Sex, drugs and rock-and-roll. These are just a few of the things that summon countless people to The Rocky Horror Picture Show on Friday and Saturday nights. An abundance of teens and people are either pulled in by someone in their family or group of friends and there are those who are merely pulled in and attracted by the peculiarity of the name of the show that brings up and causes a sense of interest and curiosity. What pulled me into it was my group of close of friends and their parents who grew up and relive the show and movie every Halloween. Many people go to discover themselves in a setting or group where they feel that they fit in and are accepted. Those people that normally get called freaks or loser go to see The Rocky Horror Picture Show because it has become a meeting ground where they are not labeled as a freak or loser. Each and everyone that attends the Rocky Horror Show have a unique individuality concerning them that is distinguished by all at each and every showing. Every time you see the Rocky Horror Show, you meet others who are like you and those who share the same interests as you. This sense of community and belonging helps to build friendships and bonds between the audience and the cast. It also creates a feeling of a second family in the theater and a unique feeling that goes with you no matter where you are in the theatre.
Every week before the show, the cast calls up a random number of “virgins”, or first timers to the show, who are chosen to be called up in front of the audience. This in the real world outside of the theatre is called faking an orgasm. This humiliation is all in jolly good fun and is seen as the rite of way into the Rocky Horror community. The first time I went to the sh...
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...black eyeliner and “Misfit makeup”, as my friends called it, and left to go join my friends, groupies and new family at The Rocky Horror Picture Show.
Water guns, playing cards, toast, rice, newspapers and the never ending “Time Warp” are always going to be part of the Rocky Horror Picture Show that has been accepting freaks, weirdoes and misfits since 1973. The people, the virgins, and the experiences may change through the years and the places in which you attend will too, but one thing will always remain the same. Every Friday and Saturday night in theaters across the nation and Great Britain, these people gather with their friends and family to watch one of the best movies and plays of the modern, psychedelic generation. When you go experience the show, you will never forget that being yourself is the absolute best thing you can ever do for you.
American attitudes and behaviors have shifted and swayed throughout the history of this great country. They are often influenced by things happening in not only our nation, but in the world. Things like world wars, economic upheaval, and even natural disasters. These ever changing shifts in how we view and respond to the world around us change us as a nation. Some of those changes are fleeting, some fade and we revert back to former ways, but one stands out from all the rest. One change, an explosion of our view of cultural norms, burst onto the scene and changed us in a deeper and more meaningful way than ever before. This change was caused by rock and’ roll music. It brought about such deep transformation to our societal views about family, sexuality, and race that even today we are “All Shook Up.”
Rock ‘n’ Roll began to boom in the 1950’s. The music of Jerry Lee Lewis, Buddy Holly, Little Richard and of course Elvis Presley quickly became popular to the younger American generation. As for most parents or older Americans, they were afraid that this new style of music would promote sex and rebellious behavior. Rock ‘n’ Roll music however, did so much more for the United States in the 1950’s and 60’s. Because it started in the black culture, Rock ‘n’ Roll was bound to change American views on race. This music also lead to the thought of children growing up way earlier than they used to, creating the new term, teenager, or the time between being a child and being an adult. It was teenagers out of all the American generations at this time who really became influenced by Rock ‘n’ Roll. Rock ‘n’ Roll was the only kind of music that talked about how they, as teenagers, truly felt about growing up and wanting their independence as an adult. Rock ‘n’ Roll was thought to have changed American society because of the ways it portrayed sexual behavior and black rights, but it simply reflected the changes that were already underway .
First, the new psychedelic style of rock didn’t have to meet any previous restrictions that were seen as the “social norm.” Before the musical revolution of the 1960s, jazz music was the ostentation of the Roaring 20s. Americans were perceived to live elegant and luxurious lifestyles through this time. Therefore, music had to carry this purpose in its meaning. The emergence of Rock went against this style. “No longer obligated to elevate the spirit, to
The summer of 1969 was in midst of the Vietnam War, a cultural movement rejecting social norms, and transformative genres of music. This summer is also known for the Woodstock Music and Art Fair, a festival attended by over 500,000 people. Jimi Hendrix was one of many other performers there who contributed to the monumental period of change in America. Pete Johnson describes his¬¬¬¬ band’s performance as “magical: the way they looked, the way they performed and the way they sounded were light years away from anything anyone had seen before. The Jimi Hendrix Experience owned the future and the audience knew it in an instant. When Jimi left the stage, he had graduated from rumor to legend” (qtd. in Hopkins). Woodstock was a breakthrough
People enjoy immersing themselves in fictional stories, whether that be through books, plays, or movies. No two movies are exactly the same keeping people watching more and more of them. Even though the movies may be very different, each story in a specific genre includes the same conventions, constituting them as part of that genre. Horror movies are filled with darkness, suspense, and anticipation. These conventions keep the audience on the edge of their seat wondering what is going to happen next.
