What exactly is the
message of
The Rocky Horror Picture Show. You would think that it supports living the craziest lifestyle you can by swimming "the warm waters of
sins of the flesh". Here are some random thoughts:
Ok, the case against conservatism is easy. Brad and Janet, the perfect goody two shoes couple, get seduced and fall from grace at the hands of Frank. They survive the ordeal but it's obvious they've been changed forever ("I've tasted blood and I want more").
Now, what about Frank? He's obviously on the other end of the scale. But isn't this his tragic flaw? Besides getting killed, he's not all there. His true feelings are shown when he sings I'm Going Home. The crowd that he wants acceptance and adoration from is not made up of Transylvanians, but conservative old people! Another interesting thing is that Frank admits the goal of all this excess is to "Rose tint my world, keep me safe from my trouble and pain." It's hard to believe that the point of the movie is that we should follow Frank's advice to not "dream it, be it".
And then there's Riff Raff and Magenta. By far these two are triumphant at the end. But Riff Raff has just murdered several people (why Columbia??), and seems just as decadent as Frank when we hear of his plans with Magenta. We can't consider these two to be the middle ground between the two extremes, can we?
Alas, at the end, I'm still confused as to what to believe. Is there anyone out there who can clear this up?