The Fans Are Definitely NOT the Best Part of The Rocky Horror Picture Show

As evidenced by the recently released trailer, the upcoming TV remake of The Rocky Horror Picture Show looks promising (to say the least), with the extravagant, brilliant, and ever-talented Laverne Cox playing the film's iconic role of Frank N. Furter. However, if there is one thing I have to disagree on with the trailer, it's the bold statement that, "after 40 years, the best part of Rocky is still the fans."

Don't get me wrong; I'm not coming for every individual fan of the undeniably legendary film. All I suggest is that maybe the audience participation part could be, I dunno, edited perhaps, to suit a more progressive time in which yelling "slut" at a female character whom the audiences are supposed to make fun of or dislike is not okay.

For those of you who are unfamiliar with what I'm talking about, The Rocky Horror Picture Show is much more than a movie, it's an experience. For years now, fans have been hosting viewings of the movie where people not only dress up, but also participate in the film, making it incredibly different from watching it at home alone. Audience members are given props and encouraged to shout out phrases at certain moments in the film. These events can be individual, but there are general guidelines that these viewings tend to follow, one of them being that Janet, one of the movie's two protagonists, is called a slut.

People should enjoy a movie they like, but can anyone really defend the use of that word, especially when it carries such a weight in the context of women's history? I get that people aren't necessarily meaning what they say, but it isn't really an excuse when it empowers a culture that gives us words like slut and bitch that ultimately serve as little more than a means for people to insult female-identifying people whom they don't agree with. If it was really meant to insult sexual promiscuity and attitude, we'd have equivalent words for male-identifying people — but we don't.

It might seem nit-picky, but ultimately a community that embraced a film largely for its power of uniqueness and being your unabashed, freaky self, could muster enough community to make such a small change. Can the Janet problem be something we leave in the old version?

Like I said before, I recognize the complete and utter greatness of RHPS, and especially its music, but just because we like something doesn't mean we can't be critical of it. I can't — and won't — pretend that Frank N. Furter doesn't touch Brad and Janet without their consent or that Frank N. Furter doesn't physically assault and slut shame Janet in a scene accompanied by campy music that the audience is intended to laugh at and enjoy. (In the video below, start at 3:38.)

Blind devotion and following have almost never been good things. So if you're planning to host a viewing, please think about what you're watching, what it means, and how you can make the experience safe and comfortable for everyone, and not just those who have seen the movie thousands of times.