I.
"Lips! Lips! Lips!"
This cry is heard from New York City to San Francisco to Houston, like a call
to arms. In Brooklyn, people have encircled a city block, wearing costumes which
rival the transvestites in Central Park. In Tulsa, Oklahoma, a plate glass
window was broken because the movie theater did not start the show on time.
Some people have seen this movie a hundred times or more. What is this
movie which has inspired cult-like fanatacism?
It is The Rocky Horror Picture Show, a film
based on a stage musical which originated in England, then was successful
Off-Broadway, but was a commercial failure as a movie when it was released in
1972. But a mere seven years later, there were posters, t-shirts, a
soundtrack album on picture disc. Certainly, with such a following, this movie
qualifies as a phnomenon.
The primary enjoyment of the movie appears to be the experience of losing your inhibitions in a crowd.
People come dressed as various characters from the movie, their costumes and
make-up ranging from the very poor to the very convincing. They reply to
comments made by the characters, insult them, and give them stage directions.
As a friend of mine has said, seeing Rocky Horror is like going to a rock
concert.
In brief, the movie is about Brad and Janet, two ultra-average college kids
who get engaged after two of their friends get married. They decide to
tell their good news to their science professor, Dr. Everet Scott.
Unfortunately, on the way they have a flat tire on a deserted country road.
Because their spare tire is "badly in need of air," they are forced to walk to
that castle a mile back on the road.
At the castle, they meet Riff Raff, a crazed hunch-back servant, his sister
Magenta, and a warped Dr. Frankenstein-like scientist named Dr. Frank N. Furter.
Frank, in full make up, corset, and stockings, ignores Brad and Janet's pleas to
let them use his telephone, but he does invite them to his lab to see his
muscle-bound creation, Rocky. From the moment of Rocky's creation it's
clear that Dr. Furter takes joy in creation for reasons beyond the fact that he
is its creator — there's an obvious sexual interest. Not only is it
implied that he has sex with Rocky, he explicitly has sex with Brad and Janet —
in that order. And all three in one night.
But Frank does not go unpunished. It seems that he and his servants are
from the plant Transylvania in the gallaxy of Transexual. And Riff Raff
has been given orders to leave earth. In so doing, he kills the doctor
because his life-style's been "too extreme," and leaves Brad and Janet crawling
helplessly, like insects, on the planet's face.
Lost in my brief synopsis of the movie are the numerous allusions to classic
horror movies, especially Frankstein and King Kong. In the end scene, Magenta
bears a marked resemblance to Elsa Lancaster as the Bride of Frankenstein.
After Frank has been killed, Rocky climbs to the top of the RKO radio tower with
his master's limp body under his arm (RKO is the studio which released King
Kong).
Also lost are the crowd's reactions. In one scene, Riff Raff is
drinking wine from a bottle while holding a full wine glass in his other hand.
"Drop it," the crowd shouts; and seconds later, he drops the wine bottle.
After Janet has had sex with Frank N. Furter, she asks, "O Brad, how could I
have done this to you?" To which many in the crowd reply, "It was easy!" And
someone else says, "No, it wasn't – she still has panty hose on!" In
another scene Frank sings, "What ever happened to Fay Wray?" and the crowd
answers, "She went ape-shit!"
The movie opens with a wedding, and many in the audience throw rice.
Later, when Dr. Furter marries Rocky, they throw rice again. During a
scene where it is raining, people squirt water pistols. There's a
gospel-styled song titled "There's A Light" during which people hold up
lighters, matches, and lit candles. In another scene, the doctor proposes
a toast - so people throw slices of toast. And when he sings, "Cards for
sorrow, cards for pain," the air is filled with tossed playing cards.
These actions are ritual, repeated at every showing of this movie.
Often I have heard, while standing on line, "O dear, I forgot the rice.
Anybody got some extra rice?" or "Anybody got an extra book of matches?" And
once you are familiar with the plot and all the allusions in the movie, you
surely go to this movie just to be part of the ritual.
Perhaps the meaning of the ritual can be found in the movie. The character
for whom the most sympathy is Frank N. Furter. It certainly isn't Brad and
Janet, the logical choices, since they're described by the audience as Asshole
and Whore from the moment of their introduction. Frank N. Furter, who is
portrayed by the British actor Tim Curry, is the strongest and most charismatic
character on the screen. His introduction, in the titles, is greeted by
applause. His entrance into the film is preceded by a rhythm guitar, with
which the audience claps. Clearly, he is the character with whom the Me
Generation of the 1970s identifies.
