Sabrina Carpenter dropped her latest album, Man’s Best Friend, on Aug. 29, along with a brand new music video for her song “Tears.” It’s a visual masterpiece, and for those who don’t know, it’s also basically one big Rocky Horror Picture Show reference. The video is nothing short of a campy, 70s horror-inspired piece of absolute art. Fans of Rocky Horror, a cult classic released in 1975, were quick to enthuse over the similarities between both. Sabrina’s “Tears” Music Video paid perfect homage to the cultural phenomenon of Rocky Horror and capitalized on it with some pizazz of her own.
Like Carpenter, Rocky Horror is beloved for its campiness, satire, and celebration of individuality and sexuality. The initial film was a major symbol of acceptance for the LGBTQ+ community with the main character, Frank-N-Furter, played by Tim Curry openly wearing drag. For her adaptation, Carpenter brought in Colman Domingo dressed in the iconic costume, a la Rocky Horror style, and can I just say collab of the century.Â
The “Tears” video in all of its glory is a visually stunning, satirical, and sultry celebration of womanhood and LGBTQ+ culture. Across the internet, fans have echoed the statement “Protect The Dolls” as a direct reaction to Carpenter’s inclusion of drag culture and iconography in the music video. The slogan calls for the empowerment and inclusion of transgender females in American culture — a statement ever relevant now.
As a clear lover of cinema and culture, Sabrina gets the opportunity to showcase those acting chops we got a brief glimpse of in her iconic role from Girl Meets World. The opening of the video mirrors the introduction from Rocky Horror with Sabrina portraying Susan Sarandon’s Janet in a dreamy baby blue set. Sabrina must have seen fans calling for her to star in a horror film. With expressive eyes and a haunting voice, Sabrina has the perfect final girl energy. I’ll take it if it comes with a social commentary on tropes from the ’90s, please.
The video itself continues to play as an inside joke for the Sabrina Carpenter Cinematic Universe. Carpenter’s fans will be pleased with its references to past videos and online interactions with the singer. When the main love interest — a man presumed to be dead — turns out to be alive, Carpenter’s character is disappointed by his resurrection. As if answering all of those who say “somebody has to die” in every video, she breaks the third wall and throws her heel to make that promise come true. The commitment to including the audience in the end of the video proves that Carpenter is a true cinephile. The entire long-lasting legacy of Rocky Horror is audience participation — the film was created to embrace individuality and bolster cultural acceptance. Carpenter’s choice to echo Rocky Horror was not only fun-filled and entertaining, it was a clear celebration of culture and individuality.
More to come…