Marilyn Manson. The name evokes adoration, controversy, fear, and everything in between. His illustrious career of shocking anyone and everyone that would listen leaves a bold question mark in its wake. Was Marilyn Manson the last truly controversial artist of our time?
Shock rock is embodied by Manson, born in Canton, Ohio and shaped into the Antichrist Superstar by long formative years spent enrolled in Catholic school. His gaunt figure, androgynous by nature, became one of the most recognizable of the 1990's. He created a persona so enormous and controversial that it refused to be ignored. Whether he was ripping pages out of the Holy Bible to devour, desecrating the American flag live in concert, or engaging in self injury by plunging a broken beer bottle into the scarred latticework of his chest, Manson has never failed to make the general population question his every antic.
How important are these symbols he desecrates? Are these items truly valuable, or does the belief we place in them make them meaningful? Manson's goal as an artist has always been, in his own words, to "make people question what they believe in." He has tackled the shame of sexuality, originality, and defying Christian morality. He's been nominated for Grammy awards. He's been blamed for school shootings. The dichotomy of his very existence as an artist is obvious.
During the 1990's, mystery surrounded the enigmatic man. The internet was a relatively new phenomenon. It wasn't as simple as Googling if Marilyn Manson had surgically removed a rib or slaughtered a chicken on stage as a sacrifice to Satan. No one knew just what Hell the Antichrist Superstar had clawed out of, and speculations about wild rumors constantly added to the gargantuan personality he had created.
The Columbine massacre, the subsequent blame hurled at Manson, and the way in which he responded only further cemented him into his shock rock throne. The blame was never his to begin with, but the media loves a good scape goat. Holy Wood (In the Shadow of the Valley of Death) was penned as a social commentary on violence in the media stemming largely from the tragic massacre. His scathing observations on how the media glorifies violence, guns, and religion became the final piece of the triumvirate of his greatest albums-- Antichrist Superstar, Mechanical Animals, and Holy Wood (In the Shadow of the Valley of Death).
Nothing shocks the American public any more. Turn on the news, and you'll be bombarded with images of violence, consumerism, and flagrantly heteronormative sexuality. No one bats an eye at human decay, blood, profanity, or guts. We are desensitized; television created us. We haven't seen anyone provoke the sheer outrage, controversy, and hatred that he has in the past 20 years. There are no artists refusing to flinch and welcoming controversy with open arms without apology like the Antichrist Superstar did. His reputation was created entirely by hearsay, and hating him never truly came down to political views or lyrical content. It came down to hating originality.
You might believe he's done pushing the envelope with the lilting, mature suicide rock of The Pale Emperor, but Marilyn Manson is not done stirring the ashes of the hellfire he's created. He'll continue to live on as the last truly controversial artist of our time in his art. No matter what Say10 tears wide open upon its looming release date, it will incur the wrath and social commentary of the Antichrist Superstar album 20 years its senior.
