ARTS & CULTURE
ROCKY HORROR AND AUDIENCE PA R T I C I .. .P A T I O N
By Lee Romaker
I
t’s midnight, and every seat in the movie theater is filled—but this is no midnight premiere. In fact, the film that is about to play has been shown in near-constant release for over four decades, is the longest running theatrical release in history, and has been shown on six continents. The crowd vibrates with antici… pation, despite some having seen the film hundreds of times. The seats are teeming with attendees in black lingerie, fishnets, wigs, and corsets; some are dressed up as the film’s characters while others crossdress; more are simply dressed as their authentic selves. The lights dim, and a hush falls over the crowd, although not for long. A cast of actors dressed as the film’s characters line up on a stage in front of the screen. A slow bass line plays, and a pair of ruby red lips appears before the audience. This is a typical scene for a midnight viewing of The Rocky Horror Picture Show, described by the BBC as the first and biggest cult classic film. Based on the 1973 musical production The Rocky Horror Show, the film version made its American premiere at the Westwood Theatre in Los Angeles in 1975. Initially considered a box office failure and shelved, the film was revived in 1976 as a weekly viewing party at Waverly Theatre in New York. What started as playing the movie’s soundtrack before the beginning of the film to generate audience excitement evolved into yelling lines back at the characters, throwing props at the screen, dancing and singing along to the songs, dressing as the characters, and the incorporation of a shadow cast, a cast of actors that act out the film while it is playing. All of these elements transform a movie
10 TUFTS OBSERVER OCTOBER 25, 2021
viewing into a celebratory community experience. What started as a box office failure spread across the US and the globe, with weekly showings becoming community gathering spaces for, according to BBC film critic Laruska Ivan-Zadeh, “outcasts, weirdoes, and rejects.” While Rocky Horror is certainly not famous for its riveting plot, the film does tell a story that underscores many of the ideals of the communities that watch it. The film follows the “hopelessly square” Brad and Janet, a newly engaged couple, as they find themselves stranded in the woods and seeking help in a castle filled with an eccentric cast of aliens. They meet Dr. Frank-N-Furter, a self-described “transvestite” mad scientist who is attempting to create the perfect man, Rocky Horror, for him to sleep with. Musical numbers, chase scenes, a murder, cannibalism, sexy escapades, several transformations, and alternate endings follow. Most notably, the film positions Brad and Janet—a white, American, cisgender, heterosexual couple—as the outsiders and weirdos, while the foreign, sexually fluid castle residents are considered normal. Rocky Horror follows Brad and Janet as they are sexually liberated (or corrupted, depending how one interprets it) from their strict conformity to gender roles and the expectation of waiting until marriage. While Rocky Horror parodies elements of science fiction and horror movies from the 1930s to the 1960s, it also parodies and defies the gender roles of this period, positioning gender conformity and chastity as restrictions from which to be liberated.