The late 1970's Los Angeles cultural climate set the stage for a groundbreaking music scene, fusing punk, country, and rock and roll. The plethora of clubs and dive bars in Hollywood meant that on any night of the week, something was going on, unintentionally creating an incubator for the city’s most influential and iconic bands including X, the Blasters, Los Lobos, The Germs, and The Bags. A $3 cover at the Whiskey A Go Go could get scenesters into shows ranging from the Sex Pistols to Patti Smith, or they could pile into a car to North Hollywood to the legendary Palomino Club to catch a set by Jerry Lee Lewis or Loretta Lynn mixed in with an occasional appearance by Elvis Costello or Neil Young. Eventually, both genres would consistently
“Rock n’ Roll” as we know it today had a huge impact on all races and social classes during its early decades. Rock and roll most certainly posed a threat to the middle class propriety. With this new style of music arising and the mass culture shift taking place, the middle class began noticing individuals not conforming to (what was believed to be) acceptable standards of behavior. The novel All Shook Up gives great examples and explains just why and how rock n’ roll posed such a threat to this particular group of individuals and their beliefs.
Most everyone can remember a specific moment in their life where they felt on top of the world. For most people it would probably be a great game of football, a time when they feel needed most, or maybe when they finally beat that high score on their favorite game; for me it was crossdressing at the Saenger Theater watching a movie about transvestite aliens. Now I know that may sound pretty strange, but it is actually a tradition among Rocky Horror Picture Show fans and one of the greatest moments of my life.
In the beginning of the 1960’s Americans believed they were in the dawn of the Golden ages. John F. Kennedy had just recently been elected and it was believed that America was once again great. Unfortunately for most adults, this was false. In fact the 60’s was a troubling time that only brought headaches. Rock and Roll had just become popular which inevitably led to many changes. Teenagers began to rebel against modern family values and began expressing their sexuality. The fashion industry drastically changed and young teens were exposed to sex and drugs. Rock and roll also had an immense influence on the African American race.
The story of film, as a matter of the fact, is a limited space-time story, so the story of the film will create a particular atmosphere. The general atmosphere of the movie is mainly rendered visually through costumes and props. Film music is responsible for rendering auditory atmosphere in time and space. Film music can lay a specific tone for the film 's total or partial atmosphere so as to prominent the visual effects, or strengthen the appeal of the movie screen (Zentner, Grandjean& Scherer, 2008). For instance, Autumn 's Tale tells about a touching love story about a couple in the western United States. The film mainly uses strings, symphony to match the movie distant, great tone so as to bring the audience into the lingering and delicate love between the hero and heroine.
With all the social, political and cultural changes occurring in the 1960s, youth culture was embracing the ideologies of rebellion and counterculture. The Folk music of the sixties was giving way to the new Rock revolution and with this came the iconic Rock Rebel. The Rock Rebel is a romanticized existential figure who revolts against social conventions in a quest to find value or a sense of freedom beyond the pre-existing conforms of society. (Camus; 1967) Through analysing, in a sociological context, the way the music industry utilized film to help create or reinvent star image of Rock icons The Beatles and The Rolling Stones, we can see how the signifier of the Rock Rebel has evolved with the developing Rock culture. (Dyer; 1979:1)
Have you ever wondered how rock and roll impacted the American society? Rock and roll originated in Africa by the way they used only vocals. Rock and roll used to be called the Tin Pan Alley because they said that it sounded like they were banging on pans. During the big band era, the singers began to rise to fame because they were going solo with their singing. Then, when the electric guitar emerged, rock and roll became more popular and well known. When the radio and the TV had become accessible to every household, rock started to emerge more because kids and teens could watch their favorite band perform on the most well-known show called American Bandstand. The parents didn't like the new style, called rock emerging because they thought it showed crude behavior and had a bad influence on their kids. Rock and roll had a positive impact on American society by changing the way of teenage lifestyle.
Upon thinking about which genre of music made the most prominent impact on American culture, it is very clear that Rock n Roll is the front runner. Rock n Roll music made a huge impact on American culture for a plethora of reasons. These reasons include a new lifestyle, a prominent fan base, and a new more free sense of expression that was unlike any other during that time. Aside from the impact that Rock n Roll had on American Culture it was seen as so innovated and new during the beginning, that it was even banned from certain radio stations and cities. The taboo like nature of the genre at the beginning is what really helped it excel and become what it is today.
Then, after their set was done and the intermission was over, the lights went low once more, and the sound of teenaged vocal chords, though not as loud as last time, rumbled the venue. From the start, I began sobbing and singing at the top of my lungs. They were right in front of me. Singing. Dancing. I was awestruck. Joe wore a white ensemble with his straight hair messy, Kevin wore an all black outfit with gold embellished into the cloth, and I remember one of Nick’s outfits displayed his toned arms in a cloud-colored t-shirt and ebony vest. At one point in the show, Kevin brought out a fire extinguisher and immediately became one of the show’s highlights. Their stage was a tiered, and made up of TV sized screens that popped different colors and patterns. Sweat dripped down my face, mixing with tears, and my hair became unruly in the heat.
Since the introduction of Disney films into our society, there has been a sea change