The Rocky Horror Picture Show as an Enduring Pop Cult Classic essays

The Rocky Horror Picture Show as an Enduring Pop Cult Classic essays For years, with its phenomenal success as a midnight movie, The Rocky Horror Picture Show has made "don't dream it, be it" the motto for its ever-growing cult audience. The film continues to be regarded by critics and audiences as the only no-holds-barred, ultimate theatre experience, which has seemingly drawn a repeat audience of cult film followers year after year. More than just a movie, The Rocky Horror Picture Show (RHPS) has become a community, a loud, profane, exuberant collection of cult film freaks: the beautiful, the creative, the lovers and the lost. Despite its first success as a play and then initial failure when produced as a mainstream film, RHPS has become a successful paradigmatic cult classic due to its strange and unusual theatrical exhibition and the film's blend of thematic, visual and verbal elements, which parody accepted societal conventions. According to the RHPS Anniversary Commentary, a young actor by the name of Richard O'Brien originally wrote RHPS's musical predecessor, The Rocky Horror Show. After performing small roles in the films Carry On Cowboy and Casino Royale, O'Brien landed roles in the musicals Hair and Jesus Christ Superstar and made one disastrous yet fateful performance in each. Although he did not succeed in either of the shows, O'Brien had the opportunity to present his rock musical entitled "They Came From Denton High" to Jesus Christ Superstar's director Jim Sharman. Through Sharman, a solo acoustic tape of O'Brien singing the future RHPS opener "Science Fiction, Double Feature," came across the desk of independent theater producer Michael White. White became fascinated with the tape and story concept and agreed to sponsor the production as a small experimental stage production at London's Royal Court Theatre Upstairs. O'Brien spent countless hours in movie houses watching the tasteless thrillers which would later inspire him to write The Rocky Horror Show. The play was base...