velvetoceansound Posted July 2, 2002 Share Posted July 2, 2002 I think I know what the word means, but not enough to use it. Is it intentionally cheezy in order to poke fun at someone/something (i.e. spinal tap), or is it an honest effort that, as a result of an over-effort, it just turns out aweful? (i.e. Celline Dion, Micheal Bolton) Someone once told me that Evil Dead was campy, but I never saw it. Does anyone have any music analogies? Thanks for the insight. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
nursers Posted July 2, 2002 Share Posted July 2, 2002 Um, campy down here means to act effeminate, as in the media sterotype of a gay man. A common saying applied to a gay guy who is similar to the stereotype is that he is 'camper than a row of tents' So therefore, music examples would be: Barbra Streisand George Michael Bronski Beat :) The Keyboard Chronicles Podcast Check out your fellow forumites in an Apple Music playlist Check out your fellow forumites in a Spotify playlist My Music: Stainless Fields Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mark Zeger Posted July 2, 2002 Share Posted July 2, 2002 It's like the saying about pornography: "it's hard to define, but I know it when I see it". An act with an over-the-top flamboyance, sometimes to the point of self-parody, is campy. The "Be Our Guest" sequence in "Beauty and the Beast" is campy. Dame Edna is campy. William Shatner singing in the Priceline ads is campy. "Rocky Horror" is campy. Aging divas are campy (think Diana Ross, Liza Minnelli). The term sometimes has a gay connotation. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rog Posted July 2, 2002 Share Posted July 2, 2002 [quote]Originally posted by velvetoceansound: [b]I think I know what the word means, but not enough to use it. Is it intentionally cheezy in order to poke fun at someone/something (i.e. spinal tap), or is it an honest effort that, as a result of an over-effort, it just turns out aweful? (i.e. Celline Dion, Micheal Bolton) Someone once told me that Evil Dead was campy, but I never saw it. Does anyone have any music analogies? Thanks for the insight.[/b][/quote]Camp has it's roots in Baudelaire's Dandy - the anachronistic aristocrat who lives for clothes and the finer things in life. Camp isn't neccessarily gay - I've met a few people I'd call camp that were 100% hetero. Similarly, I've met gay people who were not camp. Campiness is defined by a distancing of the subject from his or her predicament. This distance allows a camp sensibility to take over as stark reality diminishes. "That's what the internet is for. Slandering others anonymously." - Banky Edwards. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
offramp Posted July 2, 2002 Share Posted July 2, 2002 As John Waters explained it to Homer Simpson: "Camp?.....The tragically humorous?......The humorously tragic?" Homer: "OH!...right...right..." I've upped my standards; now, up yours. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tedster Posted July 2, 2002 Share Posted July 2, 2002 I suppose one could use it either way. I've always heard something was "campy" if it was unintentionally cheesy. But, I've heard the "gay" connotation as well. Kinda lends a whole new meaning to "Camp Springs", doesn't it? "Cisco Kid, was a friend of mine" Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
The Bear Jew Posted July 2, 2002 Share Posted July 2, 2002 I hate camp. Too many bugs and the food sucks. Plus, I get homesick. Taaaaake me home, oh muddda fadda, taaaake me home... don't leave me in the forest where I could be eaten by a bearrrrrrrrrr.... Oh wait.... I thought you meant the Camp at The Y. My bad. Either way, I think my above statement applies. \m/ Erik "To fight and conquer in all your battles is not supreme excellence; supreme excellence consists of breaking the enemy's resistance without fighting." --Sun Tzu Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Skip_dup1 Posted July 3, 2002 Share Posted July 3, 2002 I had no clue about the gay connotation (I guess I should be relieved). I was aware of it strictly as refering to ham actors, overserious but cheaply done films, badly choreographed dancing with bombastic music in all the wrong places. Needless to say, the public often eats it up. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bobro Posted July 3, 2002 Share Posted July 3, 2002 Hmmm.....it's actually a really good question. Read a book all about Kitsch, years ago, which seemed to be based on the premise that Kitsch="the denial of shit", which is a cool definition but I like Stanislaw Lem's definition of Kitsch as what happens when all that was once holy, sacred, meaningful, gets turned into mass-consumption products. Camp is related I guess but I think the main difference is that Camp is completely intended, deliberate and ironic, while Kitsch is unintended. Never associated either one with "gay", but thinking about it, Camp is a really good place to be openly gay in the arts, where all of us straight or gay or whatever, audience and artists, can wink at each other and just be people enjoying a show together for a change. It's very difficult to [i]really[/i] know what an artist's intentions are, they could be dead serious or laughing their asses off in their hearts (there's some anatomy) and the outward effect might seem the same. But you can only judge by the effect it has on you, so here's my rule of thumb: Kitsch is when I'm laughing AT the tackiness, Camp is when I'm laughing WITH the tackiness. I'd call "My Dinner with Andre" Kitsch and "Star Wars Ep.2" Camp for example. -Bobro Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tiny G Posted July 3, 2002 Share Posted July 3, 2002 Just finished some stuff I would consider "Campy" http://www.615musiclibrary.com/html/cddetails.cfm?cdid=100039 Tiny G Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RangerJay Posted July 4, 2002 Share Posted July 4, 2002 Steve Martin's performance in "Little Shop of Horrors" is camp at its best. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dwarf Posted July 4, 2002 Share Posted July 4, 2002 You wanna know what campy is? Liberace. -- Rob I have the mind of a criminal genius.....I keep it in the freezer next to mother. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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