The rocky horror image spectacle remains the perfect cinematic sanctuary for monsters

Since the late 1970s, something strange and spectacular has happened in dark theaters around the world. While the clock strikes at midnight, fanatics dressed in fishnet come together like Gothic disciples for a ritual unlike any other; Partly musical, partly film, partly mass seduction. We are not only looking at “The Rocky Horror Picture Show” – we become. The adaptation by Richard O’Brien and Jim Sharman of successful stadium production “The Rocky Horror Show” is the alpha and the omega of cult cinema, risen from the depths of a flop box-office to become the midnight film to govern them all.

Stimulated by a dedicated and rowdy audience who refused to let him die, “Rocky Horror” now holds the title of Guinness for the longest continuous theatrical race. The original scenic production of O’Brien in London already breaks the rules of good taste and entertainment. Shows have become parties where the fourth wall has never been lucky, and the public participation went around the heritage of the show on the midnight film.

A member of the public by the name of Michael Wolfson turned for the first time into Dr Frank-N-Furter in 1975 and then formed the very first organized shadow casting, or a group of costumed artists who play and synchronize the lips of the events of the film in front of the screen. Thus, a global phenomenon was born. A theatrical oddity motivating viewers “does not dream, whether it has since become a sacred and glitter tradition for half a century. Week after week, decade after decade, the public continues to come back – scott toilet paper rolls in hand, toast in the pocket – to shout, dance and love the altar of this gloriously undressed masterpiece, maintained alive by passionate fans – people like The Late, Great, Sal Piro.

But “The Rocky Horror Picture Show” is not only a film; It is a sanctuary. Sacred theaters are more than houses for confetti, rice and group interpretations of “The Time Warp”. They have also been historically one of the few places where foreigners, queer people and anyone who have already been made as an unconventional conventionist can find comfort.

The first time I saw “The Rocky Horror Picture Show” during a midnight projection, I was a secondary student who broke the curfew and led an hour to the Milwaukee oriental theater – which houses the “oldest rocky show” in the world. The public was multigenerational. An older gay couple pointed out the actor disguised as a magenta to mark their niece with a “V” red lipstick for “Virgin”. A trans, calm and reserved woman online, lost her coat and transformed the moment when she entered the theater. A young Trixie Mattel – Well before being famous – floated through the crowd before executing “Science Fiction, double feature film”. It was the mid-2000s: pre-mariating equality, in a stateless state LGBTQIA + anti-discrimination on the scale of the state. And yet, inside this theater, people were free; Wild, weird and without fear of being themselves.

“Rocky Horror” is not only a cult film; It is a cultural touchstone. With its fundamental themes of isolation, sexual exploration and subversion of the status quo, the midnight screenings have evolved into sanctuaries for LGBTQIA + people – in particular non -conformity to sex – offering rare spaces of expression without judgment or legal risk. These spaces still count: more than half of the United States still have no state-scale protections for LGBTQIA +individuals.

Above all, it is also an accessible refuge. A cheap ticket and a midnight early midnight made it at the disposal of the Queer of the working class. And unlike bars or discos, those under 21 could attend, giving teenagers a rare and real community space. The shows were also one of the rare places where the right and cisgenres people have entered and happily entered queer culture – sing, shout, dress and connect. For many of us, “Rocky Horror” is not only a film. It was a rite of passage. A life buoy. A strong growl and campy of the attractive baritone voice of Tim Curry tells us that being a wild and wild thing is a good thing.

Since then, I have known projections of my own projections, join the Shadowcasts and played in stage production several times in the past 20 years. To say that the film had an impact on me is an understatement.

When “The Rocky Horror Picture Show” proven itself 50 years ago, it was only a few years from the riots of Stonewall. The 1970s were a maturity for the Civil Rights Movement of the LGBTQIA +community. By openly displaying sex, sexual humor and LGBTQIA + representation, “Rhps” sent a wave of liberation in the 1970s which continues to resonate, inspiring LGBTQIA + people to date. Half a century later, yes, we have parades of pride and an allyship of companies, but do not get cute law, anti-quai legislation is back with revenge, and liberation could be as far as the transsexual country in the Galaxy Transylvania. The bills “do not say gay” always permeate American legislation, and the Trump administration attacks the transgender community with hateful decrees and the erasure of LGBTQIA + of government resources. We always fight for space – to exist, to be seen, to live without apprehension. This is why “Rocky Horror” still counts. This is a gathering point for the beautiful, the bizarre, the rejected and the fabulous.

Forget the debates to find out if it’s “problematic”. Rocky does not apologize – and neither do we. “Rocky Horror” was a revelation, teacher of generations that queerness does not need to be pleasant to taste; He must just be yours. Authenticity is not a luxury; It is a life buoy. When you stop responding to others and starting to live for yourself, this is when the real connection begins. And in an increasingly cold world of self -expression – where the drag is evil and the transmission is legislated – the mixture will not save us. The assimilation generates silence and silence is fatal. But together, in these theaters, singing and shouting our hearts … They will need a laser pistol capable of emitting a bundle of pure antimatter to stop us. There is always a light on the Frankenstein Place, ready and willing to take us in a strange trip to “The Rocky Horror Picture Show”.