Rocky Horror - The Queer Classic - Hunter Bardin

     I think it is safe for me to say that I have quite the history with Rocky Horror Picture Show. Watching it for this class was probably my fourth or fifth time that I have ever seen the film and I've enjoyed it almost every time. I can't quite remember how old I was when I first saw the movie, but I was probably in early middle school or something around there. I remember that I was scrolling through the TV channels one night and it was coming up on some channel. I have heard of the movie before because my older sister had watched it after she heard about it while watching Glee. I didn't even remember that part until I read about it being in the show in the reading. Coincidences aside, my older sister was in the room with me and suggested that I'd watch it. I had already listened to the Time Warp numerous times up to that point so I was pretty curious about the movie it was from. I do not remember what I really thought about the movie after I watched it except that I really liked the music. I was still a little young at the time, so most of the sexual themes went completely over my head and I just thought it was a movie that is funny because it is weird. I wouldn't say that I completely forgot about the movie after that, but it kinda went to the back of my mind for quite a few years. 

    I may have watched Rocky Horror another time after that and before this next time, but I can't really remember. Anyways, I saw one of the live shows of Rocky Horror where they have the actors playing along with the movie and you get to throw stuff when I was a senior in high school. This was what probably got me back into the movie in a more serious way as I was finally mature enough to better understand the themes of the film. Also between then and the first time I watched the film I had learned a lot about LGBTQ+ culture as I had many friends at the time who identified with it. The music still slapped and shortly after that the soundtrack was downloaded on to my Spotify (favorite song being Hot Patootie). 

    It only took another year before I watched the movie again when I got to college. I had many friends who had yet to watch it, one of which being Jackson from our class, and since it was October I figured what better way to celebrate Halloween than to watch Rocky Horror Picture Show. I for one can say that I enjoyed watching the movie again even though it hadn't been that long since I last saw it, but I can't say the same for Jackson. While our other friends seemed to enjoy the movie pretty well, Jackson and I kinda sat on opposite ends when it came to our opinions on it. I mean I could probably chalk it up to mostly being me having the rose-tinted glasses on, but I still enjoyed the movie for its zaniness 

    As the reading goes into, I didn't quite notice the representation the characters were portraying the first time I had watched the film. I was young and I just thought, "Oh it is just a couple getting into a wacky situation together while dancing to music." Each viewing after that though I started to see more and more of the symbolism in each of the characters. I knew that Brad and Janet are representing the standard heterosexual couple that you see in many movies and Rocky representing sexuality, but Frank's personification is what left me clueless. I thought it was interesting how the powerpoint described him as being "the art" and I think no other definition would fit him better.

    This is definitely a film that I would watch again if given the chance. The music is great and it is over all just a wacky and fun adventure with hidden messages still strewn throughout. 

Follow Up Post

     While there isn't much I feel that I can add to my original post, I did want to talk a little bit more about Frank N Furter. While he is definitely the main antagonist of the film with a lot of not even questionable acts like murder and sexual assault, I do like how none of these are equated to how he is queer like we talked about in class. I don't even know how I would classify his character, but Tim Curry plays it perfectly. The flamboyance of Frank is kind of contagious to an extent brought about with his entrance down the elevator and his performance of Sweet Transvestite. The song feels more like an extension to the time warp where it keeps a similar energy, but all of that energy is focused solely on Frank as we are introduced to him. 

    While I do think that he definitely deserved what happened to him at the end, none of the other characters seem to care. I think it may be a combination of Stockholm syndrome and they all feel that Frank helped each of them discover something about themselves. Brad and Janet discovered not to be so straight laced which could explain why they didn't think Riff Raff should have killed him. Dr. Scott didn't seem to care too much about his nephew being murdered by Frank though which I thought to be a little funny, but it seemed like Dr. Scott was going to say anything to avoid being shot by Riff Raff as well.

    In the end I think Frank's character is a good basis for a little analysis as he seems more layered than what is on the surface. Frank being a piece of art that is meant to change people I think fits him very well. Like a good piece of art though, Frank still affects those that saw him even after a long time and I doubt it is any different for Brad and Janet.