Rocky Horror And The Sense Of Community

   Rocky Horror is a beautifully eccentric movie that plays into many aspects of cult classics and camp films. Though I know this film may be hard for some audiences to follow between the musical numbers and the absolute craziness that goes on. It still stands as one of the most prominent queer films to date. This is a movie that is referenced still in indie films such as The Perks of Being A Wallflower. The reference in this film I think was important for the plot of The Perks of Being a Wallflower because there is a connection between coming of age and queerness. Especially since The Perks had a queer character who was vibrantly himself. In the 90s (when this movie was portrayed) and being in a production of Rocky Horror was representation for the character.


After looking at the film analysis Medium did of RHPS I think it really summed up what this movie is all about. A safe community and space for viewers and an opportunity to see oneself in a film. RHPS has such an effect of the LGBTQ community that’ll always be there. That’s what this film did for the characters in The Perks Of Being a Wallflower. That’s what this film does for audiences in real life too. I really enjoyed the analysis on gender. The idea that gender isn’t something that someone is, it is something someone does, really intrigued me. I think that gender is such an interesting topic overall but a piece in the analysis that really got me was “gender is a sense of performance.” I think this is very accurate for people who are coming to terms with their gender identity and is really a big step for gender exploration. In times when this movie was filmed gender identity was very much not a topic to talk about and for this film to bring it up so blatantly is amazing.


How I Learned to Stop Worrying and Love 'The Rocky Horror Picture Show' Again [Trapped By Gender] - Bloody Disgusting

Comments

  1. Emily SheedyMarch 12, 2021 at 12:27 PM

    Follow-up Post:
    I think after our discussion in class I got a much better perspective on Rock Horror. There was a large conversation about the community behind RHPS. This I think is such a large part of what makes this movie so ageless. No matter the generation Rock Horror still stands as fan favorite. I think this movie really helps young queer kids feel better and more okay about themselves. Yeah this movie also gives a bit of bad representation with some of the plot lines like being a murder but despite this fact, queer people still get a since of community around this film.

    Another topic we talked about a lot in class was Janet and Brad. Did they get manipulated into this new world for them or are they weak for joining in. I don't think so, I think this has been a part in them that just wasn't expressed before. Brad and Janet will always remember this no matter where life takes them because it is so life changing. They discovered parts of themselves that they wouldn't have ever discovered. When thinking about this in this way it's not that they were manipulated at all, its more that they found themselves in this group.

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