This fall will mark the 50th anniversary of the release of the "The Rocky Horror Picture Show." A comic romp sending up 1930s science fiction movies, it featured Tim Curry as Dr. Frank 'N' Furter, a cross-dressing mad scientist, Barry Bostwick and Susan Sarandon as the naive young engaged couple who ... — The movie was so popular, it feels almost strange to describe it, like explaining the plot of "Hamlet" — "See there's this guy, he's a prince, and his father is murdered ..." Everybody knew "The Rocky Horror Picture Show."
But times change.
You did not attend the movie once but many times, bringing along props — squirt guns for the opening rainstorm, toast to throw. I was 15 when I first went with a group of friends.
My parents neither noticed nor cared about me viewing this randy cross-dressing romp. We did not live in constant dread of trans people, nor worry about encountering them in bathrooms, nor fret about their influence on high school sports. There was no moral panic.
Yes, trans people were played for humor. But then groups scorned by mainstream society traditionally tiptoe toward acceptability through comedy. It is a foot in the door, just as white households who'd never invited a Black guest to their table howled at "Amos and Andy" in the 1930s, and Jews who couldn't stay at a restricted resort in the 1950s could still tell jokes in its ballroom.
There's nothing I can do here to stem the current fear-mongering, except point out where attention is being misdirected, like a magic trick. Card-carrying liberals darken at the topic, suddenly concerned about bathroom assaults and unfair swim meets.
Democrats took to reflexively blaming the outcome of the last election on their previous — the "wreckless" is unspoken — acceptance of trans folk, as if addressing toilet etiquette by undoing democracy makes even momentary sense. "Look at those drapes! We must burn the house down."
I try to make my friends step back and see how the issue is being framed for them and usually fail. They aren't considering the vast number of Americans who have this orientation and struggle to live but the margins, the nagging issues — do not male bodies pose unfair advantage in the 100-meter dash?
It's like any other prejudice, only not as noticeable. If every time someone mentioned the word "Muslim" I began ranting about terrorists, or every time the word "immigrant" came up I cited some ghastly crime against a 12-year-old girl, you'd peg me as a hater. Terror and crime are real problems; the hate is in pretending these problems represent the entirety.
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Another type of phobia and another type of "those people" to sic the rubes on. In late September/early October, Kamala Harris' poll number were on a real upswing, I was cautiously optimistic about our chances. Then I saw an anti-trans Trump ad during an NFL game and my heart sank. I was still holding out hope, but deep down I knew it was a lethal blow. We need to teach empathy to kids at the same time we potty train them, otherwise we'll keep falling for hateful lies and suffer the consequences.
ReplyDeleteIt wasn't just ads for Orangy Boy that were transphobic...state and local candidates used them, too. They all had the same line at the end: "Joe Schmo is for they/them...[Gee-Oh-pee Guy] is for YOU." Really, really pissed me off. I screamed and swore at the TV...many, many times.
DeleteBut I knew it would work, here in deep-red North Missitucky (AKA Ahia). And boy howdy, did it ever. Big-time. A sleazy, scamming, shady, Colombian-born car dealer named Bernardo Moreno defeated the renowned Mr. Brown (as in Sherrod), and became our new senator. But what the hey--this is the same benighted state that also gave America its new V-P, former U.S. Senator Jethro V. Dance, of the J.V. Dance Troupe..
Just wondering...are you the same Mark K. who was a former colleague of Mr. S. at the Sun-Times? Welcome to this small but dedicated club. No wonder your replies are so good. Last summer, people were labeling me as the best commenter at EGD, prose-wise. No longer true, if it ever was. Now maybe a distant third...if that.
Grizz, thank you for the welcome and such kind words, coming from you, the true Dean of Commenters, they are really the highest compliment. I always enjoy your addendums to our host's columns and interesting stories with added context and meaning.