And yet, Frank is killed — punished for his life of extreme debauchery.
It would seem the moral of the movie is "The wages of sin are death." But the
Pepsi Generation comes to the movie, time and again, to vicariously engage in a
wild sex orgy. In this sense, the movie is a safety valve where those who
are repressed in this SEX-obsessed era can release their libidinal steam.
II.
“I'm doing exactly what I want to . . . That's what Rocky Horror is all about.” – Bostonian woman.
— No, we don't have to worry much about violence. We never have to call the
police, 'cause there's a couple of guys here who break up fights and escort
people out of the theater.
In order to get to the Satellite Theaters in Norman, Oklahoma, you must go up
two flights of red-carpeted stairs. The lobby is small, slightly
larger than two prison cells. And, if you're lucky, and arrive at the
right time, you meet the manager, who is the owner's daughter-in-law. Whe
is a very handsome young woman, possibly in her late 20s or early 30s.
When I met her, she was wearing a pastel red pant suit and a brilliant diamond
ring. She was very personable and forthright in answering my questions.
— I'm afraid I can't tell you how much we pay for the rental on the film, how
much we make on it, or how much we spend on cleaning. [The owner] doesn't give
out that information on any of the films. Sorry.
— I'm not interested in actual figures; I'd just like a comparison between
this and your other shows. For instance: do you spend more on cleaning for
this show?
— Well, I can tell you this: we do spend more to clean up for this show that
for the others. He's here most of Saturday and Sunday morning cleaning.
But the crowd isn't all that bad, y'know. We get a lot of drunks, of
course. And we don't like people drinking beer, smoking marijuana and
cigarettes, or lighting those lighters, but .... how can you stop them?
You know, this one time this guy brought in an aerosal spray can and sat in the
front row. Well, he lit his lighter in front of that can and the flame
shot out past those curtains at the side of the screen. One of the guys
escorted him out. You know, that could've really scared people - if the
curtains caught on fire.
Another time, this guy hit his girl friend and we had to take him out of the
theater. He really hurt her. But he was real apologetic later; he
was drunk, y'know, and he just ... he just got carried away. Another time,
a couple of guys came to blows, but we got 'em out without any problems.. And
those incidents are real rare. Most of the time, they're pretty cool – I
guess 'cause they're a college crowd. I've not been there, but I've heard they
get really wild at the May, where they show it in the City (OKC).
— So the crowd isn't destructive?
— Not at all.
— Have you ever had a Standing Room Only crowd?
— Not as far as I know. The theater can seat 400 people, and I think we
haven't had more than 250 for Rocky Horror. but if you looked in that theater
now [at the 6:30 showing of The Warriors], there wouldn't be that many
people in there.
— Do you know why the owner chose to show the film so late at night?
— Well, you know that Twentieth Century Fox [the distributer of Rocky Horror]
approached him, he didn't go to them. He didn't know anything about the film
until they approached him. They told him a little about it, and how it was a
good money-maker. And they suggested he show it late at night. It really
is a late-night film. You know, the Boomer Theater showed Rocky
Horror here in 1976, earlier in the evening, and it bombed. If we showed it
daily and for the matineés, I think we'd start loosing money on it.
People would get bored with it. But, showing it every week-end, we get a
steady revenue from it. We wouldn't show it otherwise.
Getting Rocky Horror fanatics to talk about the film is not difficult.
Especially if you sound like you're attacking it. M.K. Jackson, who is
currently a graduate student working in the Bizzell Library, very kindly agreed
to speak with me on short notice. She has seen the movie at least a dozen
times.
— Although, she says, I stopped counting at six. I've seen it
in Houston, Kansas, Colorado, Tulsa, and Norman. The crowds in Houston and
Kansas are better than the one here in Norman. There, they cooperate; they all
shout the same thing at the right time – between lines of dialogue. That
way, you can hear what's going on in the movie. I don't really like the
crowd here in Norman: they shout different things at different times, and it's
just noise.
— Well, if it's so bad here, why continue seeing it?
