Program Length: 1 hour
Produced: 1999

A one-hour video dealing with issues around the shock-rock group.

The video deals with several key questions: Can music influence teens to change their behaviour? Do musicians do outrageous things to help their audience or to sell albums? and, Is a focus on the negative aspects of life a healthy message for beleaguered homeless youth?

This study guide is intended to help viewers process their own preconceptions, reactions and ideas about these issues.

The video is a one-hour conversation between lead singer Marilyn Manson, his fans and critics. While some of these people are supportive, most are critical. The video also includes one Marilyn Manson music video, The Beautiful People, in its entirety.

Some students will know Marilyn Manson well and will be excited about seeing the interview. Some will not know the group at all. Some will be shocked at the promotion of a Satanist point-of-view.

The study guide includes statements made by people appearing on the tape and questions the teacher can use to help viewers process what they have seen and heard. The suggestions may be addressed during the screening, after stopping at intervals, or after the whole tape has been screened.

Not all discussions need to be pursued, nor does the entire tape need to be screened; choose those sections and discussion activities that fit the time and that best match the needs and maturity of the viewers.

1. Before meeting Marilyn Manson, a pre-history of shock-rock is presented in short clips. Alice Cooper sings of dead babies, we see a musician biting the head off a seemingly live bird (an ancient shocking carnival act enacted throughout history by people known as 'geeks'), a guitarist wantonly smashing his guitar and amp, another drooling blood, and one spitting on the camera.

All of these acts are shocking, rebellious, and engrossing. What emotion or idea in fans might these acts appeal to or be symbolic of? [rebellion, anti-authority, need for something new and exciting] Do these images suggest that Marilyn Manson is unique, or part of a long history of shock-rock?

2. "These days you have to go further and further to scare your parents." - Avi Lewis

Why might teens want to scare their parents?
How do some teens scare their parents?
Why do they have to go 'further'?
How could dressing like Marilyn Manson scare someone's parents? What would your parents say or do if you started dressing like Marilyn Manson? Why?

3. Marilyn Manson is described as part cyborg, part self-mutilator, and part minister of the church of Satan. How might these identities be attractive to teens? How might they scare parents? Why?

4. Marilyn Manson's name was carefully selected to combine the concepts of glamour: Marilyn (Monroe), and serial killing, Charles (Manson). The lead singer representing the group is androgynous, or ambiguously sexual (partly male, partly female).

What might people find exciting about his sexual ambiguity? Which other artists have had androgynous identities? [Michael Jackson, David Bowie, Alice Cooper, Twisted Sister] What is there about Marilyn Manson's music that is glamourous and deadly? Is the group glamourous? Is it promoting serial killing or an interest in serial killing? Does the choice of the name 'Marilyn Manson' shock and interest fans?

5. "Is this [Marilyn Manson] the same shock-rock, but voltage-enhanced for the Millennium? or is Marilyn no more than a master marketeer, adding fuel to the corporate machine? or is he the Anti Christ superstar, forcing us to confront our own self-destruction; an intentionally-ugly reflection of ourselves, come to shock us out of our passivity?" - Avi Lewis

Consider each of these questions, determining the extent of their usefulness in understanding the popularity of Marilyn Manson. This statement might be examined at this point in the video or might be more useful if discussed at the end. It might also be the basis for a class debate.

6. "The Beautiful People' talks about the fascism of beauty in America. There is a real status quo -- it's not necessarily what is beautiful or what's ugly but it's popular and I was just attacking the idea that I would rather not fit into their [society's] category, I'd rather make my own." - Marilyn Manson

Is beauty defined by people or by corporations? Look at a copy of a fashion magazine and consider the pressure the ads put on people to conform to someone else's definition of beauty. Read Naomi Wolf's The Beauty Myth for more information and ideas.

7. The Beautiful People music video is included in its entirety. It may be shown on its own (before viewing Too Much). It may be paused and discussed in parts. It may be discussed at its completion. A description of the video and its lyrics follow.

In the video, we see laboratory prosthetics, worms, machines which modify body shape, grotesque human figures distorted out of shape, a fascist speaker (Marilyn) in front of a bank of microphones above a gesturing crowd (similar to Nazi Germany or Fascist Italy). At one point Marilyn Manson turns the crowd upside down, which may also be seen as a visual metaphor for the distortion and control he has expressed about our having our beauty defined by others.

Discuss the possible meaning of these images.  The lyrics:

The Beautiful People
I don't want you and I don't need you
don't bother to resist, I'll beat you
It's not your fault that you're always wrong
the weak ones are there to justify the strong
the beautiful people, the beautiful people
it's all relative to the size of your steeple
you can't see the forest for the trees
you can't smell your own (deleted) on your knees
Hey you, what do you see?
something beautiful, something free?
hey you, are you trying to be mean?
if you live with apes man, it's hard to be clean
there's no time to discriminate,
hate every (deleted) that's in your way
the worms will live in every host
it's hard to pick which one they eat most
the horrible people, the horrible people
it's as anatomic as the size of your steeple
capitalism has made it this way,
old-fashioned fascism will take it away
(chorus)

Identify and discuss the rebellious messages in the lyrics.
Identify and discuss the fascist references in the lyrics.

"it's all relative to the size of your steeple" Is this a reference to the choice and power of one's religion? How could different religions influence a person's individuality?

"you can't smell your own (deleted) on your knees"
Could this be a reference to people's subjugation and degradation by fascist forces?

Which communicate the rebel and fascist messages more effectively, the lyrics, the music, or the video? Why?

