The Rocky Horror Picture Show- Breanna Bump

 I watched the first 40 minutes of this movie in my high school film class for "fun" on Halloween. I remember my teacher talking this movie up so much and how it's such a good film that everyone has to see... I hated it so much and after watching it all the way through on Tuesday, I still feel the same way. Although I don't really care for this movie, I do understand it more because of this class. I also like that it sends the message to viewers that it's okay and fun to be different. 

I know this film was made in the mid 70's, so I think that was around the time where the codes started to lift. Although movies were starting to be more daring in terms of queerness, I am wondering how people reacted to this movie. Specifically, I am wondering how they reacted to the scene where Frank N. Furter seduces both Brad and Janet. I guess more so the scene with Brad and Frank N. Furter because last week we discussed how scenes like this aren't too common. It's definitely way more common to see two women get together than two men. We also discussed how this exact interaction between two men can be threatening to straight men because they do not want to be accused of being gay. I just wonder how men specifically reacted to that scene, especially since Brad and Janet are the classic straight couple. I wonder if this movie normalized queerness more or if it did the opposite. I'm interested to hear what our class discussion on Thursday will be like.

Comments

  1. Breanna BumpMarch 12, 2021 at 9:53 AM

    After class discussion, there were a lot of things that I didn't really think about while watching this movie. I thought it was awesome that there was a lot of representation in the movie, and at first I thought it was positive representation, but I can see how it can also be negative in some ways. Frank N. Furter was a transvestite who became a murder. This falls into the monstrous category that we discussed in almost every film so far. There were also queer characters that were aliens to go along with that. So although there is representation, it is in a form of negativity because these queer characters are again either a type of monster, or murderer, or both. Even though this representation can be seen as negative, I still don't think it's all bad. I think the movie as a whole still sends out a positive message to be yourself and to do what you think is right and fun for you. It shows people celebrating who they are and enjoying themselves, as well as being comfortable in their own skin.

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