DeleteI have not had the pleasure to work with Mr. S. or at the Sun Times at all, so that was someone else. I lived in Chicago for about two decades, working different fintech jobs, until moving to central VA in 2019 to take care of a loved one.
Different Mark K, then. Sorry. He was a long-time Sun-Times staffer who worked alongside Mr. S--and now he's doing something else in the field of journalism. Not sure if he is still in Chicago. He's been mentioned at EGD a number of times by Mr. S. Pretty positive I was long gone before he came to Chicago, where I lived as an adult (chronologically speaking, anyway) from 1975 to 1992.
DeleteI would add to comment by Mark, kids should also be taught kindness. Parents and schools seem to have failed in educating kids this most basic human attribute. Judging by the amount of votes Trump received after everything he has said and done, kindness and empathy doesn’t exist for the majority.
ReplyDeleteCan’t we all just get along. This is a made up problem courtesy of MAGA idiots and Trump. What makes life interesting is diversity. Think of countries with a homogeneous population. Japan. Must be boring.
ReplyDeleteHaving been, several times, I would not call Japan "boring." I would call them "dwindling." Towns are emptying out. You can buy an abandoned house for a dollar. Xenophobia is a form of national suicide.
DeleteWhen I finally saw Rocky Horror, I was dumbfounded about how terrible & not that funny a movie it was. I saw it on a rented VCR tape, long after it came out, because Lou Adler, who owned the rights to it, banned its release on tape & DVD for years, because those bizarre midnight showings of it were so profitable to him. Once us normal people saw we all went , HUH?
ReplyDeleteIt's no longer a thing, as the majority of us have no use for such a bad movie.
It isn't a great movie, that's for sure. I'm more interested in the fact that now you are channeling "us normal people." ( Shouldn't it be "we normal people"? Or do "the majority" use bad grammar?) When did this start, Clark St.? Though it explains a lot. I find that haters have a fondness for the third person plural — "we think this," and "we think that." I think they're trying, like pufferfish, to seem bigger than they actually are. Are your own beliefs so tiny that you must summon an imaginary crowd to stand behind you, nodding? Apparently so.
DeleteThe overwhelming majority never had any use for that movie. It was a truly bizarre cultish thing for those midnight shows that made Adler millions. From what I read years ago, he finally allowed it out on video, when the midnight shows stopped being profitable for the theaters & so he then didn't make any money, so he thought the video release would make him more millions, except once the regular movie crowd saw they went Meh & it was over. We never got the joke!
DeleteI've never seen the movie, so no judgement here on it's merits or shortcomings, but I'd like to hear (read) your definition of "normal people."
DeleteThe best part of Rocky Horror was the experience....bringing your props, being an audience participant... if you only watched the movie, you missed out on the part that made it worthwhile, imho.
DeleteJill, yes, it was totally the shared experience. Signed, Not a Movie Critic
DeleteClark St., you have entirely missed the point. Rocky Horror was an experience, one that I enjoyed many, many times as a teen. (I can't believe my parents let me go downtown to the Biograph with my friends for a midnight show...that would sure not happen nowadays. lol.) No, it wasn't a cinematic masterpiece -- it invited those who came to watch to participate on the fringes, and have a fucking blast. And in participating, no one that I knew cared about the trans/bizarre cult aspect. We enjoyed ourselves. No one was hurt in the process.
DeleteWhy you are so irked that someone made money from that is beyond me.
One night in high school me and some friends ate some magic mushrooms and decided to go to the midnight screening of Pink Floyd’’s The Wall. Somehow we ended up in the Rocky Horror screening. I don’t remember much of the movie but the audience participation was what made it entertaining.
DeleteThere was one kid dressed in full drag like the character in the movie. Before the movie started he pointed at us and called us out by name. WTF! And then we recognized him as a kid that went to our school. What a trip.
After high school that kid moved to New York and became the leader a group called the club kids. His name was Michael Alig and he became famous for promoting nightclubs by dressing and acting outrageously. Him and his friends appeared on all the talk shows of the day like Oprah and Phil Donahue.
