AI Could Never: LEGO Rocky Horror Picture Show
Last night I was scrolling through TikTok and my FYP really proved its worth. I came across a creator doing a one-man show where he recreated the Rocky Horror Picture Show on TikTok Live, entirely using LEGOs. He’d made all the sets, moved all the characters by hand (using clear plastic wands or other contrivances), edited together the audio, even worked the camera all as a single creator. He spliced in audio of Statler and Waldorf from The Muppets and included some of his own narration by way of a minifig designed (presumably) to look like him. I don’t usually watch TikTok Lives (when I’m on TikTok, I’m not looking for long form content and just want the scroll-induced dopamine hit) but this immediately pulled me in. I discovered it only a few minutes into the show (including Q&A at the end it had a 2 hour run time), so I pulled out my current knitting project and hunkered down to watch the whole production.
This is the kind of thing people mean when they separate human art from AI slop. When I first told my husband about what I was watching, he asked how it was rendered, assuming it was either AI or CGI. He wasn’t expecting me to turn my phone a show a full production using physical LEGO builds and mini figs. This human being, who uses the handle @dorkynorky on TikTok, spent weeks building sets that could be quickly adjusted and moved around, spliced together an audio track from various RHPS recordings, as well as The Muppet Show to create a unique experience, then performed the whole thing to a live audience of hundreds of people. There were breaks where he had to make changes to the sets and characters. Things went wrong, like when the RKO radio tower kept falling down. It was unpolished and chaotic and absolutely wonderful! Could he have have spent 2 minutes writing a prompt into Sora and gotten a Rocky Horror Picture Show in CGI LEGO that looked polished (or as polished as AI currently gets)? Yes. Would I have spent 2 hours watching it? Hello no. This version was fun, and delightful, and I enjoyed every minute of it because of it’s humanity. There is a passion inherent in things that take time and effort and it shines through and makes it worth it. It’s something that AI will never be able to reproduce.
If you’re feeling sorry you missed it, he’s putting the show on twice more this week: Thursday at 9:30 pm EST and Friday at 5:00 pm EST. Grab whatever stitching you’re working on, set your computer or phone on a stand, and enjoy the energy, chaos, and absolute joy in this production. Since it’s live, I’m sure each show will be a little unique. He also has past LEGO shows that he’s done available to watch on his TikTok page. He also has a clip of last night’s performance (I tried embedding it in this post, but that function seems to dislike me lately) so you can get a taste of what’s to come.
And if you’re curious about what I was knitting while watching it, I’ll tell you about that in my next post.