Synopses & Reviews
When
The Rocky Horror Picture Show was released in 1975, it initially received an indifferent reception in movie theaters, but it began to gain notoriety after it was embraced by audiences at midnight screenings in New York City and elsewhere. The movie tells of the misadventures of Brad and Janet, newly engaged, whose car breaks down in a rainstorm, forcing them to seek refuge in the castle of the bizarre and flamboyant Dr. Frank-N-Furter.
An homage to campy B-movies, sci-fi, and horror films, the movie wasandmdash;and still isandmdash;more than the sum of its parts. Participatory and party-like, midnight showings attract moviegoers who dress as film characters, sing along with the catchy show tunes, and interact with the action on screen. In the four decades since its release, it has become a cultural phenomenon, not to mention one of the most commercially successful films of all time.
In Fan Phenomena: The Rocky Horror Picture Show, Marisa C. Hayes brings together a diverse group of writers who explore the filmandrsquo;s influence on the development of the pastiche tribute film, emerging queer activism of the 1970s, glam rock style, and the creative use of audience dialogue in recreating and interacting with the spoken and sung language of the film.
Spotlighting a cult phenomenon and its fans, many of who count the number of times theyandrsquo;ve seen the movie in the hundreds, this contribution to the Fan Phenomena series covers never-before-explored topics related to The Rocky Horror Picture Show. For anyone who has ever done the andldquo;Time Warp,andrdquo; this will be essential reading.
Synopsis
Cult Cinema: an Introduction presents the first in-depth academic examination of all aspects of the field of cult cinema, including audiences, genres, and theoretical perspectives.
- Represents the first exhaustive introduction to cult cinema
- Offers a scholarly treatment of a hotly contested topic at the center of current academic debate
- Covers audience reactions, aesthetics, genres, theories of cult cinema, as well as historical insights into the topic
Synopsis
At once subversive, strange, and wondrous, the world of cult cinema is a wildly popular film culture that blurs genres, crosses boundaries, and defies easy categorization.
Cult Cinema: An Introduction presents the first in-depth academic examination of all aspects of the field of cult cinema, including its primary audiences, myriad genres, and the theoretical perspectives that inform a film's "cult" status. After addressing the well-known aspects of cult cinema -- midnight movies, exploitation films, fans of various cult subgenres, issues of censorship, cult-film festivals, and fanzines -- the authors unravel many of cult cinema's deeper mysteries, tackling such issues as representations of gender, transgression, subcultures, and meta-cults (cult movies about cult movies).
Topics are presented in sections that are organized thematically around issues relating to reception, aesthetics, and theories. Individual chapters are accompanied by insightful analysis of notable films, including such cult classics as The Rocky Horror Picture Show, Donnie Darko, Blade Runner, Plan 9 From Outer Space, El Topo, Eraserhead, Suspiria, and many others. For cinephiles and scholars alike, Cult Cinema: An Introduction is the ticket to the most complete source of information about a fascinating phenomenon in the history of film.
Synopsis
In addition to the two most widely known and ever-evolving concepts linked to the film (midnight cult movie and audience participation), promotes recognized but understudied areas of The Rocky Horror Picture Show, such as its influence in sparking the development of the pastiche tribute film (homage to B grade sci-fi, Hammer horror, early 20th century musicals, etc.), emerging queer theory of the 70s, glam rock style, hedonism (for the philosophy section), and the creative use of audience dialogue in recreating and interacting with the spoken and sung language of the film.
About the Author
Ernest Mathijs is Associate Professor in Film Studies at the University of British Columbia, Canada. His books include
The Cult Film Reader (co-editor), three books on the reception of
The Lord of the Rings, and
The Cinema of David Cronenberg: From Baron of Blood to Cultural Hero.
Jamie Sexton is Senior Lecturer in Film and Television Studies, Northumbria University, UK. He is the author of Alternative Film Culture in Inter-War Britain (2008), editor of Music, Sound and Multimedia: From the Live to the Virtual (2007), and co-editor (with Laura Mulvey) of Experimental British Television (2007).
Ernest Mathijs and Jamie Sexton are also co-editors of the book series Cultographies.
Table of Contents
Introduction
Marisa C. Hayes
Chapter 1: Fashion and Fetish: The Rocky Horror Picture Show, Dark Cabaret Aesthetics and Proto-Punk
Diana Heyne
Chapter 2: Doing the Time Warp: Youth Culture, Coming-of-Age and The Rocky Horror Picture Show Through the Years
Taos Glickman and Shawn deMille
and#160;Chapter 3: Shadowing the Boss: Leadership and the Collective Creation of a Frank-N-Furter Identity in Rocky Horror Fan Casts
Tara Chittenden
Chapter 4: and#39;A Strange Journeyand#39;: Finding Carnival in The Rocky Horror Picture Show
Molly McCourt
Chapter 5: Fishnet Economy: The Commerce of Costumes and The Rocky Horror Picture Show
Aubrey L. C. Mishou
Chapter 6: Performing Promiscuity: Female Sexuality, Fandom and The Rocky Horror Picture Show
Alissa Burger
Chapter 7: Philosophical Currents Through Film: The Rocky Horror Picture Show
Reuben C. Oreffo
Chapter 8: Sanity for Today: Brad and Janetand#39;s Post-Rocky Shock Treatment
Franck Boulandegrave;gue
Chapter 9: and#39;Donand#39;t Dream it, Be itand#39;: The Method in the Madness of The Rocky Horror Picture Show
Sarah Cleary
Chapter 10: Mercy Killing: Rocky Horror, the Loss of Innocence and the Death of Nostalgia
Andrew Howe