Unfortunately, he got messed up on drugs and committed a gruesome murder. There have been documentaries about him and Macaulay Caulken portrayed him in a movie called Party Monster. To this day he is probably the most famous, or infamous alumnus from my high school.
I'm not irked that Adler made money from it, but he was greedy to keep it locked up for many years to make far for cash from the midnight shows.
DeleteAnd Marty, normal are the ones who don't want to go to an insane asylum masquerading as a movie theater.
Sounds like he kept it from a majority who didn't/wouldn't like it anyway, while slotting it exactly where it best fit. Sounds like good business to me.
Deletewhy?
ReplyDeletewhy is it that if you are peculiar in some way someone else have to be the one to make extra effort ?
why doesn't society require the extra effort to be exerted by the people who can't or dont want to fit in? we all have our crosses to bear but if I conceal my problem and dont wear it on my sleeve for the world to see im being abused?
kindness, acceptance, tolerance and empathy should be taught to children and retained by adults. but self respect, appropriate behavior, selflessness, discipline, and an understanding that the whole world should not be expected to change to accommodate one persons needs or desires should also be taught.
bad behavior and a disregard for others cut both ways. people suffering from gender dysmorphia are not some special case by which societal norms should be gauged or disregarded.
im transgendered , but no-one knows it. ive had a great life . children , a successful career very little involvement in substance abuse or mental heath care. ive tried to fit in. and not act like this is the most monumentally import circumstance on earth. haven't concerned myself with micro aggressions or even aggressions. never considered using suicide as a threat to get my way. found a butch girl to partner with and enjoyed life.
I feel bad for those who ruminate or are tormented. get outside breath the air, feel the sunshine, get your hands in the dirt. read a book, volunteer ,put your phone down. how you look and who you think you are is not as important as you've been told. your being sold a bill of goods that has turned into a predatory industry. dont be taken in by bullshit.
Why? I think it's because everyone is peculiar in some aspect, to a varying degree. We as a society should appreciate and value these peculiarities as long as they are not infringing on others and allow them to be displayed without shame or danger. Basic human kindness should be extended regardless of the way a person happened to get born.
DeleteEach of us only gets one turn on this merry go round and it seems very sad to spend it pretending or playing a role of someone else. It also seems unfair to people in our lives who might never truly know us.
We are taught to value individual freedoms, but then conditioned to conform to some arbitrary "normal", and I think that dissonance is one cause of many of our societal problems. Diversity is a driver of creativity and innovation and progress, we should be celebrating it, not trying to squash it.
We as a society should appreciate and value what we appreciate and value. I value my family. I value myself.
DeleteI respect others . I ignore the vast majority of people and their opinions.
I am grateful I wasn't born 50 years later when I would have been encouraged to pursue a life that might have led to involvement in medical interventions that may have resulted in an inability to parent biological children.
I was not ostracized , bullied in school, didn't damage familial relationships and never had to concern myself with which bathroom to use.
I played and was successful at sports. Coached, taught and mentored others. Without stigma.
My genitals or lack there of did not become the centerpiece of my existence.
I have no regrets.
My parents weren't particularly interested in who I was and I wouldn't have expected others to take the time and effort to understand me.
I've been loved and loved others.
If my children would have found themselves in a similar predicament now I would have encouraged them to be comfortable in their own skin and not reach out into the world to find something better.
I respect the opinions of people who don't think like me but I don't make a particular effort to involve myself in the lives of strangers.
I am not entertained by drag shows, and I can't feel the confusion that torments trans children. But all people have the right to be who they are, with no apologies to the ones they are not hurting from any actual transgressions. The democrats who used the trans issue as an excuse missed the point. They should have held Biden to his one term promise, especially with Drumpf looming as his opponent. The Party lacked the secondary leaders with the courage to face Biden with the need to run the strongest candidate for '24 and forward. That Joe didn't see this himself will be history's sad coda to his political life.
