In reality it is a term used to categorize media that combines the genres of romanticism and horror. Literary examples would be works like Dracula, Frankenstein, Turn of the Screw, etc.
Specific iconography associated with Gothic works are things like black cats, stormy weather, terrible frights, and things that go bump in the night (amongst many other tropes). But what really defines something as Gothic rather than horror?
Does it have to do with time period?
Does it have to do with where the material originates from?
I would reply no to both questions.
For an example of "Gothicness" in contemporary cultures I'd like to examine manga and comics.
A great example would be Itou Junji's Uzumaki.
In short, Uzumaki is a story about the overpowering magic of a spiral. It's hypnotizing effects and how it draws one's attention through it's organic shape. The comic is really a collection of short stories that all deal with the supernatural power of spirals and how a small japanese town is caught in the vicious cycle of it's shape.
I chose this example because it fits the category of a gothic work but it's not a typical european style of gothic. Uzumaki combines your typical tropes of mystery, horror, and romanticism to create a truly terrifying experience that fits the gothic genre perfectly. The most obvious connection is in the delivery/pacing of the story. As in many gothic works of literature uzumaki begins with a seemingly normal story about normal people in a normal place. However, as the story progresses the more the supernatural becomes apparent and it it's energy begins to affect the normal world the tale began in. Uzumaki draws on themes that a lot of gothic writers drew on. Nature versus civilization, the individual versus society, etc.
I chose the medium of comics specifically to talk about the gothic genre and how it can portray horror differently through words or images. With classic works of gothic literature the fear was created in the mind of the reader, the more immersed in the tale you become the deeper and more personal the experience can be and thusly the more horrifying an experience it can be. Creating images with your mind to give visual meaning to the words you're reading, that's the power of words in the horror genre. However, comics hold a slightly different level of power. Comics not only have the gift of words, but it's accompanied by visual imagery. These images can create horrors your visual library could not have possibly come up with on it's own. Images created by someone else can show horrifying things you just don't have the frame of reference for.
I digress and stray far from the original assignment, but I feel like it's a fair thing to address in terms of contemporary culture embracing "gothicness".
Zack,
ReplyDeleteI find it sensible that you chose to define the meaning of the word Gothic as well as typical tropes before going on to discuss your example within this genre.
I like that you chose to discuss Asian manga within this genre. I find this very interesting, being myself mostly exposed to the European or American counterpart. I personally find manga a perfect platform for the gothic or obscure as the style hold so much potential for being truly disturbing. The way manga approaches storytelling and it’s use of exaggeration of expressions and distortion of the figure, even when not necessarily going for a gothic approach has always made me a bit uneasy. When going into horror therefore, it’s very effective!
It’s also true that integrating images to any given text provides a whole new dimension of imagery for the reader to take part of, that that might not have been able to visualise themselves. The image in your post for example, with the man curled up within that barel that is clearly too small, is a gruesome image my mind probably would have edited out to spare my self the unease. This way I’m forced to confront it so I get more emerged in the story and get a better idea of the depth of the characters own horror when coming across him.
There is always the notion that having images presented to you will deter your experience rather than benefit the story as it has the potential of limiting your imagination by not allowing it to run free. It’s a fair point, but if that is the notion, you might want to consider picking up a book, rather than a manga.
Another point that intrigued me is that you mention the plot starts out with normal people in a normal place. I do believe in a sense that is the core of gothic. Being in a state of balance that then is disrupted; having what use to be familiar and safe being twisted and pulled out from under your feet.