THE MODERN GOTHIC

Art has a way of responding to cultural periods of stress in a way that both elevates and alleviates the tension at present. In its origin, Goth existed in the former, creating unease and earning definitions like “unsophisticated” and “catastrophic”, yet, after it had concretely - and as we see now, permanently - stapled itself as a form of art in all venues, the tension it caused began to disperse. A large part of why it went from such a unilaterally negative reaction to the deeply impactful era we know it as today was due to the shift in perspective regarding everything that made it seem so tasteless. Whereas when it first began, people of the time were still firm in their traditions, the ways that had been expressing themselves and existing for the years prior, it slowly became a matter of get-with-or-get-left-behind. Times were changing, and it was happening quickly, and the Gothic period reflected the morals that people recognized as something to hold onto in the modern world and the coming centuries. Though throughout time, Gothic has taken on many varying renditions, interpretations, and definitions, it has remained consistent in its meaning. Representing the unheard and unrepresented, and existing as a space to challenge and confront the things many take for granted as “normal”, and require retrospection as to why we see it that way.

As a fashion major, one of the things we spend much - if not most - of our time discussing is trends, the recycling of them, and the rapidness at which they come and go. What's more, we discuss why these trends are occurring, and what might be happening or what has happened that causes a resurgence of expression to sync up enough for us to recognize it as a pattern. In the 90s, there was a mass fear of the incoming century that stemmed almost entirely from the unknown. There were claims of an Armageddon, of technological takeover, and as a result, art was divided into two distinct categories: loud and expressive, and quiet and conservative. On the streetwear level, we saw things like Goth and Grunge becoming explosively popular, as well as minimal and chic. However, trends like this are often not exclusive to the clothes we wear on our bodies but reflect every form of art we choose to adorn ourselves with. The 90s saw an extensive amount of Gothic media, most prominently in film as stars like Winona Ryder and Johnny Depp gained widespread notoriety for their roles in movies such as Bram Stoker’s Dracula (1992) and Sleepy Hollow (1999). However, the 90s also saw a significant emphasis once again placed on tradition and conventionality. The surge of war films, historical films, love stories and wholesome endings, as well as articles written about the modest and minimal collections of Calvin Klein and Anna Sui began to outnumber the Gothic resurgence the media was seeing, and despite its impact when looked into for reasons such as this essay and by people such as those in this class, the 90s are much more known for the latter aspects of its impact on the culture than the things that I personally think are the coolest. 

This phenomenon can be seen as linear growth. As people see what is happening, they create spaces for them to feel the emotions that are most apparent to them, creating an uprise in expressions notably connected to the dramatic and melancholic aesthetics of the Gothic movement. In the 2020s alone, we have seen economic crashes, wealth and class disparity, and a substantial increase in the politics of human beings' bodies, and likewise an emphasis on religion and traditionality in a way that feels scarier than anything I’ve lived through before. However, the beautiful thing about being a human is that - as we saw in the 90s - no matter how loud the conservative voices grow, we will always have a way to get ours heard as well. It's this mindset that I feel embodies the Gothic genre, especially in the modern day, and has caused another rise in its presence in pop culture prominently within the last 5 years. 

When reading the prompt for this assignment, the first thing that came to mind was a book I’m sure you will be familiar with, which I have a substantial and lengthy argument as to why it fits for this assignment. For my senior capstone, I was really striving to combine the two aspects of my biggest interests into one collection: literature and fashion. My senior year of high school, I was attending a class labeled “Problematic Authors”, in which we read and analyzed the impact of certain controversial texts, and argued about why they were or were not problematic works of literature. The one that stuck with me the most was Vladimir Nabokov’s “Lolita”. However, what interests me most about the text is not the topic of the subject at hand (though Nabokov’s writing does invite significant and extensive analysis and inspection), but rather the way in which the subjects were received in the modern day. The text has received two renditions on screen, neither of which is accurate to what I believe Nabokov was attempting to do in his writing, nor are they enjoyable or good films in and of themselves. This is largely due to the fact that in both renditions, Lolita - or more appropriately, Dolores - is treated as a willing love interest of the pro(an)tagonist. My argument for this essay, as well as the message I attempted to send within my collection, is that “Lolita” is not a love story, nor a romance, but is a Gothic Horror text that got lost in translation. It features many of the most definable characteristic of Gothic literature that we have discussed in this class; a young woman (or girl) being held hostage, picturesque and descriptive characterizations of nature, a dismal and bleak portrayal of a journey, and above all, a monstrous, cynical, subjective narrator views himself as above the very story he plays the antagonistic role in. Though Lolita is not a contemporary text, like much Gothic art, it has received a recent modern fascination. Artists like Lana Del Rey, the prevalence of figures like Priscilla Presley, and an objectively inappropriate style inspiration have all played a role in bringing Lolita into the 21st century. For the same role that Frankenstein played in the conversation of masculinity, gender, and nature, Lolita is now playing for similar conversations on religion, femininity, and the role that men often play in all, but especially young women's lives. 

