Manson Essay, Research Paper

Marilyn Manson is a name that one hears everywhere they go. Today’s media is constantly reporting on Marilyn Manson’s controversial looks, shows, and religious beliefs. Manson’s controversial nature has gained him much infamousy in the media world today.

Many people believe that Marilyn Manson is strange, considering he wears various women’s clothing, heavy makeup, and loads of large jewelry. Many oppose his shows, because of reports of Satanic rituals, bodily harm inflicted on himself and on others, and sexual acts performed on stage. On top of that, one of the biggest groups of those who are not partial to Marilyn Manson is the Christian Church. The Church feels that Manson is an extremely bad influence on Christians and other religious groups because he belongs to and is a minister of the Church of Satan, which was formed in 1966 by Anton Szandzer LaVey.

Those who support Marilyn Manson claim that he encourages them to stand up for themselves and their rights according to the First Amendment. They view him as highly superior, and anyone who views anyone else in such a way can only extract the positives from the experience. Not everyone who is a Manson fan is anti-Christian — as a matter of fact, Manson has many Christian fans. Listening to Marilyn Manson can not transform a person into an evil being. It is the listener’s choice as to whether or not he wants to live a certain way.

True, Manson’s concerts are not the most timid events in the world, and certainly these concerts are not for some people. Those who are very religious or patriotic may be offended by Manson’s actions, but those who view it as just an act and those who like the music will definitely enjoy the show. Going to a Marilyn Manson concert will not make someone a bad person, or a Satanist. Like any other event out there, it is strictly for entertainment purposes only and although it may be a very shocking experience, no one is being horribly harmed by attending.

Marilyn Manson opposers have filed numerous reports and affidavits against him and his concerts. These reports have been widely spread across the media, leading people to believe statements which were later proven to be falsified. Counterfeit affidavits were created, published, and sent to various media sources. Certain statements included in these reports were ones such as these from an Oklahoma male:

When the band took the stage the female guitar player came out

naked except for very thin see through panties…Manson brought a dog out on stage and had intercourse with it. The band asked the crowd to get on the floor and have sex. I heard them talk to the crowd about doing rape on young girls and boys;

Drugs were constantly being passed out from the front to the back; I saw band members have real and simulated sex with each other. During a Satanic Church Service Manson talked about killing animals as a sacrifice, preached from the Satanic Bible and gave an invitation to accept Satan as Lord by coming forward to an altar; I witnessed sexual intercourse and sexual activity by people in the

concert, not just on the stage, and I saw more than two dozen people being taken out of the concert because of injury (Manson and Strauss 246).

Another falsified affidavit from another Oklahoma male claims: Manson will come out on stage dragging a big bag…I have witnessed Manson pull out small chickens, several puppies and kittens out of the bag and throw them into the audience. These are live animals… Manson will then tell the audience to make a sacrifice to the music and he will not start the show until all the animals are dead;

I witnessed the crowd ripping the animals apart, pulling body parts off the torso of the animals. They would bleed to death or be smashed into the ground;

Manson has a team he calls his private Santa Clauses. They come at the crowd from the sides and throw out bags of pot and cocaine throughout the entire audience front to back;

Manson always exposes himself in each concert and the female is always nude in every concert;

I witnessed Marilyn Manson bring a little boy up on stage who was celebrating his tenth birthday. Manson sang Happy Birthday to him and then had this little boy stand on stage while Manson performed sexual acts…while asking the little boy if he would like to do this and would he like to do this;

I witnessed the security guards throwing out dozens of condoms into the crowd while Manson ordered the crowd to have sex with anyone;

I witnessed the Manson security guards giving liquid ecstasy to children…I have witnessed children having sex in the audience at Marilyn Manson concerts;

I have witnessed Marilyn Manson perform a Satanic Church service toward the end of the concert in which he preaches from the Satanic Bible;

During the concert I witnessed Manson bring on underaged… teenagers out on stage and out them into a cage. The cage is then put out into the audience and Manson wants the crowd to beat on those inside the cage (Manson and Strauss 254-58).

The information in these affidavits have been proven false: a) there is no female guitarist in Marilyn Manson and the Spooky Kids–all band members are male; therefore, the “female guitarist” could not have been naked on stage; b) there are certain age limits as to who can enter the shows and who cannot–no one under the age of 13 is permitted into Manson’s shows; c) band members are not permitted to have sex on stage–Marilyn Manson and the Spooky Kids would be arrested on the grounds that indecent exposure is illegal; d) no animals are killed on stage–Manson would be arrested on the grounds that it is illegal to harm any living creature and it is considered animal abuse; e) security guards and police would have confiscated all drugs, leading to the arrest of Manson for possession of illegal substances (Manson and Strauss 261).

Another incident concerning a T-shirt was altered to make it seem as if the T-shirt had read “Kill your parents and kill a dog”, when it actuality it had read:

Warning: The music of Marilyn Manson may contain messages that will KILL GOD in your impressionable teenage minds. As a result, you could be convinced to KILL YOUR MOM & DAD and eventually in a hopeless act of suicidal ‘rock and roll’ behavior you will KILL YOURSELF. So please burn your records while there’s still hope (Manson and Strauss 259-61).

Other supposed happenings at Marilyn Manson concerts included several knives, box cutting tools, and bottles of alcohol being confiscated from fans, Manson spitting on the audience and asking that they do the same to him, and a stage set which “featured two very large angels speared through the back with spikes…then mounted upright so that the speared nude angels where [sic] hanging in mid-air” (Eye-witness Accounts 2), the band playing Christian hymns while tearing the Bible into pieces, and Manson simulating wiping himself between the legs with an American flag (Miller 1).

However, Marilyn Manson takes no responsibility for any blame he receives for any incident a fan may participate in. Manson states, ” Parents should raise their kids to listen to an album and know the difference between reality and fantasy.” (Eye-Witness Accounts 2)

Marilyn Manson is not the only rocker to face such issues as the ones he receives almost every day from concert venues, television stations, and radio stations. Ozzy Osbourne, who bit the head off of numerous animals such as doves and bats in the 70s; Alice Cooper, who was criticized for his wearing of heavy face make-up and strange attire; and even Elvis Presley, who was banned from television in the 50s because of the way he moved his hips when he danced, all suffered the same problems as Marilyn Manson (Mirapaul 1). Osbourne, Cooper, and Presley were so appalling in their time; however, they weren’t classified as detestable as Manson seems to be today. Of course, Elvis’ actions weren’t nearly as horrifying as the claims of Manson’s actions, considering all of the techno and club dancing one does today. Manson’s makeup and clothing are much more revealing and disturbing than anything Alice Cooper ever wore. Ozzy’s dove incident was appalling, needless to say, but so far it has not been proven that Manson has ever done anything of the sort, despite numerous invalid claims.

So far, Manson has not caused hurt or death to anyone, except a few physical and emotional scars he may have inflicted upon himself. No one has done anything too drastic and claimed he did it for Manson, or Manson told him to do it in his music. No one has been given any mental distress from Manson that we know of. And until Manson’s shock-rock concerts do cause some kind of unruly event, Marilyn Manson should be free to continue to please his dedicated fans.