"Give yourself over to absolute pleasure."
The Rocky Horror Picture Show is considered a seminal film of the 1970s, a landmark for countless generations of fans to enjoy. The movie is about abandoning all pretense and living for the moment. When we think, we overthink, thereby curtailing our opportunities for a worthy life. We fall into the "trap" of marriage, careers, contentment. We lose joy and end up living as drones, repetitiously going through the motions. This is going to happen to Brad and Janet if they're not careful.
Brad and Janet live their lives as society expects. They dated, got engaged, were ready to be wed. They listened to politics on the radio and got mad at people who drive too fast on the roadways. They wear thick glasses and barettes and ugly skivvies that are not intended to be shown off. But that "prudishness" changes upon arrival at Frank's mansion. Within, chaos reigns. Whatever one wanted to do could be done. Sex no longer was a necessity between marrieds, but used as a way of feeling good. One night contained endless possibilities, sexual and otherwise. After some time of debauchery, Brad and Janet become "liberated," as only the 1970s could do. But Frank was not...
At the end of the movie, Frank was taken back to his home planet because "his lifestyle's too extreme." This goes against the very message of the film, in which pleasure and freedom win the day. Frank took too much advantage and was persecuted because of it. When it comes to Brad and Janet, then, this creates a sort of conundrum. They've spent the evening believing that their old way of living was played out. They want to be "freaky." They're ready to give themselves over. But that total giving over results in suffering.
The Rocky Horror Picture Show begins as a treatise for less rules and more free love. It ends as a warning. Too much pleasure can be counterproductive. Or worse. It all comes back to Socrates: moderation in everything.
Who knew we were going to get so philosophical...
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