Personal Brand of Marilyn Manson: the King of the Dark
Name: Marilyn Manson (Brian Hugh Warner)
Job: musician, singer, songwriter, artist
Career duration: 1989-present
Country: the USA
Net worth (for 2018): $25 Million
“The villain is the one with real passion.”
He is an American icon, a heavy metal rock’n’roll star who sold more than 50m albums, at the same time, a middle-aged man who still keeps and enjoys his “goth stage”, writes that kind of songs you might expect from a narcissistic teenager with antisocial behaviour issues, doesn’t have kids and family. Moreover, Marlin Manson is an interesting and intelligent commentator on America’s obsessions of violence and celebrity.
Marilyn Manson has made a career off of preserving his persona; of manufacturing a macabre marvel who has been known to cause a range of outrageous offences during his time as a musician. From pissing on punters to defiling groupies with hot dogs and pigs feet; from becoming an honorary member of the Church of Satan, to smoking bones to get high. He has built an image and reputation for himself as the King of the Dark.
This dark and frightening image of Marilyn Manson made him an icon, brought him popularity and created a huge community, a certain style of life and music. But what is behind all these?
What does he represent
The first thing that comes to our minds with his name is Satanist. Actually, he is a fan of Anton Lavey, who founded the Church Of Satan. Manson is also a fan of Aleister Crowley who has been described as the “highest-profile Satanist ever.”
Marilyn Manson is best known for his music and style. He became popular with records released in the 1990s, such as Antichrist Superstar and Mechanical Animals, which (along with his public image) earned him a reputation in media as a controversial person with negative influence on young people. In the U.S., three of the band’s albums have been awarded platinum status and three more have been awarded gold, and the band has eight releases debut in the top ten, including two number-one albums. Manson has been ranked number 44 in the “Top 100 Heavy Metal Vocalists” by Hit Parader, and, along with his band, has been nominated for four Grammy Awards.
Along with performing, Marilyn also occasional actor. He made his big screen debut in the 1997 David Lynch film “Lost Highway” and more recently has been on “Sons of Anarchy” and “Eastbound and Down”.
In the early 2000s, Manson declared himself as a watercolor painter, in 1999 he made five-minute concept pieces and sold them to drug dealers. On September 13–14, 2002, his first show, The Golden Age of Grotesque, was held at the Los Angeles Contemporary Exhibitions Centre. Art in America’s Max Henry likened them to the works of a “psychiatric patient given materials to use as therapy” and said his work would never be taken seriously in a fine art context, writing that the value was “in their celebrity, not the work”. On September 14–15, 2004, Manson held the second exhibition in Paris and Berlin. The show was named ‘Trismegistus’ which was also the title of the centrepiece of the exhibit — a large, three-headed Christ painted onto an antique wood panel from a portable embalmers table. He has coined a slogan for the movement: “We will sell our shadow to those who stand within it.” Marilyn owns an art gallery in Los Angeles called the Celebritarian Corporation Gallery of Fine Art.
Throughout all his career, Manson has supported various charitable causes. In 2002, Manson supported a Make-A-Wish foundation project, in which he invited sixteen-year-old Andrew Baines’ — whose wish was to perform back-up with a big band — to perform back-up vocals for his album “The Golden Age of Grotesque”. He contributed to Oxfam’s 2013 “Rumble in the Jumble” event, which raised money to aid victims of domestic and sexual abuse in the Democratic Republic of the Congo. He has supported various organizations — such as Music for Life and Little Kids Rock — which enable access to musical instruments and education to children of low-income families. He has also worked with Project Nightlight, a group that encourages children and teenagers to speak out against physical and sexual abuse.
3 Personal Branding traits
1) “Marilyn Manson” is not the name of a person, but of all what Brian Warner has created.
The main part of Marilyn Manson’s Personal Brand is, actually, his name itself. The name “Marilyn Manson” is formed by a juxtaposition of two opposing American pop cultural icons: Marilyn Monroe and Charles Manson.
In a certain way, his brand was created before he started his music career. In one of his interviews, Manson told, that back at journalism college he wrote his very first article about “Marilyn Manson”. He wrote it as Brian Warner, and that was in part why he had to have a stage name. Manson believes, that he created “a Frankenstein’s monster”. There was Marilyn Manson, but there was no music yet.
“I created a fake world maybe because I didn’t like the one I was living in. But that’s what made me make music. I had to fill in the gaps I’d created.”
