Abstract
This article discusses the musical spectacle The Rock Horror Show, which was staged at Teatro da Praia, in Rio de Janeiro, in 1975. The text presents an analysis of the mechanisms of censorship employed during the process of political opening in Brazil, through the reports of the Public Entertainment Censorship Division (DCDP, in the Portuguese acronym) which allowed the release of the show and the songs included in the long play that stemmed from it. The following questions guide this study: if censorship, in public entertainment, was guided by a moral dimension, that is, oriented towards the defense of “morals and good customs”, which arguments did censors use to justify the release of a spectacle that afronted conservative morals, questioned traditional values, and dealt with taboo themes (such as virginity, androgyny, incest, bisexuality , homosexuality, unconventional sexual practices, sadism, and drug use)? Why was the show released, uncut, only rated 18+, whereas some songs were vetoed? I also discuss press repercussion and pieces of theater criticism, via the newspapers Jornal do Brasil, Diário de Notícias, Opinião, Folha de São Paulo, and the magazines O Cruzeiro and Manchete.
Keywords:
Military dictatorship; censorship;
The Rock Horror Show