A missile is also a kind of rocket but the difference is that... a missile holds explosives, whereas a rocket is used to propel something, such as a satellite etc to its destination, missiles are self guided by the help of inertial navigation systems as well, whereas rockets are not.
In a clearly speculative proposition to your observation I must add that the post modernist phase took the work to greater heights if one is willing to postulate on the metaphorical implications of the launch as an expression of the individual's everyday struggle for gaseous relief.
Looking at the videos, it looks like it originally went up perpendicular to most of the cameras filming it, and it's path turned to face away from them as it climbed. In the final shots of it burning out, it's definitely flying away from the camera.