Since his band started getting big, Marilyn Manson was extremely insistent about not being Brian Warner. When arrested in Jacksonville in the mid-90s, he sent a death threat to a reporter, over the chance the guy might reveal his real name. He also directly insults Brian Warner in a song, editing the lyrics of “Rock ’N’ Roll Nigger” in his cover. While many cleaners in 97/98, however, he wrote his autobiography. However, it’s been stated that even his family calls him now Manson, not Brian.
Manson has mentioned on at least two occasions that he trademarked the name. In the interview at the 2015 Cannes Lions Festival, he said: “I trademarked the name ‘Marilyn Manson’ the same way as Walt Disney and Mickey Mouse. It’s not a stage name. It’s not my legal name … Marilyn Manson is owned by Brian Warner, my real name.”
The records of the United States Patent and Trademark Office show that Warner registered four trademarks of the name between 1994 and 1999, protecting entertainment services, merchandising and branding.
2) Signature style
Grotesque, dark, eccentric — all these are about his style. Both in outfits and music. There is no Marlin Manson without makeup, outfits and shocking performance.
“I wanna look like I’m dead but people still wanna fuck me” — that’s how Marilyn Manson describes himself. Well, seems like he knows what to do and does it very well.
Manson is almost unrecognizable without his trademark makeup. He uses Christian Dior foundation, Aquacolor for the blue, and a mixture for the black. Manson also wears two different colour contact lenses in both eyes, each with a different sized pupil. Manson does this as a tribute to David Bowie, who suffered from anisocoria, a condition where one pupil is permanently dilated; which also creates the illusion that both eyes are different colours.
In his performances he always tries to shock people. This shock-effect in a way is the base of his whole picture.
During one of his early concerts, Manson hired a pregnant looking actress to iron out the wrinkles on a Nazi flag on stage. She then sat on the ironing board and pretended to perform an abortion on herself. If you want to shock people, Nazis and abortion will do it.
In 1995 during a concert in San Francisco, the singer plunged a broken beer bottle into his chest. In his autobiography, Manson recalled “dragging it across [his] skin until it reached the other side.” He also counted over 450 scars all other his body, which is left after his numerous concerts when he hurt himself in front of the audience.
3) Myths and scandals always come along with Marilyn Manson
Once Marilyn Manson steps in the light at any occasion, people start to whisper and tell one each other crazy gossips and rumours about him. That he has removed several ribs to be able to please himself orally, that he smoked bones, that once he injected heroin in his eye. There are a lot of gossips, and the biggest part of them Manson has created himself.
But some rumours, actually, have almost ruined Marilyn Manson’s reputation, even if it’s hard to imagine what on Earth could impact such a creepy one. But the scandal of Columbine shooting simply started a witch hunt. Manson was blamed — by politicians, by the media, by the whole society — for inciting two young boys — Dylan Klebold and Eric Harris — to violence. In fact, they were fans of European metal bands like Rammstein and didn’t even love him, but Manson was the closest American equivalent and he became an outlet for the nation’s pain and confusion.
In the documentary Bowling for Columbine Michael Moore interviewed him and asked: If you were to talk directly to the kids at Columbine and the people in that community, what would you say to them right now?
The answer was more powerful than any accusing, the answer beat in just one hit all empty political talks.
“I wouldn’t say a single word to them. I would listen to what they have to say. And that’s what no one did.”
Private life
Even going shortly through his career we can see how controversial he is. To understand fully this impossible matching of crazy deeds, dark art and kind heart, we need to go deeper.
Everything in life starts with a family. And for Marilyn Manson all started in a difficult way. In numerous interviews, he shared stories about his granddad’s sexual fetishes, complex relations with mother and Vietnam vet father.
Once Manson mentioned that maybe his dad is the only person who understood him well. For sure father’s post-traumatic stress syndrome after the war in Vietnam affected the life of the whole family and the son. Maybe son and dad had never talked about how is it — to kill many people in a row and come back home, trying to manage your life in peace. But for sure Manson and his mother were living with the aftermath. Marlin Manson himself called his father “a mass murderer” instead of “a Vietnam vet”.
When he was marrying burlesque dancer, model, and costume designer Dita Von Teese, his father warned him that she loved him for Marilyn Manson, not Brian Warner, and his father was proven right. Manson proposed on March 22, 2004, and they got married in a private, non-denominational ceremony officiated by Chilean film director Alejandro Jodorowsky. On December 30, 2006, Von Teese filed for divorce due to “irreconcilable differences”.