Similarly, the current emphasis placed on conservatism has extended throughout all reaches of politicized conversations that have no reason to be political. Women have especially been the focus of both sides of this coin; targeted by conservatives and, as a response, more deeply appreciated in art. While not Gothic in their own right, texts like “My Year of Rest and Relaxation” by Ottessa Moshfegh made an uproar in the early 2020s, as well as media like Sofia Coppola’s “Priscilla”, Gillian Flynn’s “Gone Girl”, and Ti West’s “X” trilogy. Though it feels odd to say, all of these forms of media represent a dire need for femininity, and women as a whole to be perceived in a much different light, no longer the love interests, the victims, the damsel in distress. They are characters with flaws and with things that make them actual human beings, and all, minus maybe Priscilla, who herself does not see herself as a victim, but many believe otherwise (Elvis was awful to her), are unequivocally morally objectionable. One of my favorite responses to cultural periods like this, and one that is undeniably Gothic, is also one that has presented itself multiple times, and every time, embodying a different aspect of social response: Nosferatu. 

The original film, released in 1922, was directly inspired by Bram Stoker’s Dracula, but without the film rights to produce it with the same title, F. W. Murnau and screenwriter Henrik Galeen tweaked small yet substantial elements of the text to make it its own. We talked before about what Vampires represent in Gothic Literature in the way of class, gender, and sex. And while all of those classifications continue to be present in Nosferatu, the slight changes Murnau and Galeen added give it a much different angle. Many believe that, given the time of its creation and the country in which it takes place, Nosferatu was inspired by the caricatures of Jewish people. Galeen, an outspoken advocate for Jewish people, adapted these stereotypes, giving him a rat-like appearance, crooked nose, and bushy eyebrows, in a way that emulated Shelly’s description of Frankenstein and his relationship to Asian stereotypes. Other changes include a rat plague instead of the wolf that is aboard the vessel in Stoker’s text, a setting in Germany rather than England, and most prominently - especially in the most recent adaptation - an overt sexuality that existed in the original text, but was given a different angle in Henrik and later on, Egger’s portrayal. 

Robert Eggers is what I would define as a categorically Gothic filmmaker. With films like “The Northman”, “VVitch”, and “The Lighthouse” to his credit, he captures the images of a Gothic text on screen. The disorientation, the dramatic lighting, and the picturesque landscapes. However, though I am admittedly a fan of all of his work, his 2024 adaptation of Nosferatu was arguably his most successful. Taking Marneu and Henrik’s groundwork to the next level, the 2024 Nosferatu is a wildly sexual, dramatic, and equally bleak and depressing film that has the peak of Gothic Literature dribbled throughout every shot. What makes this film so important to me, and so important to the current culture, is that it portrays in vivid detail every aspect of life that current conservatives are terrified to see appreciated. Children die, “monsters” immigrate, and Helen Hutter’s sexuality is not exclusively an aspect of Nosferatu’s control over her, but of her own desires and expressions of love and lust. We are once again in a time when women's sexuality is a topic of taboo, in which children's ears need to be covered and the conversation needs to be met with a hushed tone. Which is why it's so important that, even when compared to the 1922 version of Nosferatu, Eggers changed the sex in the story to be more than what Nosferatu was a metaphor for, but as an element of the story that was not to be kept quiet. Hellen was a person, and just like Friedrich, yet nobody talks about how he explores sexuality in the film - she wants to be intimate with the person she loves because it isn't meant to be a hushed subject. And I feel that that is an element of Gothic Literature that reigns true in all forms. It is an art form that discusses the things we should be discussing, but don't discuss enough. It is a response to the way a topic is met in the public eye; sex, class, masculinity, religion, femininity, sexuality, gender, race, ethnicity, all of the things our government is and has been trying to get people everywhere to not speak so loudly about, and putting it our for the world to see and inspect. 

Gothic literature, and what's more, Gothic art, was so impactful for doing the same thing it is doing now. It exists because we need it. Because it is an expression of one's self, or the feelings of one, or many people, that can mask itself as a book or a painting, or a film, and be consumed by far more than just those who are willing to talk about it. The existence and, furthermore, prevalence of certain texts and films are so significant today because we are at the receiving end of a very questionable period of time. Just as we saw and experienced in the 90s, we are faced with fear and uncertainty about the direction we as a people, especially in the United States, are heading, and thus we utilize art to communicate a sense of unity to one another that cannot be changed by any overturned laws or newly placed policies. Conservatism is risking all forms of expression. Fashion is becoming more modest, important films are being overlooked, and texts are being banned. This is why the Gothic resurgence we are seeing today is so important, and why it is even more important to contribute to the spaces that are making the voices we agree with as loud as possible. Because until we are protected, until we are given the same freedoms and the same voices as those in power, these forms of expression will continue to be all we have to know that we are not erased.