I have no desire to be famous until this time of year. I love dressing up, and I see that as the only plus to fame. That's why I cosplay. There's no other deep reason, I just like dressing up ridiculously.
The night of the Met Gala was truly the beginning of A Tale of Two Cities for me. I get to see people dressed up extravagantly, and I get to judge them! Since I'm a nobody, I won't hurt anyone's feelings if I think their look sucked. It's a plus that I live and breathe Camp all the time. Even before I knew what Camp was. I think that's because my grandmother worked at a drug and alcohol rehabilitation center in North Park when I was young. I was being exposed to camp during a lot of Saturdays. I never saw Camp as something odd. It was the people around me living their lives, just a little bit more colorfully and loudly. And for me, that is The Best of Times. However, there were other things going on in my life that I'm not comfortable sharing online, but trust me...The Worst of Times.
I didn't know what Camp actually was until I went to high school. I would introduce my friends into the weird and wonderful media I enjoyed. And, Let's be real, anyone that suddenly became interesting after hanging out with me just used me for character development. My therapist and I just talked about this, that's the only reason it's on my mind lol.
The most notable being the Grey Gardens movie starring Drew Barrymore and Jessica Lange. I used to like the actual documentary as well. But the more I learn about mental illness, the universal-ness of ain't sh*t fathers, and toxic motherhood, I don't like watching the documentary and feel it is exploitative. It's almost like watching a show like Hoarder's through the lens of making fun of them. What makes the documentary worth knowing about is that the Beales' come from an uber rich family, Jackie Kennedy Onasis was Edie's first cousin. So, for them to live the way they live was an interesting twist of irony. Little Edie (who has the same name as her mother)
I think that Little Edie would have really loved to know one of the famous Barrymore's played her in a biopic, I actually feel like that adds to the campyness. I don't want to go too deep into what Camp is, just because that's not what my blog is about AND I think it's a good opportunity to highlight voices that generally are not heard. I never shut up, so...Here are some good resources about Camp from the LGBT+ community. As Lena Waithe so beautifully pointed out, Black Drag Queens 'Inventend' Camp.
This is a horror blog, so I can't talk extensively about the other campy things I like (Paris is Burning, Mommy Dearest, Batman, Sunset Boulevard). Were going to talk about the greatest genre collab to exist...Horror Camp! Or is it Camp Horror. No, I think Camp Horror is Friday the 13th type of stuff. Sleepaway Camp is a movie that is both Horror Camp and Camp Horror. Anyway, here's a short list of horror/creepy themed campy movies.
So, that's a quick write up about my love of Camp! I really didn't feel like posting anything but my therapist says I need to try to do things I like! So I hope y'all liked it too! I would have worn a Marie Antoinette Costume made out of money if I was invited to the Met Gala, but whatever! More importantly, if you would like to make a donation to the rehabilitation center I talked about earlier, you can do so here. I wish the Met would have made some sort of donation to actually help the community that they took inspiration from, so I feel like it's the least I can do.
The night of the Met Gala was truly the beginning of A Tale of Two Cities for me. I get to see people dressed up extravagantly, and I get to judge them! Since I'm a nobody, I won't hurt anyone's feelings if I think their look sucked. It's a plus that I live and breathe Camp all the time. Even before I knew what Camp was. I think that's because my grandmother worked at a drug and alcohol rehabilitation center in North Park when I was young. I was being exposed to camp during a lot of Saturdays. I never saw Camp as something odd. It was the people around me living their lives, just a little bit more colorfully and loudly. And for me, that is The Best of Times. However, there were other things going on in my life that I'm not comfortable sharing online, but trust me...The Worst of Times.
I didn't know what Camp actually was until I went to high school. I would introduce my friends into the weird and wonderful media I enjoyed. And, Let's be real, anyone that suddenly became interesting after hanging out with me just used me for character development. My therapist and I just talked about this, that's the only reason it's on my mind lol.
The most notable being the Grey Gardens movie starring Drew Barrymore and Jessica Lange. I used to like the actual documentary as well. But the more I learn about mental illness, the universal-ness of ain't sh*t fathers, and toxic motherhood, I don't like watching the documentary and feel it is exploitative. It's almost like watching a show like Hoarder's through the lens of making fun of them. What makes the documentary worth knowing about is that the Beales' come from an uber rich family, Jackie Kennedy Onasis was Edie's first cousin. So, for them to live the way they live was an interesting twist of irony. Little Edie (who has the same name as her mother)
I think that Little Edie would have really loved to know one of the famous Barrymore's played her in a biopic, I actually feel like that adds to the campyness. I don't want to go too deep into what Camp is, just because that's not what my blog is about AND I think it's a good opportunity to highlight voices that generally are not heard. I never shut up, so...Here are some good resources about Camp from the LGBT+ community. As Lena Waithe so beautifully pointed out, Black Drag Queens 'Inventend' Camp.- Here is Notes on Camp by Susan Sontag. The people invited to the Met Gala were supposed to read this. I assume quite a few did not!
- Dita Von Tease and Mika preforming Big Girl (You Are Beautiful)
- And of course, Miles Jai cosplaying as The Babadook.
This is a horror blog, so I can't talk extensively about the other campy things I like (Paris is Burning, Mommy Dearest, Batman, Sunset Boulevard). Were going to talk about the greatest genre collab to exist...Horror Camp! Or is it Camp Horror. No, I think Camp Horror is Friday the 13th type of stuff. Sleepaway Camp is a movie that is both Horror Camp and Camp Horror. Anyway, here's a short list of horror/creepy themed campy movies.
- Elvira, Anything Elvira
- Every Evil Dead except the first movie and the remake
- The Addams' Family
- Clue
- Bride of Chucky
- Dracula 2000
- The Rocky Horror Picture Show
- Little Shop of Horrors
- Freddy vs. Jason
So, that's a quick write up about my love of Camp! I really didn't feel like posting anything but my therapist says I need to try to do things I like! So I hope y'all liked it too! I would have worn a Marie Antoinette Costume made out of money if I was invited to the Met Gala, but whatever! More importantly, if you would like to make a donation to the rehabilitation center I talked about earlier, you can do so here. I wish the Met would have made some sort of donation to actually help the community that they took inspiration from, so I feel like it's the least I can do.
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