Rocky Horror Picture Show is probably one of the first examples of a film that really pushed boundaries and the audience knew it. The film contains many characters, situations, and ideas that would have been taboo or not even talked about at all during the 70s. Rocky Horror Picture Show is also an unconventional musical. The film tried new and different things that musicals didn’t really do at the time. Rocky Horror Picture Show is a boundary pushing musical that showed audiences that times were changing if they wanted it to or not.
Tim Curry’s character “Dr Frank N Furter” is an ultra-sexual transexual who will fall in love with anyone. Furter was a different type of character than most written for films during the 1970s. The idea of a transexual character during the 70s was a rarity. We see many films about transgender people these days, but society wasn’t ready for it in the 1970s. The conservative ways of the 60s were still in tact despite the hippie revolution. At the time, people were trying to live more peacefully, only if it worked for their agenda. The idea of different sexualities was a taboo one at the time. People still looked at the idea of being gay as an issue to the health of society, so the idea of a character changing or becoming multiple genders was outrageous. Even though the writers knew about the world’s political climate, they still wrote about a transgender character. They wanted to shine a light on a type of character that wasn’t getting a lot of light at the time. Curry’s character has become and icon not only in the LGBT community, but the history of film making. People loved the character because it was not the cookie cutter character style Hollywood had been throwing and still is somewhat throwing onto the audiences. The movie going audience and the world in general wanted to see a change from the way society was going at the time and “The Rocky Horror Picture Show” gave them that.
The idea of sexuality and sex itself was not a common one to see on the screen at the time. If you wanted to see a film about sex in the 70s, you would go to certain theatres for it. Most movies now tackle the idea of sex and sexually, unless they are films geared to children. People were not writing films pertaining to ideas of people’s sexual identities or their opinions about the topic. The rare few films that did were looked at as schlock filmmaking. Films with sex were not “acceptable” for the audience. Rocky Horror is a film all about sex and the exploration of it. Janet and Brad start out the film at a wedding. Brad proposes to Janet because he sees them going no where else but to the chapel in their future. The pair want to move their affection for each other to the next level, in the form of a sealed agreement, marriage. The pair have a breakdown in the middle of the night, and don’t know where to go. The pair stumble upon a strange castle and investigate. When the pair end up at Frank N Ferter’s castle, all the ideas of their possible future together and their own sexual identities are challenged as they watch the wacky cast of characters try to build the perfect man. The film’s side characters range from a ghoulish assistant to Meat Loaf riding around on a motorcycle. The film tells the ideas of sex through very unconventional scenes including somewhat graphic and somewhat goofy sex scenes between Janet and Furter and some between Brad and the doctor. Audiences didn’t see sex scenes at the time, but this film chose to add some that lasted multiple minutes. Scenes that when you thought it might be over, it just continues. The film took on the ideas of Sexual Identity and Sexual Experimentation despite the ideas being unpopular in cinema.
The film was also unconventional in the way it was all put together. The film feels much like a group of songs and scenes strung together. When you first watch the film, you can never guess where it will go next. The film takes interesting avenues that one would never suspect from a 70s musical. Even down to the editing, the film is unconventional. The film sometimes just cuts to a random scene without warning. When you first watch the film, you probably would not expect a full song about one character’s sexual orientation or you would never expect to see Meat Loaf on a motorcycle when they open up the freezer. The unexpected death of Meat Loaf’s character would have been a surprise for people viewing the film for the first time. The filmmakers wanted to experiment with their storytelling and overall presentation of the film, which brings a quirky nature to the film.
The film might have not been received well back when it was released, but it has gained a cult following. The film was very unpopular when it was released, but it was early for it’s time. As Marty Mcfly says “You’re not ready for that, but your kids will love it.” Rocky Horror Picture Show has gained a more positive reputation from Musical Theatre fans and Midnight Screening fans. The film is praised by Musical Theatre fanatics for the quirky fun characters and the fun to sing musical numbers. Sweet Transvestite and Time Warp are some of musical fans’ favourite tracks. “Time Warp” is so popular that it is featured on many radio stations and music playlists during the Halloween season. The musical covers the things people love about the season, ghoulish characters and fun creepy tunes. The only two films I have seen with numerous special midnight screenings repeatedly every year has been “The Room” and “The Rocky Horror Picture Show”. The film’s unconventional style and quirky personality keeps people wanting to see it over and over again. The musical is so popular that many high schools have done renditions to it, despite possible angry parents opinions. The film was not received the most positively when it was first released, but because of the many musical theatre fans and lovers of obscure cinema, The Rocky Horror Picture Show has made a name for itself.
“The Rocky Horror Picture Show” is a very unconventional musical that broke boundaries. The film didn’t get the best reception when it was first released, but it has gotten a more positive light thanks to musical fans and obscure movie lovers. The film covered several topics including sexual identity and the concept of alternate types of sexualities. The film was hated because people where not ready for that realization yet. After years of development our world is finally ready for the true brilliance of “The Rocky Horror Picture Show” because we are more open minded as a society. The film can finally have the love it deserves because we have learned to love better and that’s a good thing.