Kaitlin Kelsch

Professor Hailey Haffey

ENGL 2850 Intro to Queer Studies

February 22nd, 2017

Rocky Horror Picture Show:

An Allegory of Self-Acceptance

With its insanely catchy musical numbers, its outrageous off-kilter atmosphere, and its

visually appealing glitz and glam, its easy to see why the Rocky Horror Picture Show remains a

timeless classic to this day. Even though, when the film was first released, it was panned by

critics and received little commercial success (Miller), the film has garnered a massive cult

following over the years through so-called midnight screenings (Miller) screenings of the

show in which audience members are encouraged to use props and call-and-respond to the films

most iconic lines (Redfern).

However, despite the clear LGBTQ+ overtones present in the film and the fact that it is a

direct response to the Sexual Revolution of the early 1970s (Redfern), most people who watch

Rocky Horror Picture Show tend to view it on a purely surface level. Its a great guilty pleasure

movie, an enjoyable romp in the park, but sometimes the overall oddball nature of the plot tends

to eclipse the deeper meaning of the film, making it very hard to identify such a deeper meaning

after just one viewing of the show.

In fact, by neglecting to examine the movie and its symbolism more closely, you, and a

great majority of the other moviegoers, for that matter, are missing out on a very relevant

allegory for modern-day sexual exploration. The more you examine the story arcs of Brad,

Janet, and Dr. Frank N. Furter (the three main characters) with a critical eye, the more you will

start to see that these characters represent three different pathways people have the ability to take
once they start to question the sexual identities that define them. After all, as Scott Miller,

artistic director of New Line Theatre, says, We can love the music, laugh at the jokes, and sing

along with The Time Warp, but we should never forget that Rocky Horror is about

something.

The first path one can take upon questioning their sexual identity is The Path of Denial,

represented by Brad. As Brad and Janet weave in and out of the strange odyssey of events that

occur at Frank N. Furters castle that night (lets just say these events involve orgies, insanity,

and fishnet stockings to spare), it soon becomes clear that Janet is much more receptive to Frank

N. Furters philosophy of sexual liberation than Brad is, who looks down on the sexual practices

of Frank N. Furter and his household staff and repeatedly expresses in song form his desire to

follow the rules and be a good boy.

Indeed, the first few minutes of the film are spent setting up the fact that both Brad and

Janet were raised in all-American, sexually traditional and, most likely, religiously fundamental

households. The church where Brad and Janet attend the wedding of their best friends Betty and

Ralph contains dozens of hints that this might be the case, the most striking of which is the

portrayal of the churchs staff, dressed in the exact same manner as the couple depicted in Grant

Woods 1930 painting American Gothic.

Brad and Janets behaviors are also indicative of a traditional upbringing. Brads

proposal to Janet not ten seconds after he confesses his love for her, as well as their mutual

desire to save themselves for marriage and the silent expectation that Brad is to remain strong

throughout the events of that night for Janets sake, serve as tell-tale signs. As Rachel Redfern

of Bitch Flicks (a movie review website which examines films from a feminist perspective)

states, At all turns, were blatantly reminded of their status as a proxy for a nice boy and a good

girl, and its reinforced with every clich possible.

 However, even after being exposed to greater sexual horizons after engaging in gay sex

with Dr. Frank N. Furter, Brad rejects the fact that he might be gay because, ultimately, he is

afraid to leave the only set of traditions, norms, and customs that he has ever known behind. In

this decision comes a pretty significant trade-off. Most likely, he will still be able to remain in

societys good graces (with all the perks and privileges that come with conducting traditional

sexual relationships intact) but inside he may still feel rather hollow and incomplete, unable to

express himself fully because of his denial of a particularly large part of his identity.

So if Brad represents a more traditional way of coping with sexual experimentation, Dr.

Frank N. Furter, the most outstanding and memorable character of the film, is exactly the

opposite. Sassy, unapologetic, and with fabulous high heels to boot, the best way to describe the

pansexual mad scientist (other than his insistence that he is just a sweet transvestite from [the

planet] Transsexual) is that he is a living, breathing, personified Id (Miller), acting on

sexual impulse and caring little for any pain he has caused for the people who love him the most.

Here, Frank N. Furter, represents the second way to cope with sexual experimentation

which I would like to call The Path of Fantasy. Even though it may seem as if Frank is

comfortable in his hedonistic and sexually promiscuous lifestyle, the way that Franks castle

seems to be a meeting place for other Transsexuals and the way that he is protective of the

castles location is eerily reminiscent of the concept of a gay bar. In other words, the castle

serves as a place where other Transsexuals can go to let their hair down, have fun, live their

deepest fantasies and then return to the outside world as if what took place in there never even

happened. Would Frank N. Furter act in quite the same way as he does in the film if he was

removed from castles environment? Although we never see it in the show, it remains a

possibility.
 Therefore, I believe that Dr. Frank N. Furter and the other Transsexuals represent those in

the LGBTQ+ community who know for certain that they are queer but cant come out due to the

cultural and societal pressures placed upon them. And while, most certainly, an individual

should be granted the liberty to come out whenever and however they want, an obvious pitfall of

living a double life for too long is it can cause a great amount of conflict and strain amongst your

different identities, not to mention any potential guilt you might feel over having to lie to your

loved ones.

