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Fall 2003
English Faculty Forum
Dr. Paul Haspel
October
28 • 7-8pm • Kirkland 128
"Roller Coasters and Civil Rights:
John Waters's 'Hairspray' and the Desegregation of the
Gwynn Oak Amusement Park."
Dr. Haspel's presentation explores how
a tense moment from America's civil rights history -
the 1963 desegregation of the Gwynn Oak Amusement Park
in suburban Baltimore County, Maryland - was adapted
into a sequence from Baltimore filmmaker John Waters's
1988 film "Hairspray". Waters, who always
draws upon the society and culture of his home area
for inspiration, incorporated this important aspect
of local history into a film that attacks racism and
celebrates diversity and community. The ways in which
Waters examines this historical moment and reworks it
for artistic purposes reveal much about the challenges
and opportunities facing any artist seeking to make
use of historical material.
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