FEATURE
rocky ’ s timeless success
Born as a theatre production nearly 50 years ago , The Rocky Horror Picture Show has survived through generations , and its potent mix of sex and spectacle still carries an important message for today ’ s audiences . From gender politics to sexual freedom , progressive thinkers owe much to Rocky , Frank , Brad , and Janet .
The opening line sets the tone . The narrator begins : “ I would like , if I may , to take you on a strange journey .”
The story starts with sweethearts Brad Majors ( Barry Bostwick ) and Janet Weiss ( Susan Sarandon ), stuck with a flat tire during a storm . They discover Dr Frank-N- Furter ’ s ( Tim Curry ) mansion , a transvestite scientist . Through elaborate dances and rock songs , the protagonists will meet a house full of wild characters , including a biker , a creepy butler , and a mysterious muscular man named Rocky .
When the movie was released , it achieved tremendous success at the Rialto Theatre in London , and the UA Westwood in Los Angeles . This turned out to be the exception , not the rule , as the movie was not doing well elsewhere .
After being withdrawn from its eight opening cities due to very small audiences , it was relaunched with midnight screenings in a few selected locations , where a ritual began . People would shout responses to the characters ’ statements on the screen . What was created from this is one of the reasons why The Rocky Horror Picture Show is still remembered and staged after five decades .
This is a prime example of a low-budget / b-movie turned into an absolute cult , filling theatres all over the world with costumed fanatics ready to view the sexy adventures of Frank-N-Furter for the hundredth time .
The movie is a delightful post-modern pastiche , unafraid to mix Grant Wood ’ s painting American Gothic with King Kong . The references are vast : 1950s Rock n ’ Roll death ( symbolised by the biker Eddie ), Frankenstein ’ s myth , 1920s stardom , Nietzsche ’ s superman and classic horror imagery . The ending tribute to old Hollywood is moving and memorable .
Probably the most sensual and sassy musical of all , its characters are bizarre , creepy , and nonetheless destined to remain in the collective imagination . The Rocky Horror Picture Show blends a superb soundtrack with hilarious scenes and roaring choreographs .
Unforgettable moments are the Time Warp sequence and Frank-N-Furter making his entrance on killer heels , accompanied by the song Sweet Transvestite .
The role was perfect for Tim Curry , an irreplaceable Frank , while Richard O ’ Brien , the mind behind the story , played the grotesque butler Riff-Raff .
All of this combined can seem a little bit confusing , but it works nonetheless – now more than ever in contemporary society . The Rocky Horror Picture Show is a scream of sexual jubilation , but first of all , it is an invitation to live happily and freely , with love acting as a universal glue . It is thus easy to see how this story helped to trigger a freedom for the search of sexual identity – and its constant redefining – following the revolution at the beginning of the 70s ’.
On the contrary , it is harder to spot the subtle but painful depiction of loneliness , masked by Frank ’ s exuberance . He has built himself the perfect human-like form to serve as his sexual plaything , because he is shown to be incapable of loving a real person .
It was most definitely avant-garde and risky to put all of these elements into a 1973 musical , despite the changes in societal values regarding homosexuality , pornography and other sexualities and gender identities that had been taboo in the past .
Therefore , when Richard O ’ Brien wrote “ Don ’ t dream it , be it ”, he was projecting into the future a world that is now our own , even if “ some insects , called the human race . Lost in time , and lost in space ... and meaning ” ( The Rocky Horror Picture Show , 1975 ) are still crawling on the face of the planet some 50 years later .
Chiara Cianci
Image : Creaative Commons License
Current cast of The Rocky Horror Picture Show UK Tour
14 SLEUTH ISSUE 5