America after the 1960s was chaotic. A series of political events such as the assassination of President Kennedy and Martin Luther King Jr., the Watergate Incident, the racial issue, and the Vietnam War have filled the American people with panic and anger towards society. Coupled with the economic crisis attached to everyone, it has created a kind of inner The collapse of spiritual beliefs, a disillusionment with a sense of belonging, security and pride. At this time, people urgently need to find a way to vent, hoping to escape these troubles - and the entertainment nature of movies makes it the best choice. However, the happy and peaceful reunion stories in classic Hollywood not only failed to make the audience feel relieved, but made them even more angry. Because they know that what's on the screen is a lie, and they used to be fascinated by it, but now they don't believe in these whitewashed bullshit.
A new kind of film urgently needs to emerge, a new style is about to be born. Along with the rising trend of hippies, counterculture, and sexual liberation, the new Hollywood movie came into the world immediately, becoming a powerful way for people with lofty ideals to express their ideas. A series of rebellious characters soon began to be active on the big screen: Jiangyang thieves in suits, motorcycle youths who make a living on drugs, taxi drivers with mohawks, etc. They dare to subvert, break the routine, and open fire to the upper class; but they are full of melancholy and despair, and show helpless self-abandonment to the unclear future, and "indulgence" naturally becomes their protection and isolation from the world. 's shield. Such contradictions, confusion, and irrationality are unexpected but reasonable and won the audience's love - because they all reflect the true portrayal of the hearts of people at that time, especially young people.
And such a contradictory, chaotic, and irrational mood and attitude must be what "Rocky Horror Show" wants to convey, or, in other words, it is also what it seeks to not let the audience understand. Logic and rationality have become decorations here, and all you can do is go crazy with it.
However, this "crazy" is also carefully constructed, and there are many rhetorical elements in the film. A gothic castle that blocks this group of aliens from the outside world. They eat, drink and play, wear fancy clothes, do weird experiments, and enforce their own laws in a social and ideological vacuum. From the point of view of decoration, it is not difficult to tell that an extreme post-modern style will occupy here. Don't forget that at this moment, in the land of right and wrong "outside the castle", groups of young people are vigorously advocating rebellion and subversion of tradition; and the creators choose to transplant all kinds of them into the castle without hesitation. Let it be the dominant environment in the movie - I would rather read the meaning of the castle as a metaphor for a place of pilgrimage for young people. Just like Billy and White in "Easy Rider", they symbolize the arrival of the younger generation of motorcyclists. While they are the only communication between the castle and the outside world (Brad and Jenny are an accident), they also leave many questions: their origins where do you come from? Are they the audience in the castle? Where did they end up? ...no one knows, but doesn't need to know--because they're here, and that's enough.
But the creator doesn't seem to be satisfied with this. He wants to infect people who have not joined the carnival and become one of them. You can briefly review the process of the protagonists Brad and Jenny. At the beginning of the film, the two are making plans for their wedding, and building a so-called family by ordinary people is everything in their future. At the same time, out of human affection, the two were going to thank the professor who matched them, and this was also the opportunity for them to enter the castle by mistake; then in the castle, when the two escaped to no avail, became passive, and were asked by Frank to take off their coats, The two will cover their bodies shyly and in vain; but as the situation develops, they have undergone subversive changes, especially when it comes to "sex", Brad and Jenny gradually abandoned the secular "laws of civilization". Under the demonstration of "mentor" Frank, they updated the original values and brought the pursuit of subjective pleasure to the table.
Obviously, in this castle, there are no shackles of order in human society in the traditional sense, such as "marriage" and "human affection". The so-called "infidelity" and "incest" are all common and legal behaviors. It was the audience who sat in front of the screen, like the newcomers Brad and Jenny, still outside the castle, who became a bunch of monsters. The two protagonists practice their own actions and use their own transformations to send a signal to the world to participate in the war.
But in my opinion, despite the high-pitched shouts of passion throughout the film, there is a hint of pessimism in the ending. Frank was killed and the castle flew away, leaving Brad and Jenny on the ground in heavy makeup, exhausted. They returned to the familiar place, but as everyone knew, they no longer belonged to that place. What awaits them will be the other who feels terrified and comical as they did when they first met Frank, and then rejects and flees. Therefore, in the end, this is an "Utopia" with weak support, and a "show" that lacks audiences.
But that doesn't mean the "show" was unsuccessful. If "Rocky" is translated as the adjective "dizzy", the five words in the title form a concise, affectionate and ambitious external manifesto. When, accompanied by the music, Frank faced the camera again and sang "Don't dream it, be it!" to us who had already been pulled into the melody, who wouldn't be willing to be a part of them? ? Even if it's just for that brief 100 minutes.
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