Short of the Week: a John Waters cult classic
Ever since he started making films, John Waters has been hailed as one of the boldest filmmakers in the history of American cinema. Fondly called the ‘Pope of Trash’, Waters’ unique approach to filmmaking revolutionised the art of camp, bringing a new wave of critical appreciation to a delightful form of expression that had been regularly maligned. Uncompromising and wonderfully transgressive, Waters’ films continue to be lauded by film fans all over the world.
While Waters produced several fascinating gems over the course of his illustrious career, his best work was made in collaboration with Divine. Among the most iconic artists of his generation, Divine delivered career-defining performances in masterpieces like Pink Flamingos and Female Trouble. The perfect star for Waters’ subversive art, Divine’s campy drag outings made him one of the most interesting figures within the LGBTQ+ community.
In a recent interview with AnOther, Waters said: “I think every drag queen now has been influenced by Divine: almost none of them are square like they were when we were growing up. Back then, they all wanted to be Miss America. Now they all have an attitude, they have an act, and they have a certain rage in them. To me, drag kings do that better sometimes now, because they can sometimes pass even better [as the gender they’re sending up], and that makes them scarier to people. And so I think there still is a way for drag to surprise people.”
When asked about what Divine would be doing in today’s climate, Waters responded: “He would be on the show as a judge, and he would be a man. Divine was not trans: he had no desire to be a woman, though he would be for the [trans] movement and the freedom of it. But Divine was an actor; towards the end [of his life], he wore expensive men’s clothes… he would go to drag concerts with a chainsaw and scars on his face. Other drag queens hated him because they knew he was making fun of drag, but in a new way, and especially because he was overweight. No other drag queen was like that at the time.”
Although Divine and Waters definitely worked on several wonderful projects together that are still celebrated, one of them is almost forgotten now. Titled The Diane Linkletter Story, it’s a ten-minute short that was completely improvised. The film starred Divine as the titular figure, the daughter of the well-known TV personality Art Linkletter who committed suicide by jumping out of the window of her apartment on the sixth floor.
Waters’ film is a fictionalised version of the event, presenting Linkletter’s hyper-dramatic conflict with his daughter. Almost made like one of those old American PSAs about the dangers of drugs, it parodies the fact that Art Linkletter blamed the death of his daughter on youth culture and the use of LSD. Once referred to Waters by the worst film he ever made, The Diane Linkletter Story is proof that the director could generate comedic value from a simple camera test.
Watch the film below.
