Goth Subculture

David Alvan

Who are they?

• Goths are found in many countries around the world. • It began in England during the 1980s in the Gothic rock scene. • They are one of the subcultures that has survived longer than

others from the same era. • Apart from the music they listen to, they are also recognized

for their fashion – their style include a combination of Victorian and punk styles, as well as dark make up and styled hair.

• They listen to music such as death punk, hard rock, and neoclassical.

• Usually associated with a horror movie image.

Examples of Goths

These are some examples of Goths. As you can see, their Appearance stand out, from the hair to make up to costume, They are easily recognizable.

Development of Goth Style

• The early 1980s saw the development of the Goth musical style. The post-punk bands continued in their underground popularity, and were joined by a multitude of new bands. It is difficult to say which of these were the most influential in forming and developing the Goth subculture but certainly among the most influential were The Sisters of Mercy, Alien Sex Fiend, Fields of The Nephilim, Gary Numan and Depeche Mode. All of these bands, although showing quite a wide variation in musical style have had an enormous impact on Goth Culture. The audience will tend to emulate the bands or artists. By copying the artists style of dress and way of dancing, the individual seeks to gain acceptance. From a psychoanalytic point of view, the individual members of the audience are seeking to identify with the artist and by so doing, gain an imaginary acceptance and respect from the artist. In more simple terms, by imitating the artist, the members of the audience will become the artist - they will adopt the success and status of the artist.

Goth music• Goth music, in all its varied forms, can be described in many ways. It

is usually described, with a characteristic lack of imagination, as being morbidly obsessed with death, as being 'dark', 'sombre' or 'depressing' - descriptions which show a complete misunderstanding of the genre. Goth music, to those who are willing to listen to it rather than merely hear the physical sounds which are transmitted, is full of passion, majesty, beauty, mysticism and mystery, terror, violence, pain, love, imagination, eroticism, horror, euphoria, truth, evil, life, madness and the irrational. Goth music tends to be described, by those who misunderstand it, in terms of its dark side. It is rarely described in terms of its positive side but it should be described in terms of a balance between both dark and light, positive and negative. At its height, it can be so powerful that it transcends description.

How they are seen in the media

Goths are actually not seen as a negative subculture. On the contrary, they are seen as a subculture that get bullied by gangs and other social cultures. Perhaps this is because of the way they choose to express themselves in regards to their appearance. As you can see on the left, this is an article from the BBC about various attacks on different subcultures, including Goths.

Full article: http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-lancashire-22018888

How they are seen in the mediaThe Oxford English Dictionary defines a goth as "a performer or fan of [goth] music, or anyone who adopts a similar appearance, typically through the use of dark eye make-up and pale skin colouring, dark clothes, and bulky metallic jewellery".

This article, similar to the previous one, explains that the attacks on Goths and these kind of subcultures have been increasing since a murder in 2007. The media portray Goths as people that identity themselves with the music they listen to, familiarizing themselves with the strong, meaningful lyrics.

Media explaining Goths

This article mentions that Goths are just people who love art. They are not portrayed as a violent group. This perhaps contrast their representation in the media because their love for art is clearly visible in the way they dress or their make up. Also, this article support the idea that even though they are in a subculture group that choose to be how the are, they are very smart people that attend to university and get a degree.

In this case, the media are perhaps supporting Goths and their choices, making the public understand what they are and what they do, instead of representing them in a negative way.

Full article: http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/magazine/4828230.stm