The_Film_That_Changed_My_Life

280 John Waters
And then, the seldom seen Roman Candles.
Waters: Oh yeah, they are reading the book!
Are there any more overt ones?
Waters: I’m trying to think. In Desperate Living there’s a Wicked Queen.
Well, every day of my life I wear striped socks a lot. Actually, Commes des
Garçons this year had women’s shoes that looked exactly like that. They were
curled up, so if you wore them, they stuck up in the air. Remember how the
witch’s shoes shrink? That’s one of my favorite shots, and the close-up of her
hands with electricity.
Still, to this day, that’s creepy.
Waters: That’s a great shot. And talk about an entrance, my God! “Who
killed my sister!”
One of the things I’m always amazed at is the range of films that this
has had an effect on. From David Lynch’s Wild at Heart to—
Waters: That’s so great, and Tim Burton’s films as well. Oddly enough, it’s
way more influential in America than in Europe. They know the film in
Europe, but not like here.
What is it then, in America, that makes the movie stick as such a huge
influence?
Waters: Because it was surreal and it was magical and it was trippy. We
saw it when we were young, and it had good villains and one of the most
famous songs in a movie ever. And great surrealism: “How about a little
fire, Scarecrow?” When the winged monkeys fly, and rip out the straw!
It’s surrealistic.
My mother, to this day, is still scared of those monkeys.
Waters: I think kids are the most scared when the trees grab back the apples.
Kids freak when that happens; they cry.
Why do you think it’s become associated with the gay community, as
being a “gay classic”?