What does it mean for a film to be paraodic and how does Rocky Horror fit into this category?
The imitation of characteristics and style of other movies, primarily portrayed in an exaggerated manner to convey comedic effect. When taking a deeper look at the plot of Rocky Horror Picture Show, it derives its themes from the grindhouse, horror, and science fiction genres. The grindhouse and horror genres go hand in hand as the movie is a low-budget, “horror” movie that is filled with comedic bits to keep its parody theme. The elements that make Rocky Horror a parody lie within the characters and soundtrack.
Science fiction movie plots usually embody imaginative and futuristic concepts such as advanced science and technology, space exploration, time travel, parallel universes, and extraterrestrial life. Although seemingly farfetched, Brad and Janet represent the curiosity of western society regarding this extraterrestrial life that goes along with the plot of most movies. Aswell, they become this mockery of B-list movies that portray certain chaste and dull leads. “Rocky Horror” also mirrors the 1932 film “The Old Dark House” the follow-up to “Frankenstein. The film features a trio of what seems to be normal citizens who, due to an impending thunderstorm, pull into a creepy cave only to confront a slew of weird and unusual characters who live there. To add to the parody, the Oakley Court Manor was used in both “The Old Dark House” and “Rocky Horror”.
One of the most subtle yet interesting “easter eggs” in this parody, is shown in the final scene. The final scene of the film takes place in front of a giant replica of the RKO Pictures logo, a now-defunct movie studio. RKO, the studio that produced the infamous “Citizen Kane” and “King Kong”, produced a plethora of b-list movies, to fill the gaps at double feature movies. This can then be related back to the opening song, “Science Fiction/Double Feature” which hints at the overall parody of the movie. “Rocky Horror Picture Show”, is simply just not a parody of one movie, but a spoof on larger parts of the film industry altogether. It becomes a joking tale that can be related back over a wide variety of genres like, science fiction, horror, comedy, and even musicals.
