Sweet Transvestite

I would like, if I may, to take you on a strange journey. It seemed a fairly ordinary night when five Malone students donned go-go boots, black skirts, and red lipstick. They set forth to encounter an incest, transvestite, homosexual musical cult film titled The Rocky Horror Picture Show. Upon arrival, these students were greeted with scantily clad men, scantily clad women, and squirt guns. It was evident that this was a night they were going to remember for a very long time.

First on the agenda was a costume contest. Men and women flooded the stage dressed as Rocky, Eddie, Janet, Columbia, Magenta, Dr. Scott, Brad, and the ever scandalous Frank-N-Furter. With the applause-o-meter as the weighing mechanism for judging the costumes, winners took home theatre-passes.

Pre-movie activities included step-by-step instructions on how to do the Time Warp, demonstrations of “elbow sex,” and finding all the Rocky Virgins and branding them with a red “V” on their foreheads. Viewers could also purchase prop kits that included various objects for interaction with the movie. A list accompanying the kit provided directions for use.

1) Rice to throw during the wedding scene

2) Newspapers and water pistols for the storm

3) Flashlights for the song “There’s a Light”

4) Rubber gloves for the creation of Rocky

5) Noisemakers celebrating Rocky’s birth

6) Toilet paper for the phrase “Great Scott”

7) Toast for when Frank-N-Furter proposes a toast

8) Party Hat for dinner celebration

9) Cards for when Frank sings “cards for sorrow, cards for pain”

The movie began and chaos ensued. Amidst shouts of “asshole” and “slut,” it was difficult to actually determine what was going on. Finally it was understood that “asshole” was assigned to close-ups of Brad Majors, and “slut” was attributed to close-ups of Janet Weiss. Everyone seemed to have some sort of comment in reaction to most lines of the movie. Audience members also danced along with the cast during the Time Warp and made full use of the props. It rained in the theatre along with the film, and cascades of toilet paper fell from the sky for fifteen minutes following the “great Scott” phrase.

Although these actions are all well and good, we still failed to comprehend what it meant to be a Rocky Horror enthusiast. One thing that we did articulate was that all of these actions have developed over time and were in no way planned by the authors.

So, what makes cult film?

More to come. I know you are shivering with antici…

pation.

Co-written by Alyssa Pearson and Phill Demarest