The Rocky Horror Show: Back to the Retrofuture

Cooper, Jenifer K.

Publication

The Rocky Horror Show: Back to the Retrofuture

Cooper, Jenifer K.

Abstract

The cult classic The Rocky Horror Show, after fifty years in existence, has gained in exposure to the point that it has become mainstream. The societal boundaries the play once pushed have expanded beyond its then-daring scope, and its familiarity cancels out the subversion from which it was born.That familiarity is removed via the design mechanism of Retrofuturism, a process of envisioning a future world from the vantage point of the past. Specifically, the style is Raygun Gothic, a term encompassing various space-age, aerodynamic styles seen in the 1930s-60s. It is frequently seen in illustrations of the Golden Age science fiction that in part informed the show's creation. Collage as an artistic medium provides a visual dissonance that disrupts the viewer's complacency.The sleek shapes of the scenic design are set against each other with a variety of textures and media imagery. Costume design reflects a character hierarchy associated with different times in the Raygun Gothic era, creating a temporal collage. Lighting in primary shades, mostly pink and blue, recalls the color-mixing systems of that time, and looks clean on the set amidst the more complex physical elements.To displace Rocky from its typical setting is drastic, but necessary. The show's purpose came as much from its outcast audience as from its own script. To preserve that meaning, to reclaim Rocky for the counter-culture, we must take everything else apart.