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Around 30 people, most dressed in Halloween costumes, gathered in the Language and Communication Village center at room L47 to eat snacks and watch “The Rocky Horror Picture Show” for Queer Movie Night, a collaboration between the Pride Center and the Artistic Expression Village, from 4:00 p.m. to 6:30 p.m. on Tuesday, Oct. 29.
Last year, the Artistic Expression Village hosted a Miyazaki film festival. Brian Malone, English faculty and part of the village team, said the villages like to host a movie-related event at least once a year.
Malone also teaches in the Pride learning community and said he is connected with the Pride Center along with several other village organizers and student ambassadors.
“The idea was, ‘What if we collaborate and do something queer? Like do a queer movie, let’s do it around Halloween,’” Malone said. “Of course Rocky Horror came to mind.”
The 1975 musical comedy horror film follows fiancés Brad and Janet, who get stuck in a creepy mansion after they get a flat tire in the middle of a storm. The movie explores themes of sexual freedom and celebrates difference.
“It’s a cult classic, it’s important in queer history, and I also think a lot of students maybe haven’t seen it,” Malone said. “And for Halloween it’s great because it allows for costumes.”
Malone said he was satisfied with the turnout despite navigating the difficulty of trying to get students to stay on campus after classes.
“Not only did people turnout, but they turned out in costumes and I thought that was fantastic and fabulous,” Malone said.
Some students even dressed as characters from “The Rocky Horror Picture Show”. Alan Neyer, 28, a film major came to the event dressed as Frank-N-Furter, the mad scientist that owns the mansion the movie takes place in.
Neyer said that seeing the movie at a young age was an eye-opening experience.
“It was a little bit different from some of the more derogatory interpretations of queerness and queer culture that I had seen in media,” Neyer said.
Neyer said that although the movie isn’t entirely progressive, as it was made in the 70s’ and contains some harmful stereotypes, it is still largely considered a turning point in LGBTQ entertainment history.
“It was something that became a more positive cultural phenomenon because of how we as queer people took it on and made it part of our culture,” Neyer said.
The Artistic Expression Village will continue to collaborate with other villages, offices and programs on campus.
“These are great spaces and we have a great village’s team to do programming,” Malone said. “I think we’re a great resource and we love to collaborate.”
Two student village ambassadors helped run the event; Allyson Lin, 19, an animation major and student ambassador for the Artistic Expression Village and Samantha Bagaporo, 18, a psychology major and student ambassador for the Social Sciences and Humanities Village.
The two, dressed as butlers, passed out food to attendees and assisted the other organizers. Lin explained the two of them already had the butler costumes for a convention. Bagaporo added, “Why not reuse it again?”
Lin said that both of them will continue to help out for events in the villages, namely “planning to help out for the art show sometime in November.”
The art show is the next major event in the Artistic Expression Village, featuring a student art show and reception in its village center.
Malone said, “We’re going to have a gala opening event around that and then there’s going to be a faculty jury student art show … I think it’s going to be fun.”
The village has yet to announce the event but plans to hold it sometime before Thanksgiving.