— Because it's fun. There's absolutely nothing like it. And it's
exciting.
— Something that's interested me: people get so involved in the film –
throwing things, wearing costumes, and all of that. Why don't even small groups
of people get involved during the orgy scene.
— What you don't understand, James, is this film isn't about sex. It's
a film about decadence, which involves more than sex. Decadence is
self-centered. And although it's self-destructive – as is the case
with Frank N. Furter, and that great decadent, Oscar Wilde – there's also
a sense of self-preservation, of how much you can get away with. And the sort of
thing you're talking about is just too much.
— Why do you think Rocky Horror is so popular?
— It's a release. And it's a cult: with all the rituals, it
really is like going to church every Friday or Saturday night. And I think
it fills a need for the ritual which is lacking in America today.
III. Son of Rocky Horror
“Each man must create his own system or else he is slave to another
man's” – William Blake
Objectivity is a fiction. "Truth in journalism" implies an I, and that
pronoun proliferates like telephone poles on a country road. The 1970s
were the "Me Decade", as Tom Wolfe wrote.
The 70s were the denouement of a neo-Romantic era which began in the 1960s,
between the death of Robert Frost and President Kennedy. Just as
Romanticism in France was heralded by the first French Revolution, so was
America's by campus revolts during President Johnson's terms of office. And as
the activism of France's Romanticism ended with Napoleon's deposition and the
beginning of a more rigid government, so did America's activism end with the
shock of "four dead in Ohio."
After these ages of activism ended, an age of Romanticism as literary and
cultural philosophy began. Now the self, as in "self help" is emphasized.
The letter "I" is holy. The accent is on youth, for Romanticism is the
teenage years gone wild. It's the "Pepsi Generation."
I believe Rocky Horror is a fable for the Romanticism of the 1970s.
Granted, this movies is about decadence, as one of the songs says, to "give
yourself over to absolute pleasure." But, my dear friend, decadence is just
Romanticism in drag.
The advertisements for this movie read: "He's the hero! That's right,
he's the real hero!" But the question is, who is the hero? It
would seem to be Dr. Frank N. Furter, for this is the character whom audiences
applaud and cheer throughout the movie. Yet, in the end he is killed, punished
for being the true Existentialist Man who lives by no morals but his own.
But this is not unusual. Dorian Gray dies in the end, after all. The
tragic Romantic hero is an enduring trope. We cheer these heroes, even
though their deaths are a form of moral defeat.
Who would not like to create their perfect mate? No doubt, we envy Dr.
Furter's success in that pursuit. But we also cheer him because we wish we
could share his loose morals. But most of us have enough sense of
self-preserevation to realise that such extremism is self-destructive.
Although we may identify with the Doctor, we are really just a bunch of Brads
and Janets being vicariously debauched for ninety-two minutes. Every
Friday and Saturday night, we go to this Church of Decadence, barely tasting the
communion.
Why? Listen:
People have an innate need to believe in something, be it Krishna, God, the
Flying Spagetti Monster, or the Cosmic Doughnut. And those who have
rejected both Christian mythology and the myths of foriegn cultures are placed
in the lonely position of creating, in effect, their own religion. Without
at least one other person believing as you do, and observing your rituals, it's
hard to convince yourself that your religion is viable or true. So we run
to the religion of the Self: self-help, self-hypnosis, regression therapy,or
Werner Erhert's pseudo-existentialist EST. Or .... we become card-carying
members of the Rocky Horror cult.
I have already described many of the rituals involved in this cult, but what
(if any) beliefs do its adherents have in common? Obviously, all the hard
core fanatics believe this movie is great; so great, in fact, that it
is worth spending three dollars a shot for as many as forty-three to one hundred
visits. Also, sexual licentiousness is OK. Although the audience
calls Janet a "Whore", I doubt there are very many single virgins in the
audience. The term is used ironically: it is as if to say: "My parents
would think you're a whore, but you're all right in my book."
* * *
I originally wrote this essay in March of 1979, at which time I predicted
enthusiasm for the movie would soon end. I'm now a 60 year-old geezer writing about this 43 year-old movie. Surprisingly, it's still showing in many markets with the same rituals I observed all those years ago. Romanticism may be dead, but the longing for connection and ritual is not. Nor is the temptation to give yourself
over to absolute pleasure.
