John Waters at Rhode Island School of Design (Video)

Notes:

• Remember, a No is free. Ask for the world and pay no mind if you are initially turned down. A career in the arts is like a hitchhiking trip: All you need is one person to say “Get in” and off you go. And then the confidence begins.
• Watch every movie that gets a negative review in the New York Times and figure out what the director did wrong.
• Read, read, read!
• Watch people on the streets. Spy, be nosy, eavesdrop.
• You need to prepare sneak attacks on society.
• Listen to your political enemies, especially the smart ones, and then figure out a way to make them laugh. Nobody likes a bore on a soapbox. Humor is always the best defense and weapon. If you can make an idiot laugh, they’ll at least pause and listen before they do something stupid – to you.
• Refuse to isolate yourself. Separatism is for losers.
• Don’t hate all rich people. They’re not all awful. Believe me, I know some evil poor people, too.
• I’m also sorry to report there’s no such thing as karma. So many of my talented great friends are dead and so many of the fools I’ve met and loathed are still alive. It’s not fair, and it never will be.
• Horrify us with new ideas.
• Outrage outdated critics. Use technology for transgression, not lazy social living.