The Human Nature of Popular Culture
Murderers, rapists, thieves, prostitutes, we hear their sickening stories in the news every day. We condemn them, despise them, ridicule them, and even at times, wish to hurt them ourselves. Yet, in many popular books, movies, and songs, we cannot help but admire, sympathize, and forgive these criminals. The Threepenny Opera by Bertolt Brecht and Perfume, The Story of a Murderer by Patrick Suskind are two great examples of this psychological phenomenon. Both texts reveal the cultural environment on one hand and human nature on the other as stimuli feeding the internal drives of these monsters. In The Threepenny Opera, the main protagonist, Mac the Knife, is introduced as a murderer, rapist, and arsonist. The opening scenes of Perfume begin with the explosive cheers of a filled stadium awaiting the death sentence of Jean- Baptiste Grenouille. Yet, upon further inspection, both characters emerge as charmingly crafty masterminds that win the love and affection of those around them. Similarly, as readers and viewers, we too find ourselves drawn to these characters, as did Brecht’s audiences and Suskind’s readers in the twentieth century. Brecht and Suskind created this mass appeal through their deranged miscreants who personified human nature and related them to our everyday lives. Just as Mac the Knife and Grenouille searched for their ultimate pleasures, so would human beings if they could get away with doing whatever it takes.
Both texts emphasize the cultural and societal influences on the values of Mac the Knife and Grenouille. The novel, Perfume, opens up with the birth of Grenouille in eighteenth-century France where “the streets stank of manure, the courtyards of urine” (Suskind 3) and where “ the fish stank so vilely that the smell masked the odor of corpses”(Suskind 5). From the very first pages of the novel, we see the brutal environment Grenouille has been brought into, a life without the nurture of his mother. This lack of nurture continued as he was passed on to an orphanage where “the older ones conspired to suffocate him.” (Suskind 22) While working as a tanner, Grenouille developed a sense that “his life was worth precisely as much as the work he could accomplish” (Suskind 6). In fact, Grenouille never once experienced kindness growing up. His care takers either treated him like a worthless animal or barely acknowledged his existence. Even Baldini who taught Grenouille the art of capturing scent never once showed him gratitude, “He had never shaken hands with him. He had always avoided so much as touching him.” (Suskind 108) For this reason, one must ask whether or not Grenouille resembles pure evil or is he a victim of abandonment and neglect? Condemning a creature who never once experienced abstract emotions like love, regret, or sorrow creates a complexity. We as rational human beings know the consequences of robbing a bank or killing our neighbor for his Ferrari and beautiful wife. However, that does not mean we are incapable of wishing these deeds. Unlike Grenouille, we have been taught to differentiate right from wrong and learned to suppress evil wishes. The popularity of books like Perfume cannot simply be measured by sales, but the ability to invoke emotions out of readers that leave lasting impressions. On the one hand, we want to hate Grenouille for his heinous crimes, but on the other, we cannot help but feel sorry for the conditions he grew up in.
Mac the Knife has a similar appeal to popular culture in that he too falls victim to the harsh conditions plaguing his society. Written during the Weimar Republic, The Threepenny Opera gained instant popularity due to its criticisms on Capitalism and the exploitations of modernization. Furthermore, the play maintains wide popularity to this day through its message that the corruption of criminals is only as bad as the corruption of those in power. Mac’s relationship with the chief of police, Brown, is the perfect example of a man of law abusing his power. “Seldom have I, the humble bandit, made even the smallest haul without giving him, my friend (Brown), a substantial share, and seldom has he staged a raid without sending me a little tip- off.” (Brecht 25) Naturally, Mac’s evil acts cannot be justified, but the opportunities the corrupt system creates for Mac must be acknowledged. Mr. Peachum portrays another perfect example of a victim corrupted by the ruthless capital system. He exploits his beggars by taking fifty percent of their earnings without giving them much in return. He even uses “beggar” outfits to prey on the goodness of people for “the sight of such types puts a man into an unnatural state where he is willing to part with money” (Brecht 8). In fact, most of Brecht’s characters resort to fraud, deceit, theft, or prostitution in order to survive the bourgeois culture of Germany. This cultural industry for monetary success even drives corporate CEO’s, politicians, and leaders of our country today to embezzle money, commit financial fraud, and create sex scandals. Works like The Threepenny Opera gain popular fame by spreading awareness of this game of corruption and breaking away from the culture of conformity.
