“I didn’t change; society did,” John Waters told the graduating class of the Rhode Island School of Design (RISD) yesterday at the Rhode Island Convention Center. John aka The People’s Pervert aka The Prince of Puke got an honorary doctorate — but not tenure — as he told the 667 graduates assembled and their families the secrets to his success and exhorted the students to ” “Remember, you must participate in the creative world you want to become part of…. Keep up with what’s causing chaos in your own field…. Read, read, read. Spy, be nosy, eavesdrop!”
Here’s a portion of his speech:
In a recently published interview I conducted for Columbia: A Journal of Art and Literature, Waters discussed how the culture has changed since he made Pink Flamingos:
“That’s the whole point of my films: what parent would be liberal enough to be thrilled for her son in drag eating dog shit [like Divine did]? That was the whole reason Pink Flamingos was successful. Can you imagine if my parents saw this?….Now people bring their children to see Pink Flamingos. It’s amazing how things have changed even though I haven’t, really. My last film got an NC 17 rating. I try to keep up with the times. Carsick and Role Models were both on the New York Times bestseller list. I could have gone to jail for those books in the ’50s. Lenny Bruce went to jail for saying “fuck.” “Howl” was a huge case. It’s amazing what is on cable TV now that makes [Bruce and Allen Ginsberg] look pale.”