The Rocky Horror Picture Show (1975) at Geneseo
Photo courtesy of Knight’s Life Editor Regan Russell
It has been a tradition over the years for Geneseo to host a screening of The Rocky Horror Picture Show (1975) in the MacVittie Union’s ballroom around the end of October, a time famously known as the “spooky season.” Unfortunately, 2023 did not feature a showing, but Inter-Residence Affairs restored this well-loved tradition for the 2024 season. The screening was held at 6 pm on Saturday, Oct. 26. The event was catered by Campus Auxiliary Services (CAS), and attendees were given goodie bags and scripts upon arrival.
For those unfamiliar, The Rocky Horror Picture Show (1975) is a musical-horror movie that has become a token symbol of acceptance and expressing one's unique creativity over the years. The film features numerous interactions of same-sex couples, which was extremely uncommon when it was released. The show particularly gains attention for its representation of gender roles and gender fluidity; the film pokes fun at heteronormativity and mocks traditional gender roles.
Over the years, the love and creative expression through this film have grown immensely and developed into an interactive experience. A script that coincides with the film is given out to audience members and features dialogue that the audience themselves speaks. The dialogue often mocks the main characters or features funny jokes to add to the film’s original dialogue.
The script also depicts times when props are necessary for the audience. These props were included in the goodie bags at the screening and featured various items. These included a water gun, which is used during a rain scene when audience members are encouraged to “spray the virgins” with water. Also featured in the bag were a hot dog, a slice of bread, a party hat, a noisemaker, a bag of rice, a flashlight, and numerous other fun items.
These items are thrown, worn, and held up throughout the film to coincide with the movie or poke fun at something happening, just like in the dialogue. The Geneseo screening featured a very active audience with lots of participation, which created a funky, positive atmosphere throughout the screening.
Dressing up while attending a film screening has become popular over the years. It is popular to dress up as some of the main characters—or in any other costume. The film’s message is creativity and acceptance, promoting the perfect atmosphere for dressing up. Anything goes in terms of dressing up, but no stripes! Crew members were accidentally filmed while wearing stripes during the movie's production, so wearing stripes has become a pass when viewing the film.
The catering from CAS featured various sub sandwiches, fruit, vegetables, hummus, pita bread, and lemonade. The catering was greatly appreciated, as many students made jokes about eating the uncooked hotdogs provided as props.
This was Nikolete Michalkow, one of The Lamron's co-news editors, first time seeing the movie. Before watching the Geneseo screening, she had never even heard of the movie or the interactive experience behind it. Coming into the experience blind, she was pleasantly surprised at the script and the crowd’s unique addition to the movie.
Around 50 goodie bags were made, and the event hosts were pleasantly surprised when they actually ran out of goodie bags! I arrived at the event around 5:50 p.m. and was lucky enough to grab the last goodie bag! The screening was greatly appreciated by students as a welcoming space for creativity, and students hope to see another screening in 2025.