While external factors such as corrupt governments, abandonment, and harsh conditions easily relate to an audience’s everyday lives, Perfume and The Threepenny Opera appeal to human beings on a much deeper level. In Perfume, Patrick Suskind creates “one of the most gifted yet abominable personages” (Suskind 1) in literature. He pinpoints the idea of scent as a tool to explain the core nature of human beings. Grenouille finds himself in a trance whenever he catches a new scent and becomes willing to do anything to preserve it. “The goal of the hunt was simply to possess everything the world could offer in the way of odors” (Suskind 37). Especially in the materialistic society we live in today, people constantly strive to win the lottery or snag the hottest product off the market. As humans, it is natural to wish to possess everything, but our consciences constrain us from attaining certain ambitions. However, Grenouille never had a conscience or “scent” that was able to distinguish him from others. This forced him to solely act on his purest, core desires. In fact, his lack of scent made him “a creature that, although undeniably there, in some way or other was not present” (Suskind 153). That unique characteristic is exactly what has drawn so many readers to the book and movie. In popular culture, we see this same infatuation with killers like Dexter, the Terminator, and Tony Montana. Just like Grenouille, these “monsters” are able to tap into something visceral in human beings and bring out the raw emotions humans constantly feel the need to lock up.
Shockingly, as The Threepenny Opera comes to a close, Mac the Knife is reprieved for his violent crimes even though, “ it is the Christian thing to do proving that men must pay for what they take” (Brecht 80). Certainly, the death penalty debate continues to make noise to this day, but the mere idea of public persecution can date back to the Ancient Romans with their Coliseum or even as far back as Cain and Abel in the Bible. Today’s culture obviously does not approve of such gruesome tactics in real life, but absolutely idolizes them through the media. Inflictors of pain like Chuck Liddell, The Undertaker, Dexter, Spartacus, and even Mac the Knife have all struck a chord in popular culture by physically dominating their opponents. Mac’s own ballad portrays him as coming into town followed by “men abruptly tumbling down turbid waters, corpses stretched in the Strand, and disappearances of wealthy men and their cash” (Brecht 3). In fact, Brecht uses Macheath’s visceral desires for sex and greed to symbolize the dangers of becoming too comfortable with one’s core nature. Similarly, Peachum glorifies himself as a businessman constantly striving for the greatest personal gains. Everyone experiences desires for sex, fame, and money, but unlike Macheath, humans have defense mechanism to fight these intolerable impulses. It is when humans lose control over these visceral instincts that they find themselves in trouble like Macheath. “His sexual urges brought him to this state-How fortunate the man with none!” (Brecht 68) Evidently, movies, shows, and plays like The Threepenny Opera, do not solely become popular thanks to good entertainment. These works allow audiences to dabble with suppressed instincts and witness little bits and pieces of themselves in every evil character.
Suskind’s novel and Brecht’s production resonated throughout popular culture because of their focus on contemporary issues and appeal to raw human emotions. While Perfume expressed themes of nurture and abandonment, The Threepenny Opera criticized the backward moral culture of the bourgeois Weimer Republic. Both works carried audiences on a journey deep inside the minds of two bone-chilling, yet fascinating murderers. Perfume channeled readers inside the mind of a man solely capable of following his core desires while The Threepenny Opera attracted audience to a sex-craving, selfish bandit. These works taught us that external factors such as income, living-conditions, and the cultural environment influence a person’s life to a certain extent, but in the end, how we control our visceral nature determines how we fit into society. Furthermore, the popularity of these masterpieces continued to rise with the film-production of Perfume directed by Tom Tykwer and the transformation of the Ballad of Mac the Knife into one of the most popular songs of the twentieth century thanks to artists like Bobby Darin and Louis Armstrong. Whether it is sympathy, fascination, or pure fear, audiences cannot help but continue to read, watch, and listen to the stories of these bloodthirsty or “scent” thirsty criminals. However, it is safe to say that no soul would ever dare to be left alone with Mac the Knife or Grenouille in an alley.

Works Cited
Brecht, Bertolt. The Threepenny Opera. Ralph Manheim and John Willhert.New York: Penguin ….Group (USA), 2007. Print
Suskind, Patrick. Perfume The Story of a Murderer. New York: Vintage Books, 2001. Print