The 1975 film The Rocky Horror Picture Show was initially born as The Rocky Horror Show, a musical stage production premiered at the Royal Court Theatre in London, England, in June 1973. The British-New Zealander actor and musician Richard O’Brien wrote the entirety of its music, lyrics, and book. The film adaptation doesn’t deviate much from its source material, mostly because he also co-wrote the screenplay. At its core, the story tells the tale of venturing into the wilderness, of sexual awakening, and of a young man and woman losing their innocence.
In between those important details, it also touches on the subjects of forgiveness, acceptance, and honesty. There’s nothing here you’ve never heard before; that being said, everything is delivered in the most subversive and transgressive ways possible that the film becomes a visual treat like no other. It’s a complete animal, of which the noises make for sharp social commentaries toward the American Dream at its core.
There’s no other way to say it, but The Rocky Horror Picture Show is a collection of pieces from the Sexual Revolution in the 1970s. In case you’re too young to remember all of those, the sexual revolution was a consequential social and cultural movement which eventually led to the society at large to a much more liberal view and attitudes toward sexuality. It was marked by a major progressive campaign for feminism, the widespread publication of erotic media, the rise of hippie-culture, and so forth. Sexual Revolution truly was a form of a celebration of sexual exploration, the transgender community, same-sex relationship, single life, premarital sex, and permissive culture.
Before we get to the main point here, let’s take a revisit of what the American Dream really is. Over the decades, the term has been used as a reference to economic success and comfortable life. Even the Oxford English Dictionary defines the American Dream as the ideal that every American should be granted equal opportunity to achieve prosperity through determination, initiative, and hard work. In reality, however, it’s not merely a socioeconomic issue, but a sociopolitical one as well, because there has to be something that separates the true American Dream from the dreams of financial success. Sexual Revolution was part of the American Dream; The RHPS touches on the subject and makes a blistering commentary on it.
That someone can be anything other than cisgender was (and perhaps still is) quite radical to society. The entire LGBTQ+ community, including transvestites, sometimes still have to deal with rejection in some places. The Rocky Horror Picture Show is all about that notion of individual expression and sexual freedom acceptance. Everything in the film paints a picture of how sexual revolution challenges the norm, as an attempt to reinforce the long-forgotten aspect of the American Dream.
One thing that makes The Rocky Horror Picture Show notable is how it makes stinging satire on traditional gender roles, or heterosexuality if you like. The film also doesn’t take long to make that point: before all the sci-fi horror elements come to the scene, you see how Janet catches a bride’s bouquet at a wedding, triggering an almost immediate yet somehow reluctant proposal from her boyfriend, Brad. Such a rushed engagement implicitly tells that marriage isn’t always a celebration, but merely a fulfillment of rigid norms. The film ridicules heterosexuality and marriage as an institution from the get-go. And the assault doesn’t end there; scene after scene, the film continues to undermine Brad and Janet as a traditional couple almost throughout the entire duration, until eventually, they succumb to the lure of sexual freedom.
The relentless influence is spearheaded by Dr. Frank-n-Furter, a cross dresser bisexual alien scientist, with help from a humanoid of his own design, Rocky Horror. That’s where all the sci-fi horror elements come from. At the peak of the assault, Brad makes love with Dr. Frank – he doesn’t seem to like it at first, but he makes no meaningful effort to defend himself either. Surprisingly, the same thing happens with Janet, who is tricked into having sex with Dr. Frank, too; Janet used to take pride in her premarital chastity, but an encounter with Dr. Frank changes everything. She even takes the initiative when given the chance to have sex with Rocky. As if the commentary isn’t explicit enough, The Rocky Horror Picture Show makes sure you see how Brad and Janet are actually fine with the experience. As far as individual expression and sexual freedom are concerned, they’ve achieved the American Dream.
We think one of the most important messages from The Rocky Horror Picture Show is how the young couple end up experiencing sexual freedom and accept it eventually, despite their long-standing belief in traditional values. Whether they will survive in society remains unclear, however. Fortunately, in the (sort of) sequel titled Shock Treatment, it’s hinted that Brad and Janet have been living a pretty much normal life while bearing the scars of their past adventures together. For characters initially depicted as coming from a sexually conservative background, a direct and intense exposure to sexually permissive culture will probably change their perspective a great deal, so at least it makes good sense.
Do you think the United States is still in a sexual revolution today? Do you know other films that talk about the American Dream? We’d love to hear from you.
Other Things You Might Want to Know
What does LGBTQ+ stand for?
LGBTQ stands for Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender, and Queer/Questioning. The “+” represents all other gender identities that are not included in the acronym, such as intersex and asexual.
What is the American Dream?
In short, the American Dream is a concept about how the United States is the perfect land of opportunity where everyone has the same right and equal opportunity to achieve not only prosperity but also freedom. While material success is a big part of the American Dream, the freedom of expression is inseparable from the whole concept.
Some of Susan Sarandon’s latest film acting credits:
| Film | Year | Role |
| Fearless | 2020 | Mom |
| Ride the Eagle | 2021 | Honey |
| Forty Winks | 2022 | Connie Montoya |
| Maybe I Do | 2023 | Monica |
| Blue Beetle | Victoria Kord | |
| The Gutter | 2024 | Linda Curson |
| The Fabulous Four | Lou | |
| The Six Triple Eight | Eleanor Roosevelt | |
| Nonnas | TBA | TBA |
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