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Miss Poppy reviews Marilyn Manson's memoirs.
  According to the papers, in junior high and high schools across the country, students have paired off into two opposing groups, Bible believing Christians and devotees of artist Marilyn Manson. Since, as far as school curricula goes, prayer is in and music appreciation is out, we should not be surprised.
But parents have little to fear from a man that looks less a cross between Marilyn Monroe and Charles Manson than early Boy George and wicked witch of the west Margaret Hamilton. In fact, if Bible believing Christians believe Marilyn Manson, and his mentor Anton LaVey, to exemplify evil, then Christians have no idea what evil really is.
M. Manson's autobiographical potboiler, THE LONG HARD ROAD OUT OF HELL has all the gritty, brutal shock value of a Charles Bukowski novel with none of the poetry. Manson makes evil seem cheap and silly. If you see your teen reading this book, rip it from his hands immediately and replace it with Bukowski's HAM ON RYE, or FACTOTEM, or even POST OFFICE, books guaranteed to hone teen angst into a fine, cutting tool. [Click on the books to the left to order from Amazon]
A product of Christian schools, M. Manson has not fallen far from the tree. He has sprouted from the Christian imagination, a worthy prop of television ministries. I would not be at all surprised that if they simply ignored him, he would fade away. But it is certain that they will not, as they need him as much as he needs them.
I'd like to believe that behind M. Manson's dark gesticulation is anything besides common, ordinary rebellion. But if there is any real creativity there, the book does not allude to it. M. Manson presents himself as a hapless pawn in the way of a few incredibly stupid people. The "evil" that he perpetrates with them is junior high school stuff, mean-spirited and executed simply to get a rise. If M. Manson believes in anything he doesn't express it in this book.
To be sure, he is "antichristian" and as the flip side of the Christian right, is about as interesting. M. Manson is the perfect cautionary tale against forcing children to partake in religious exercises in which they have no interest. Prayer in school makes those participating into hypocrites and causes the many who don't to learn early to despise the practice and the faith behind it.
M. Manson has strong marketing skills, which any successful artist needs. If he could get beyond the commonness of his complaints I believe he could become an accomplished artist. If he does not, he is doomed to age badly into his make-up, sign autographs for pre-teens in dilapidated malls, and sing his oldies until he wants to claw his eyes out. Sounds like Hell to me, or TBN.
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