Rocky Horror for the Ages

    The Rocky Horror Picture Show is a cult classic if I've ever seen one. I understand how the film can be harder to enjoy for certain audiences, but this movie is one of my favorites of all time and is a Halloween staple for me and my friends every year. I was singing along to all of the songs while we were watching the movie. I've seen Rocky Horror a hundred times, but watching it for class made me look at it through a critical lens.

    One of the best parts about Rocky Horror is that most of the characters are visibly and unapologetically themselves, and it's openly queer in a wonderfully divergent way. When I say divergent, I think about many of the queer movies in the mainstream today, where the gay characters are closeted and their biggest obstacle is coming out. What's refreshing about Rocky Horror is the fact that the characters sexualities are never a topic of discussion, they just exist as they are, and I think that's very comforting for queer audiences who want that escape for a short time. I think it's also important to recognize that this movie wouldn't have been able to achieve what it did if it were a mainstream blockbuster when it was released. It wasn't made for everyone's enjoyment, but it hit the nail right on the head for the audience that it had as its target. Viewing this movie, I fell in love with Frank N. Furter all over again. To me, as an alien, he represents so much outside of the traditional binary of male and female. This universe, with all of its vast limitlessness and possibilities, it isn't hard to understand that people can exist without conforming to the idea of being male or female, and I think Frank N. Furter encapsulates that idea perfectly. He exists beyond gender and anyone, gay, straight, and everything in between wants to get a piece of him. No one's sexuality is questioned when they sleep with him, and rightfully so. This movie was so progressive for its time and it still stands to the test of time because nearly 50 years later nothing has been able to compare to it and it still has an absolutely loving and diverse fan base.

    The campiness of the film can be a hard pill to swallow for some, and an even harder script to follow for many others. From the start of the movie, we are inadvertently told to not take it too seriously. Forget any previous biases and enjoy this film for the eccentric, gay acid trip for what it is. It is a magnificent piece of art and I was shocked to discover how many people were unfamiliar with it because of the impact I know it had on my life and so many others, I had just assumed everyone knew about it. I'm glad people got to experience this film for the first time, and I hope they loved it just as much as I do.