Everyone needs someone bad to look up to, a filth elder. – John Waters
I watched John Water’s This Filthy World the other night. First of all, if you’re a fan of any John Water’s stuff, I highly recommend this one man show, reminiscent of An Evening With Kevin Smith. It’s incredibly entertaining, and informative. I’ve studied film (and in particular film history) for so many years, but there’s always more to learn. I think that this show gave so much more insight into the early days of vaudeville film making than even the Starz documentary, In The Gutter.
But the the line that heads up this blog is what really caught my attention, when I was watching this show. I think John is 100% on the mark there. We all need a filth elder, a person who introduces us to comedy that your parents wouldn’t necessarily approve of (unless you have parents like me), comedy that pushes boundaries and teaches you to look beyond the surface of the world. For me, it was George Carlin.
Carlin wasn’t my first exposure to ‘blue’ comedy, mind you. I grew up watching all kinds of it. Eddie Murphy, Richard Pryor, Sam Kinison, and many others. But George is the first one who made me stop just laughing at the brilliant things coming out of these people, and really listen to what they were saying. He showed me that there was a whole world beneath the surface, a world where people knew that filters and all the bullshit in our lives, didn’t have to be there all the time.
Carlin understood something that a lot of comedians (Bill Hicks in particular) didn’t get. Most of us have to live in that bullshit world. We have to wade through it, and try not to let too much of it stick. But most of us can’t just turn our filters off, and revel in honest true dialogue, 24/7. George taught me that it was OK to live in that world, and I shouldn’t think badly of myself for it, as long as I switched the filter off whenever possible, and spent some time in the world as it should be.
Lenny Bruce said, “The liberals can understand everything but people who don’t understand them.” That makes so much sense to me. I listen to conservative types talking about things like stem cell research, abortion issues and gay marriage, and I just don’t get it! They can’t all be stupid, but why can’t they see something as simple and true as what Carlin, Bruce, and many others see. The world shouldn’t have to live by their definitions of good and bad, by their notions of what is and isn’t acceptable, by the rules of their exalted book. I know right and wrong, because I have a conscience, not because they tell me what’s right. I try not to hurt others, and to help when I can. I do my part to raise a child and be a productive (in a non-consumer fashion) member of society. I don’t need them to tell me how to live, to accomplish that. I prefer to use my own brain.
Carlin’s tied to Lenny are long spelled out. They both knew what it was to speak their mind, and go to jail for it (even together once). I remember, when I first found out about the history they shared, thinking how much sense it made. I also remember wishing I was with them that night, at the Gate of Horn. I wanted to be one of those people, screaming that the first amendment exists, whether politicians want it to or not. And to this day, I still try to teach my son the most important thing that George Carlin ever taught me, there is no such thing as bad language.
Which brings me to another topic, and that’s music. Some people would complain about the kind of language your finding in regular top 40 music today. Hell, Sara Bareilles, Maroon 5, Katy Perry, Pink; these aren’t rappers going on about banging ho’s, but they still put words in their songs that have to get blanked or dubbed out on many major radio stations. But, unlike those people whining that they are screwing with their kids, by introducing them to ‘blue’ language, I say… give us more! I drive my car down the street, singing La Vie Boheme (from Rent), Pink’s U + UR Hand or Cuz I Can, and The Real Slim Shady, at the top of my lungs. And I don’t download the edited versions, and I don’t quiet down when a ‘bad word’ comes up.
You might be one of the handful of people in this world who doesn’t use that language, but I have news for you ‘Joe the plumber’ types, the rest of us fucking do! And if people use a word, it has as much place in any form of media, as any other word in Webster’s big book. I love the English language. I have had a love affair with it since I was a child (even before I won the school spelling bee in 4th grade). I love all of it, the ‘good’ words and the ‘bad’ words. They all have a place in this world, and trying to hide and demonize them, only serves to further the ignorance seeping through our society. And you know what that leads to, ladies and gentlemen. Yep, that’s right, Idiocracy! You know it gave you chills too. 
I’d like to think I would’ve learned all of this on my own, but I wonder sometimes if I would’ve. Thankfully, I had a filth elder who taught me the true meaning of a love of language. I only wish I could’ve met him, and thanked him, for being my ambassador of critical thinking. 
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