An inordinate amount of gore and blood, terrible acting or cheesy dialogue – the word “camp” means different things to different people.
To communication studies professor John LeBret, who is teaching a class next semester called “Camp, Kitsch and Trash,” the term can be described as movies that are embraced for their bad taste.
“It’s about having fun, but it’s also about being smart and poking fun at culture,” LeBret said.
Jason Langlois, the bar manager for the Manship Theatre, picks the films for the theater’s campy movie event, the “Films in event.”
Langlois said “super fans” of the genre can gather at the theater to drink beer and enjoy the movies. He said the films expose a younger audience to the theater that they might not have visited otherwise.
The events are usually held twice a month, and Langlois said the next scheduled date is a Dec. 8 showing of “Killer Klowns from Outer Wolfman” embody the elements of campy films.
“The camp — it’s so ridiculous, it makes them awesome,” Cortez said.
She said “The Wolfman,” a more recent example of a campy movie, has its own artistic qualities, like the award-winning make-up techniques.
Civil engineering sophomore Austin Grant said he was more drawn to specific scenes in movies, like one of the final moments in the movie “Kick-Ass,” which shows Nicolas Cage being burned alive in a chair.
“I think they were serious, but me and my friends thought it was hilarious,” he said.
Grant also mentioned films like “The Happening” that feature over-the-top gore that was borderline comedic.
“‘The Happening’ wasn’t good,” he said. “It wasn’t horrible, but it wasn’t