On Oct. 30, MTU’s Film Board showed “The Rocky Horror Picture Show,” in addition to hosting and judging a costume contest prior to the show. Students showed off their Halloween costumes in multiple rounds, the variety of costumes meshed well with the counterculture of the film. “Rocky Horror” is a 1975 musical comedy horror film which encourages the audience to shout, sing, and dance throughout the film. In person presentations of “Rocky Horror,” like Film Board’s, are especially memorable and every show is unpredictable with new heckled jokes shouted at the screen.
The film has historically provided an important safe space for the queer community, highlighting queer and gender-nonconforming visibility through its main character, Dr. Frank-N-Furter; campy deliveries; and gender presentations through the array of expressive makeup and drag costuming used in the film. Showing “Rocky Horror” here at Tech provides a safe space for the queer community on-campus to express and present themselves.
This year’s show held a special importance, as this was the school’s first showing since the passing of the film’s lead, Tim Curry. Film Board’s Publicity Chair, Jasper Andres, commented, “There were thoughts of showing a different movie for this weekend, but with Tim Curry passing, when we [Film Board] were deciding, we were kind of all on the same page that we should show Rocky Horror.”
When asked about why he liked the film and was showing it at Tech, Andres said, “I’m not personally a fan of it… I’m more of a fan of how popular it is within Tech’s community.” Andres continued, “It had a really massive cult following at Tech, and whenever we would show Rocky Horror, we’d get a lot of people that would show up for it… Then you add the costume contest on top of that, it makes it a pretty fun event.” Although not all audience members are cult followers of the Film, the room was filled with laughter and cheers in response to jokes heckled out.
Decades later the film and the culture it has created still seems to be captivating fans. The cult classic film has inspired the creation of Time Warp, directed by Allison Berg. The documentary, made 50 years after Rocky Horror, celebrates queer culture and the courage of individuals in the community. Time Warp will be presented at 10 p.m. on Nov. 7, as part of the 41 North Film Festival in the Rozsa.
For more information about Time Warp, or other featured films at the 41 North Film Festival visit 41northfilmfest.mtu.edu, and to stay updated with Film Board showings visit filmboard.mtu.edu.