This week ushers in the beginning of October, what I believe to be the best 31 days of the calendar year. This opinion isn’t based solely on the imminent approach of Halloween — which is unsurprisingly my favorite holiday — but also on the variety of changes the month seems to bring with it. With October comes the promise of cool(ish) autumn weather, the inability to escape pictures of girls in pumpkin patches and, of course, showings of "The Rocky Horror Picture Show."
I watched "Rocky Horror" for the first time as a sophomore in high school at the request of my mother. It was the night of Halloween 2010 when she called from the couch for me to throw away my plans and watch it with her. As a 15-year-old, I was much more inclined to parade around the neighborhood in my suggestive interpretation of a cat costume than to stay home and watch a movie with my mom, but after enough pleading, I finally gave in.
It was unlike anything I had ever seen before. To my inexperienced eyes, all I took away from it was an hour-and-a-half-long kitschy frenzy of fishnets, sequins and corsets. I was entranced by Tim Curry’s bedazzled, gender-bending Dr. Frank N. Furter and even more surprised my 45-year-old mother was just as, if not more, enthralled. A child of the ‘80s, she grew up attending midnight showings just as "Rocky Horror" was solidifying its status as a cult classic, and she has made a point to watch it every Halloween. By sharing it with me, my mom unknowingly proved Rocky’s executive producer Lou Adler right when he called it "a family film."
This year marks the 40th anniversary of the movie, having first premiered in the U.S. on Sept. 25, 1975, and now holding the title of the longest-running film in history. The key to the movie’s ascension from campy cult classic to full-blown cultural phenomenon lies in the audience participation that has become integral to the experience. Whether it’s by throwing rice during the wedding scene, dressing as characters or putting on live reenactments, the audience becomes as much a part of "Rocky Horror" as the film itself.
Like any other cult classic, the film has been the subject of immense theoretical debate. Is it about the sexual revolution of the ‘60s? The death of rock ‘n’ roll? The end of heteronormative gender roles? All of these theories can easily be upheld considering the variety of cultural allusions mingling within the narrative. The influences of David Bowie, science fiction and punk subculture are just the beginning in this glitzy kaleidoscope, leaving many viewers unsure of what to take away from it.
What I see is an unabashed celebration of the "other." In all its outlandishness, "The Rocky Horror Picture Show" and its accompanying community are founded on the acceptance of anyone willing to have a good time and potentially rock a corset regardless of sexuality, gender or race. These counterculture roots will continue to fuel its mainstream success and endear generations to come.
Forty years never looked so good, and what better way to celebrate this major milestone than experiencing the "Rocky Horror" community for yourself? Showings start at High Dive on Thursday. Feather boas and fishnets are optional but encouraged. Prepare to join fellow creatures of the night and, in the immortal words of Dr. Frank N. Furter, "shiver with antici…pation".
Marisa Papenfuss is a UF English junior. Her column appears on Tuesdays.
