“The Rocky Horror Picture Show” has toucha-toucha-toucha-touched generations of outcast creatures of the night since the revolutionary film debuted in 1975. Prior to the queer cult classic, Hollywood hadn’t really given us joyous celebrations of drag and LGBTQ+ storylines. Queer characters were almost always the butt of jokes, but they could never really take part in them. So, when the very vanilla couple in “Rocky Horror” stumble on a creepy mansion filled with what they deem to be strange characters, they’re the outcasts.
Though many audiences didn’t (and still don’t) get the camp and parody elements of the film that turned the tables on the critical commentary against the queer community, it struck a chord with plenty of people who needed it. And thus, the cult classic and its many traditions that we still enjoy today were born.
