As a film director, artist, and personality, John Waters b. 1946 has worked at the forefront of American cinema for nearly forty years. Waters began making films in his hometown of Baltimore in 1964. His first shorts such as Hag in a Black Leather Jacket and Mondo Trasho demonstrated an innate talent at capturing the hideous and crude and elevating it to art. His cast of actors, the Dreamlanders, were featured in every subsequent film. The Dreamlanders would include his diva and partner-in-film, Divine, who would go on to star in Waters's most familiar works. Waters broke through to national acclaim with his trash trio, Pink Flamingos 1972, Female Trouble 1974, and Desperate Living 1977. These films showcased poor taste, obscene cinema, and transformative approaches to politics, gender, and art. The films cemented Waters's status as a cult favorite and continue to play at college campuses and art house theaters to this day. Waters soon entered the mainstream with Polyester, the first