The Time Warp - The Rocky Horror Picture Show

Demented Glee

For Jasmine

The Rocky Horror Picture Show — that glorious, greasy-haired, fishnet-stockinged monster of a film that crawled out of the late '70s like an invitation to an unhinged midnight freak show. There is a reason that it still refuses to die after all these years. You can’t kill something that never had a pulse in the first place. At the center of this wild, glitter-soaked carnival of the bizarre is The Time Warp, an anthem of camp, chaos, and pure, unadulterated, unhinged joy. It’s the beating, synthetic heart of the whole madhouse.

With a bit of a mind flip
You're into the time slip
And nothing can ever be the same
You're spaced out on sensation
Like you're under sedation

-The Time Warp

You don’t have to dig deep to find the meaning of The Time Warp, and why would you? This isn’t some academic text or sophisticated symphony that needs endless dissecting. The whole thing was made to be screamed along to while wearing a feather boa and too much eyeliner. It’s trash! Beautiful, gleaming trash! The point is to feel it. To shake your hips, jump to the left, and let the nonsense wash over you like a wave of candy-colored filth. And there’s nothing wrong with that. In fact, that’s the point. The Time Warp doesn’t ask you to take it seriously — it demands that you don’t.

This is camp in its purest form. The late Susan Sontag may have given camp a name, but The Rocky Horror Picture Show — and The Time Warp specifically — gave it a soundtrack. Camp is artifice, exaggeration, and a deep, unapologetic love for low-brow art in the eyes of the mainstream. The Time Warp epitomizes this. It knows it’s ridiculous, and it revels in it. The lyrics are a nonsensical collection of dance instructions paired with vague allusions to time travel that have zero stakes. But that’s where the genius lies. The song permits you to not care about anything beyond the moment. Who cares if it makes sense? You’re there to have fun, and The Time Warp is your invitation to lose yourself in the ridiculous.

And the joy — oh, the joy! There’s something about the glee in the song that’s infectious, and not in that saccharine, manufactured pop music way. No, this is demented glee that appeals to demented minds and has the power to dement mind on its own. It’s got teeth. It’s that feeling after one too many drinks and you’re hanging on to the edge of the floor but you’re in on the joke. It's the thrill of teetering on the edge of something dangerous but laughing as you do it. There’s a sense of menace lurking beneath the surface of The Time Warp, but it’s the kind of menace that’s wrapped in sequins and draped in velvet. It’s the excitement of stepping into a world where anything can happen, and it probably will. The characters that lead the charge — Riff Raff, Magenta, Columbia — are unhinged, but they’re having the time of their lives, and they want you to join in. There’s no gatekeeping. This is the joy of outsiders, the weirdos, the freaks, and anyone who’s ever felt like the world didn’t quite get them.

It’s this sense of community — this wild, messy, glittery tribe —that has kept Rocky Horror and The Time Warp alive for decades. It’s a midnight ritual, every theater packed with rowdy fans in lingerie and capes, every shout of “It’s just a jump to the left!” followed by an entire audience hopping to the left — it’s all part of a shared experience that transcends generations. There’s a reason The Time Warp still matters. It’s because it represents a space where you can be as weird, loud, and gleefully deranged as you want to be without apology. It’s an anthem for anyone who has ever felt outside the norm, and who wants to celebrate that.

Of course, there’s the overwhelming sexual energy of it all. Rocky Horror does not attempt to hide its kinky, outrageous soul, and that’s what makes it thrilling. It’s unfiltered, unapologetic hedonism wrapped up in a lascivious dance number. The pelvis thrust is, after all, one of the core moves (it really does drive you insane). It’s a wink and a nod to anyone who’s ever enjoyed being a little bad, a little dirty, and entirely fabulous. There’s something liberating about the way The Time Warp refuses to conform to any sort of propriety. It’s indulgent, rebellious, and a vigorous emotional jailbreak.

In a world where so much of our entertainment is polished to the point of being lifeless, The Time Warp stands out as a reminder that imperfection can be the most glorious thing of all. It’s sloppy and silly and doesn’t take itself seriously for a second, but that’s why it works. It’s the essence of fun, and it gives its audience permission to embrace the chaos.

That’s why it still matters. In a society obsessed with seriousness and sophistication, in which people are constantly trying to present the perfect version of themselves to the world, The Time Warp represents a direct rejection of that performative nonsense in favor of a much more fun brand of nonsense - think Bugs Bunny in a dress and blonde wig. It’s a reminder that we don’t always have to be so buttoned-up, and that there’s joy to be found in letting go and embracing the absurd. It matters because we need spaces where we can laugh at ourselves, wear glitter, and howl at the moon with strangers.

I remember doing the Time Warp
Drinking those moments when
The blackness would hit me
And the void would be calling

-The Time Warp

Dive headfirst into the madness. Jump to the left. Step to the right. Throw your inhibitions out the window. The Time Warp remains a celebration of everything weird, wonderful, and delightfully campy in this world, and that’s something worth holding onto forever.