Cher: A short retrospective

When talking about cult classics, it is almost impossible to avoid the notion of “camp.”

Camp, if you’re only vaguely familiar with the term, is a seriousness that fails. Focusing widely on aesthetic, camp produces mannerisms and exaggerations in film meant to evoke a sincere and dramatic response from a viewer but instead creates something unnatural, artificial, “off” — an unmistakably over-stylized version of the human experience.

Put simply, it’s considered “bad art.” It is performance, as Susan Sontag puts it, “in quotation marks.”

Camp is sincere but rarely knows it is camp. The over-eager “High School Musical,” for example. The villainy of the Wicked Witch of the West. The emphatic RuPaul. The costumes of Liberace. The Bette Midler, in anything and everything.

But you cannot talk about camp without talking about Cher. And you don’t know Cher like I know Cher.

Let me take you on a walk to discover Cher and the art of camp. A few introductions: follow her Twitter. There are many gems such as this from the Internet anomaly:

“Going dentist.EVERYONE SHOULD BOYCOTT WALL MART ! They R BIGGEST SELLER OF GUNS IN U.S ! Pick Up Milk,Pick Up BULLETS. Shop TARGET.RT RT RT”

Technologically, she’s past her prime, but scout her old work could enlighten you. Watch “Mermaids.” Then, watch “Burlesque.” Take a look at an online gallery of her outfits. Then, Google “Cher West Side Story.”

Especially do that last one — just trust me.

There is a 1987 film called “Moonstruck,” which stars Cher, and — not exaggerating — is the greatest movie of all time.

Loretta Castorini is an Italian-American widow who falls in star-crossed love with her fiancé Johnny’s brother, Ronny (played by the timeless Nicholas Cage). Ronny is an embittered bread-maker whose love left him long ago after his hand was chopped off in a bread slicer. His hand is now made of wood.

The hilarity of simply describing the plot cannot do justice to the true camp masterpiece of this film. Not only is this piece melodramatic and over-the-top, but it brought camp to a new level. For the first time, the Academy recognized the true merit and art form of camp. “Moonstruck” won best actress, supporting and screenplay that year.

Whether you’re a fan of Cher or whether you’re about to be, it’s important to reevaluate what camp means. Broadening your perspective on “good art” and “bad art” will surely allow you to enjoy life’s great dramatizations.