Describe the most lasting image in the video (the image that remains in your memory). Why do you think that image stayed in your memory? What does that image say about rebellion and fascism? What does that image say about individualism? What does that image say about the video's ability to shock?

The panel:
Greg Quill - Music Journalist/TV Critic, Toronto Star
Lynn Crosbie - Professor/Poet
Mark Kingwell - Philosophy Professor/Author
Tim Huff - Singer/Youth Counsellor
Chris O'Connor - Columnist eye/Chart Magazine

8. "I got tired of looking at the world through my own scar tissue." - Chris O'Connor

Chris is a 'recovering goth.' What is a Goth? What is a recovering goth? What does it mean to look at the world through your own scar tissue? Why would that be tiring?

9. Look at Marilyn Manson's bodyguard. Why do you think he needs a bodyguard? What is the effect of the bodyguard wearing sunglasses (unlike anyone else in the studio)? What is the effect of the bodyguard wearing a suit and tie rather than leather, like Marilyn Manson? Does the bodyguard's presence make Marilyn Manson seem more important, or dangerous?

10. Question: How can you claim to be subversive while still working in the mainstream?

"We've always set out to be part of the mainstream because that's the only way you can change what it is." - Marilyn Manson

What is wrong with the mainstream that needs to be changed? How can Marilyn Manson change the mainstream from the inside?

Previous MuchMusic programs have examined the work of Todd Rundgren and Neil Young, both of whom have tried to change the mainstream. Have they been able to change the mainstream from the outside? Why?

11. Question: Is Anti-Christ Superstar [Marilyn Manson's album] a mockery of Christian American culture or a prophecy of things to come?

"I'm trying to bring people closer to themselves, and that may be further from God, but I think that's a good thing -- I think that makes them stronger." - Marilyn Manson

Why might Marilyn Manson think that people who are close to God are weak? How can moving away from God make someone stronger? How does Marilyn Manson's answer connect with the philosophy of Satanism?

12. "The greatest needs of those in the street are hope, trust and dignity. I've studied your stuff pretty carefully and there are no signs of it [hope, trust and dignity]." - Tim Huff

"Christianity breeds weakness because you're putting faith in something you can't put your hands on. I think that people have to believe in themselves because that's all they have to believe in and I think that's a positive thing." - Marilyn Manson

Who is helping homeless teens more, Tim Huff or Marilyn Manson? Why?

13. "Goths are not drowning. People who express themselves in this way are a lot less likely to drown than people who are sitting down repressed who don't talk about it." - Audience member

Are Marilyn Manson fans dealing with their rebellion in a healthy way?
Are they healthier than people who keep their feelings bottled up inside? Why?

14. "America is very fascist, but it disguises that in the form of MTV and commerciality. But they [corporations and government] are often telling you what you want and what you don't want. The idea of individualism is a farce [in America]. So I've made a point of telling people, almost cynically, the relationship between music and fascism." Marilyn Manson What is the relationship between music and fascism that Marilyn Manson is describing? How does this relationship reduce people's self-expression?

15. "If you face your demons you can become a better person. Here you have someone who is facing up to the dark things that are definitely reality and is not afraid to reflect that." Audience member How can you become a better person by facing your demons? How does Marilyn Manson's performance in The Beautiful People help people face their demons?

16. "The funny thing is that we live in a country that makes Jesse James a hero and he was just as much a serial killer as Ted Bundy. Serial killers are sexy. You want to blame something? You blame that, that square machine right there [television] because that's what makes serial killers sexy." - Marilyn Manson

How has television made serial killers sexy?
Why are people so interested in serial killers?
Might Marilyn Manson have connected the band's name to serial killers because he hoped it would attract an audience?

17. "Young people don't understand. They see Marilyn Manson as a hero/role model, and therefore would see self-mutilation and serial killers as sexy or cool." - Tim Huff

At what age are children able to distinguish between Marilyn Manson's portrayal of self-mutilation and serial killers as metaphorical (this is the way society is treating people) rather than literal (this is a good thing to do to yourself)? How can those who don't see the metaphor be protected? How does this episode of TooMuch4Much help people understand that Marilyn Manson does not want them to practise self-mutilation?

18. Look at the MuchMusic studio audience. How many persons of colour do you see? What is the balance between males and females? What might that tell us about Marilyn Manson's audience? Why might persons of colour be less interested in Marilyn Manson than whites? How would persons of colour achieve/express their individuality?

19. "If we look at him as a man or an icon, it's up to you, and it's pretty sad if we blame him for everybody's trouble." - Audience member

Does Marilyn Manson's music cause teens to feel ugly and hopeless or is the music a symptom of the problems society is causing for teens? Is Marilyn Manson to blame for people's problems or is he helping them understand them?

20. Because of the differing musical tastes and religions represented in the classroom, there will be different reactions. One way to give these reactions a voice is to have students self-select into groups of like-minded responders, discuss their reactions, then articulate statements that represent their responses. Group identities might be the Fundamentalist Christian response, the Catholic response, the Muslim response, the Satanist response, etc.

These responses can be made in writing or as oral presentations to the rest of the class.

Written by: Neil Andersen
Neil Andersen is an award-winning Curriculum Consultant with the Toronto District School Board. He is also a speaker and consultant in media and communications technology. His most recent work includes the Between the Lines CDs, the teachers' study guide for the award-winning Scanning Television, and study guides for Space, Bravo! and MuchMusic's Cable in the Classroom broadcasts of original media literacy programming.

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