It should also be mentioned that Frank N. Furters fixation on sex is not nearly as

sustainable in the long run as cultivating a loving, trusting connection with a person that you care

about deeply. Sure, sexual promiscuity may relieve your desires for a while and, sure, sexual

promiscuity allows you the freedom and anonymity to safely experiment without the hassle of

commitment but relying on sex to the point where it becomes your only source of love and

affection is bound to turn you selfish and jaded, using then abusing people in the name of

whatever feeling has you under control for the moment.

Unsurprisingly, then, Frank N. Furter suffers under a very huge conflict regarding his

sexual identity. Despite his obvious desire to be loved and accepted by the outside world,

symbolized by his delusion of performing in front of an audience during the song Im Going

Home, his apprehension to take pride in his sexual identity outside of the castle, saddled with

the alienating and isolating nature of his sex addiction, leads to a vicious cycle of fear and self-

loathing, further driving him from the kind and caring relationship that could, once and for all,

set him free. As Frank N. Furter says himself after freezing Brad and Janet into statues, Its not

easy having a good time. Even smiling makes my face ache.

The only one of the three main characters who does walks away from the events of that

night in a better condition than when they arrived is, in fact, Janet. After Riff-Raff and Magenta,
two of Frank N. Furters house servants, decide to beam the entire castle back to their home

planet of Transsexual, Brad and Janet are barely able to escape the castle with their lives intact

before the surrounding area turns to rubble.

While Brad explicitly states in the song Superheroes that he is deeply disturbed from

the nights events, completely broken and down insidebleeding, Janet, however, seems to

imply that her experiences at the castle are but a mere stepping stone to bigger and better things,

that they have helped her to be a more open, more complete, and more adventurous person. And

while it is true that the promises of sexual exploration strike a very resonant chord within Janet

and that she ends up sleeping with both Dr. Frank N. Furter and Rocky, respectively (Rocky

being Dr. Frank N. Furters handsome, muscular lab creation), the difference is that Janet

recognizes the underlying selfishness and isolation of a sexually promiscuous lifestyle while Dr.

Frank N. Furter does not, vowing to herself that she will not be made to walk down the same

path.

On the other hand, though, she is quite unwilling to revert back to the traditional lifestyle

that she has led before. As Scott Miller writes, Her sexual appetite cannot beignoredin

favor of living a decent life. she will not refuse these new feelings, even though they scare

her, even though they go against most of what she was taught about proper young ladies. In

other words, although she still craves the intimacy derived from faithful, authentic

companionship and although she has seen the folly of pursuing sex on a purely animalistic level,

she will make no attempt to hide the fact that plans on experimenting with her sexual identity

further, even if it means receiving a fair amount of judgement and criticism from society at large

along the way.

Hence, Janets story arc represents what I would like to call The Path of Balance, a

path in which a person is able to remain firmly in touch with the sexual attitudes and identities
which define them while also having the appropriate amount of courage and vulnerability to

express themselves in a fully realized manner. And although, for the time being, it seems as if

Janets sexual preferences remain firmly heterosexual, nevertheless, I believe that Janet serves as

a fantastic role model of personal acceptance for LGBTQ+ people everywhere.

Overall, if the main message of the movie had to be summed up in a simple sentence or

phrase, I think it would be this if you remain confident in who you are, fully partaking in that

which makes you happy, standing defiant in the face of the unfair and the unjust of this world,

the sun will rise from beyond those dark clouds and you will have your day. In other words, no

matter hard were try to push away the fundamental parts of ourselves that make us us no matter

how much we try to control them - ultimately to do so is futile because it pits you in a war

against yourself. Whatever pain wider society has wrought upon you is nothing compared to the

regret youll feel inside by stuffing your feelings down, so if you cant beat em, why not join

em? Celebrate that which makes you unique and make the opposition see the value of your

contributions. The world will certainly be worse for wear otherwise.

 Works Cited

Miller, Scott. "Inside Rocky Horror." New Line Theatre. New Line Theatre, 2002. Web. 11 Mar.

2017. <http://www.newlinetheatre.com/rockychapter.html>.

Redfern, Rachel. "Cult Truth: Why The Raunchy Rocky Horror Picture Show Is Hilariously

Humanizing." Bitch Flicks. Bitch Flicks, 29 Oct. 2013. Web. 11 Mar. 2017.

<http://www.btchflcks.com/2013/10/cult-truth-why-the-raunchy-rocky-horror-picture-

show-is-hilariously-humanizing.html#.WMS6TG8rLIW>.

The Rocky Horror Picture Show. Dir. Jim Sharman. Prod. Lou Adler and Michael White.

Screenplay by Richard O'Brien and Jim Sharman. Perf. Tim Curry, Susan Sarandon,

Barry Bostwick. Twentieth Century Fox, 1975. DVD.

Wood, Grant. American Gothic. 1930. Oil on Beaver Board. The Art Institute of Chicago,

Chicago, Illinois.