ReplyDeleteMaybe the best way to understand differences is to see gender as a spectrum. We all fit on the spectrum but at different degrees. If people are having trouble accepting others, they're probably having trouble accepting themselves.
ReplyDeleteRocky Horror Picture Show is not a particularly good movie and I admit I didn't see it when it came out. But it's worth seeing just for the hot Tim Curry in drag. And Meat Loaf. And early Tim Robbins with Susan Sarandon. I also finally saw, and liked, Priscilla Queen of the Desert. People who get bent by satire or parody need to loosen up and let go of their pearls.
ReplyDeleteTim Robbins wasn't in RHPS...Barry Bostwick played Brad.
DeleteToday has been a harder day that I expected it would be. I had forgotten that it was the 80th anniversary of the liberation of Auschwitz and i watched the live special - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MqbQZAXJBAs
ReplyDeleteWith the rounding up of people on our streets makes me sick.
Everyone forgot. i feel doomed.
Yes. Trump's assault on immigrants (and trans people) coinciding with Holocaust Remembrance Day is chilling.
DeleteYes. What's next? Patches or buttons labeling the "others?" Yellow stars have a long history, along with pink triangles. How about red capital T's for trans, orange H's for Hispanic, blue M's for Muslim? Or should I shut up and stop giving them ideas?
DeleteI weep for our country.
"How did kindness toward those carrying a heavy load go so far out of fashion?" I'm loathe to assign a single explanation to such a profound question but . . . I recently watched the Jerry Springer Show documentary. It's not hard to draw a through line from the culture change wrought by that show - laughing, cheering and jeering at the interpersonal woes of the guests - to the cruelty some people willingly and publicly exhibit today.
ReplyDelete- Mike W.
I'm 100% on board for everyone being treated with tolerance, respect and equality. Where I struggle is with the transgender athlete. Should male bodies be considered equal competitors in female competitions?
ReplyDeleteI have friends who regard Trump's 2nd administration as "The Trump Show", and dont feel compelled to watch it. They plan to distract themselves for the next 4 years and aren't getting riled up by the daily drama coming out of the WH. To a person, these friends are in a position to financially weather the storm, regardless of the price of eggs, and do not fall into any of the categories targeted by Trump. They're beyond childbearing age, white, and if not cis, they can pass as cis, and if gay, that isnt well-known in their workplace or outside their close friends. I agree with them that they will likely get through the next 4 years without personal harm.
ReplyDeleteI have other friends who are frightened and appalled by the start of Trump's 2nd administration. Many, but not all, feel a personal vulnerability to these executive orders and policy priorities, either for themselves, or for a loved one. Like them, I feel empathy toward those who are being unfairly targeted. Especially since these "policies" have cruelty built into them as a feature.
For a long time there were mainly only male sports. Thankful for title nine which mandated that there would be equal funding for both male and female sports.
ReplyDeleteA few times throughout the years females participated with males in certain sports. They were driven and achieved a high enough level of play to be included. A rare thing.
Somehow they managed to find the right locker room.
There were few complaints that a girl had taken a boy's spot on the field
Now there are a few transgendered people that identify as girls that play girls sports.
Imagine being a boy who had to go up against Shaquille O'Neal in high school or LeBron James. You just couldn't win It didn't seem fair this happens a lot where one participant is so much better than the others.
You try harder You still don't win.
It's been this way for boys and for girls for a long time most participants accept it with grace that they're not the best player they don't question The genetics of their computation they just realized that some people are better than others.
It kind of sucks but you learn sportsmanship and you congratulate the Victor and you move on.
People constantly don't make the team somebody's better than they are.
There's lots of people who like to play but don't get the chance to they play at a lower level.
Actually I've been waiting for The Donald to come out of the closet for any guy who wears makeup, colors and perms his hair and stays up half the night is probably a psychologically conflicted personality.
ReplyDelete