The Beautiful People
“The beautiful people, it's all relative to the size
of your steeple”. Marilyn Manson does not care for the critics or haters in the
world. He expresses what he believes and because of that his resultants are
masterpieces. “The Beautiful People” gives the audience a chance to look at the
world through Marilyn Manson’s eyes. He portrays his abhorring views on
Christianity, as well as his notion that the world is corrupt.
In order for an artist to distinguish themselves in
the world of music they need to be unique and drag in their audience. The first
forty eight seconds of this video do not include any lyrics, but instead a
series of perplexing shots on things such as eyes, worms, teeth, hands,
marching boots, and leg prosthetics. Bugs and worms seem to be a reoccurring
theme in his music videos, but the marching boots, teeth, and hands all resemble
his idea of order. The synchronized boots marching in line represent how
society is bound tight, and how no person should stray from the pack. The white
hands with no detail show how Marilyn Manson perceives people, at least
Christians. The lifeless white hands and perfect straight teeth embody how all
people are uniform and do not differ. Therefore the prosthetics and the strange
looking people, featuring himself, are breaking boundaries. Depending on what
religion you practice, or “the size of your steeple”, determines your view on
people who are not the same as you.
Because of religion and society, Marilyn Manson has
reached the decision that the world is corrupt. Two figures on stilts in long
garments are seen in a classroom, suggesting that there is something eerie with
our education. Are we being taught too subjectively? Are we not being exposed
to enough perspective?
Rather than show more disturbing, unsettling, and
eyebrow-cringing scenes, Marilyn Manson has a group of people, who appear to be
normal, walk in a circle around him. He is on stilts, wearing odd looking
clothes, and has his face is covered in white makeup. He seems to be conducting
the path of these people, or maybe he is trapped. Perhaps instead, they are revolving
around him. People are cruel and often live for something to ridicule, so he is
their target. Another scene shows people walking in rows, but upside down. The
change in the camera view signifies how Marilyn Manson believes the world to be
corrupt. Depending on your perspective, determines whether or not you see things
as Marilyn Manson, or of those marching in line.
Therefore the question is raised, who are the
beautiful people? The Christians who follow order and attend church? Or the few
who dare to be different?
Maddy, your post is good. You definitely clarify some confusion for me. I have heard that song a million times, but I have never seen the video. When I watched it I was confused, but you offered some clarity. Thank you. For the most part, you write fairly well, but there are some lapses. Let me point them out.
ReplyDeleteFirst, you are a strong writer. You should not be making mistakes with pronouns and antecedents. Look at this introduction: "In order for an artist to distinguish themselves." You have a singular antecedent with a plural pronoun. Second, I'm not sure how this sentence is supposed to work: "Bugs and worms seem to be a reoccurring theme in his music videos, but the marching boots, teeth, and hands all resemble his idea of order." The two clauses that constitute this compound sentence don't seem to inherently relate to each other. Why do you join the clauses with the conjunction "but"? Third, you write, "Depending on what religion you practice, or 'the size of your steeple', determines..." This is grammatically incorrect. The word "[d]epending" does not "determine." It is the "religion" that does the "determin[ing]". The participle "Depending" cannot be a subject.