“ I am drawn to women who are independent and creative, which is problematic because it’s a struggle, a competition of careers. There’s jealousy,” said Manson.
Before marriage with Dita Von Teese, Manson was also engaged to the actress Rose McGowan from February 1999 to January 2001. McGowan later ended their engagement, citing “lifestyle differences”.
Manson’s relationship with the actress, model, and musician Evan Rachel Wood was made public in 2007. They reportedly maintained an on-again, off-again relationship for several years. Manson proposed to Wood during the Paris stage performance in January 2010, but the couple broke off the engagement later that year.
In the issue of Revolver magazine in March 2012, American photographer Lindsay Usich was referred to as Manson’s girlfriend. The article referenced a new painting by Manson featuring Usich. She is credited as the photo source for the cover art of Manson’s 2012 album, Born Villain. It was later confirmed that the two were romantically involved. In February 2015, Manson told Beat magazine that he is “newly single”.
For sure he has more fortune in friendship. His best friend for many years is the well-known actor Johnny Depp. They are like brothers. Manson became a godfather of Johnny Depp’s daughter. They even have matching tattoos on their backs — Charles Baudelaire, the flowers of evil, giant skeleton thing. When someone asks about those tattoos, they usually answer something like “No reason.”
They help each other in their work. Johnny knows how to jam, so they play music together for fun. He had taught Manson how to get in a room with someone new and start playing. Depp has even said that he used Manson as inspiration for the role of Willy Wonka in the remake of “Willy Wonka & The Chocolate Factory”. By the way, Manson is a huge fan of this story, and wanted to play Willy, but lost the role to Johnny.
In one of the interview Manson was asked, if there is any chance to see him as a president of the USA. The answer was very simple: “Only if Johnny Depp is the president and I’m the vice-president.”
Social Media
Manson keeps trends of the digital and he is very well presented on social media. He has Instagram and Twitter, runs them in his style, with dark jokes, sarcasm and selfies, interactions with other celebrities. With Justin Bieber, for example.
https://www.instagram.com/marilynmanson/?hl=en
https://twitter.com/marilynmanson?ref_src=twsrc%5Egoogle%7Ctwcamp%5Eserp%7Ctwgr%5Eauthor
His cultural collision with popular culture has made over 1 million followers on his Instagram page. Upon closer inspection, it’s clear that Manson approaches social media with the same attitude as fashion and music, captioning his selfies with existential questions and references to the devil.
“He lives his life as a piece of art,” Browne told W magazine backstage in February. And apparently, we’re buying it again.
Fears & Vulnerabilities
When it comes to vulnerabilities and fears, Manson has always been open about it. Moreover, he seems to love to declare his phobias and despairs. It’s even hard to believe in some of his “phobias”.
As a kid, he had buck teeth, braces and acne. Manson told that he hated his appearance, and he is still not comfortable with it. And that’s why he has changed and adapted the way he looks. “I’m just really shy, despite what you’d imagine,” once he told Rolling Stone. That’s why, as he said, he only has sex with the lights off and his underwear around his ankles
He also can’t sleep without the TV on. It doesn’t matter where it is, he simply doesn’t like silence. One of the big phobias is to be caught by fire in the house. “I also have a great fear of bathtubs, maybe because my mother used to bathe me as a child and I have fractured memories of just not enjoying it” — added Manson.
His mother had dementia and till the end she didn’t know about her son’s reputation. However, as we have mentioned before, his father understood him well, even if didn’t really support.
How Manson will be remembered
“If you think about it, the hero is the good guy almost by default. They have this moral code they follow simply because they’re supposed to, not because they really believe in it. The villain is the one with real passion.”
We believe, that Marilyn Manson will be remembered as the main villain of rock music, a person who was singing about killing and at the same time one of a few who tried to help young people.
And, of course, as a man of art with the big passion.
What we can learn
- Behind the ugly mask, there might be a kind heart. Manson is called Satanist, but he pays a lot of attention to charity and proved to be a loyal friend. In his interviews he also shows himself as highly intelligent and sarcastic person.
- Weakness leads to strength. Despite his difficult childhood and adolescence, he grew up as a strong, even though very strange, man.
- To be a style icon you should devote your whole life to this style. From the very moment you have created your image, you need to keep it, always follow your own rules. Otherwise people will not believe you.
- Shock-effect can be a strong base for a Personal Brand. To be remembered you need to impress people, and to shock them is one of the fastest way.
- Your reputation can hurt you. People don’t care about what is behind your mask. If you are suitable to be blamed in something, they will do it.
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