Essay On Pink Flamingos

It’s My Party: The Birthday Party Sequence in Pink Flamingos A film about criminality and unconventionality, John Walter’s Pink Flamingoes is a dark comedy independent film. The protagonist, Divine, is a 300-pound drag woman. She lives with her eccentric family and competes to be “the filthiest person alive” with a corrupt couple. In the birthday party sequence, Walter expresses his unique style. He does this by incorporating bizarre situations that would never make it into a Hollywood film and by violating many rules of classical Hollywood style. The birthday party sequence featuring Divine, her family, and friends. takes place outside their trailer. The sequence begins with a shot of a birthday cake and the start of a rendition of the “Happy Birthday” song. Then there are multiple master shots of people. In these shots there is drinking, eating, and one can even spot a person sporting a Nazi armband. Also there are shots that show Divine receiving different gifts. These gifts include: vomit, a giant machete, dope, and a pig’s head. While these items can be seen in other Hollywood movies, they are bizarre given the context that these items are meant to be birthday gifts. Then, there is a single long shot of a man stripping off the only item of clothing he is wearing. Next, is a close up shot of the man exposing his anus and genitals. This is a very crude scene that would not sit well in a Hollywood film. The scene cuts to the couple that is competing against Divine for her “filthiest person” title. A close up double shot of the couple reveals a man filing a complaint about the party to the police. A subsequent long shot shows the police approaching the party, complete with a siren sound
By John Waters, John Waters, and John Waters. Prod. John Waters. Dir. John
Waters. N.p., n.d. Web.29 Apr. 2017.
Sikov, Ed. Study Guide to Accompany American Cinema/American Culture. 4th ed. Boston:
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