Signed to Trent Reznor’s Nothing Records label in 1993, Manson’s “shock rock/industrial metal” persona has been controversial (and profitable) ever since.
By Blu Rivera
Could you ever imagine someone smoking human bones from a local cemetery, or slitting their own chest with a broken beer bottle onstage? Well, there’s a man who just so happens to be considered a big part of the metal music industry, and has become a controversial metal “legend,” who has done both of these things! His name is Marilyn Manson and his childhood was probably pretty ideal for someone being raised in the 1970s. Manson grew up in a very strict environment, living in a Christian household and getting a Christian education the majority of his childhood in Canton, Ohio. Yet ironically, he grew up to be as reckless and mentally bizarre as he is now. Many say that this is the result of the strict upbringing he endured as a child because apparently “strict parents create reckless kids.” Marilyn Manson’s overall persona appears to bemore influenced by his Nature than his Nurture, considering the very conservative religious environment he experienced from birth.
Manson, being raised in that kind of household, of course had relationships with his parents which contributed to his deranged lifestyle today. He was raised by his parents, Barb and Brian Warner. According to an article on www.Biography.com, His father Brian, was a very strict parent because of his childhood. While a kid, Brian “endured a tough childhood, as he was molested several times by a neighbor. The trauma put on the young boy put him on a path of rebellion as he tried to reconcile the incidents with his daily life.” Since Brian had to cope with such a traumatic, rebellious childhood, he didn’t want the same for his son. Therefore, he raised him strictly, and practically bubble-wrapped him. This all ties into his becoming a bit deranged. How? Well, according to www.Alternet.org Psychologists say that “overprotection leads to psychological damage.” Psychological damage can also contribute to adopting problematic behaviors in school and even at home. His relationship with his family and environment (apart from his nature) can be associated with his deranged mentality today.
Another environmental factor that contributes to Manson’s deranged mentality is his schooling. He attended a Christian school during his younger years in the 1970s. Now he views Christianity as “fascism,” saying that everyone is being “oppressed” by it. I report this according to his controversial timeline found on Kerrang.com. Many people are now researching and discovering that children that are made to attend religious schooling become more selfish or self-centered, and often refuse to engage themselves in the religion that most people would hope might guide their lives.
According to www.scientificamerican.com, “new research conducted in six countries around the world suggests that a religious upbringing may actually yield children who are less altruistic. Over 1000 children ages five to twelve took part in the study, from the United States, Canada, Jordan, Turkey, South Africa, and China. By finding that religious-raised children are less altruistic in the laboratory, the study alerts us to the possibility that religion might not have the wholesome effects we expect on the development of morality.” In other words, environments governed by by more religious aspects create more selfish and conceited personalities. That said, it seems that Marilyn Manson’s behavior is not just coincidental in this situation.
This former music journalist has been very careful to control and protect the provocative image that sells his records.
On the other hand, some people say that Marilyn’s behavioral quirks come from the music and groups of people he probably surrounds himself with. This point of view is reasonable because according to recent studies found on www.medicalxexpress.com , “young people at risk of depression are more likely to listen to habitually and repetitively to heavy metal music. University of Melbourne researcher Dr. Katrina McFerran has found: “Marilyn Manson started listening to metal music when he was a teenager, and during that time became goth, as well. But what most people don’t know, is that listening to metal music actually makes you calmer and not angry. It seems reasonable that Manson may have picked up metal music to calm himself from the relationship he had with his parents. British-based news source theguardian.com states that, “After a lifetime of being an outsider, Marilyn Manson, born Brian Warner, is coming to terms with his past. In a frank and soul-searching interview, he talks to Carole Cadwalladr about the loss of his mother, growing up angry.” Manson picked up metal music during his teen years when his mother was dying. During that phase he grew angry and found peace within the psychological premise of metal music being calming. Therefore, metal music actually was beneficial to Manson, and it was his relationship with his parents that made him grow angry, andbecome how he is as a person today.
In conclusion, the reasoning as to why Marilyn inhabits such a strangely deranged mental state is only partly because of the environment he was surrounded by ever since he was little, and is not at all due to the music he listened to. His adult behavior comes more from his “nature”than his “nurture” for many reasons. One reason being that he grew up in a strictly religious household and attended religious schooling, which because of his own internal perspective, pushed him towards selfishness and negativity. Another reason was because of how overprotective his family was towards him, bubble-wrapping him with restrictions. This led to Manson growing angry and becoming reckless since strict parenting creates kids that don’t listen to “rules”. Finally, the death of his mother during his teenage years made him grow even angrier from a sense of cosmic injustice despite the teachings of religion. This paradoxical contradiction stressed him out, which is why he turned to metal music since, scientifically speaking, the extreme feelings expressed by this music made him a calmer being. Overall, even though Manson’s thinking may be deranged and has given him a strangely unique persona, this resulthas nothing to do with the music he listened to, but is rooted in his childhood.
