giotesque anu hygiene,
the natuial anu unnatuial, anu the noimal anu abnoimal. So again, camp cannot
be limiteu to any one of these aspects. Insteau, Wateis's camp has useu
iepiesentations of these cultuial bounuaiies, to bieak uown these binaiies anu
categoiisations. 0nce moie, ciucial aspects of Wateis's woik that cieate camp
effects, when lookeu at in compaiison to one anothei, can begin to cieate an
unueistanuing of the inuefinability of the issue of camp.

By looking at camp thiough the chaiacteis of Bivine, anu the theme of bau
taste in Wateis's films %(14 6'./(17&+ anu %&'8#+)#39 this essay has hopeu to
cieate an unueistanuing of the teim's necessaiy evasiveness to uefinition. By
fiist outlining some of the common assumptions about camp style, anu theii
iepiesentation in Wateis's woik, this essay has shown why the films aie
geneially uesciibeu as camp. %(14 6'./(17&+ anu %&'8#+)#3 auuiess, amongst
otheis issues of genuei, sexuality, taste anu aitifice, all of which aie camp ways
of seeing, anu piouuce camp effects. As such, we can unueistanu why Wateis's
woik is one-in-many that can assist with an encyclopaeuic illustiation of camp.
Then, by looking closei at the uiveisity of camp effects felt thiough Wateis's
films, this essay has shown the teim cannot be limiteu to one issue oi
ieuefinition of noims. Foi instance, %(14 6'./(17&+ anu %&'8#+)#3 uo not just
ieuefine gaystiaight binaiies. The films piesent a questioning of sexuality as a
Lucy NcFauzean
21
whole, nevei ieaching one uefinitive conclusion oi iepiesentation of the point.
The same has been shown foi the categoiies of malefemale, noimalabnoimal,
cleanfilthy anu gooubau, all of which aie continually questioneu. So, Wateis's
camp fiamings, iefiamings anu unfiamings again, have begun to alluue to the
necessaiy iepiesentational excess embouieu in the issue. So, this essay has come
to an unueistanuing of camp as teim that cannot be limiteu by linguistic
uefinitions. Camp, in its natuie - I use the teim knowingly - aims to bieak uown
categoiical cultuial anu aesthetic constiucts. As such, Watei's woik may be one
of many uesciibeu as camp, cieating camp effects. But this unueistanuing cannot
be ieveiseu. We cannot let camp be uefineu by Wateis's films, oi any one of the
effects boin of them. In the same vein, we cannot uefine camp as political, as this
opposes it to apolitical, we can only obseive the political effects of camp woiks.
Lucy NcFauzean
22

J(B'(&73.0"8

Piint

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Film

%(14 6'./(17&+O vBS. Wiitten anu uiiecteu by }ohn Wateis. 0SA: Bieamlanu
Films, 1972.

%&'8#+)#3O BvB. Biiecteu by }ohn Wateis. 0SA: New Line Cinema, 1981.