A Rant of Gothic proportions.
What the hell is Goth anyway? And why has it spawned a Gothic community? These are questions that came to my mind and I set out to answer those questions.
My trip started on a website called Goth.net. It seemed to be a great place to start and try and get a sense of “Gothness” in all it’s subtleties and nuances. Searching through the site under the “What is Goth Section” I soon learned that Goth was as indefinable as “society” and was not bound by any one set of beliefs or moral standards. That it was a group of free thinkers that came together because they had been spurned by “Normality”. That the only unifying feature that cut straight across all Goth’s was the manner of dress. This constant, it seems, is wearing black clothes.
So we have two features of Goth defined. Firstly, that it is as indefinable as “society” and secondly, that it has a particular style of dress attached that a member of this subculture would adhere to in order to be part of the subculture. I hate to break it to Goths, but society has been well defined and there are thousands of books that do a very good job of detailing how a society functions, even right down to the part about subcultures, of which they claim to be. Of course, this would require them to read those books and reading those books, it seems to me, might just make the facade of Goth crash in on them. Subcultures are micro-societies within the larger society and carry over all the same rules as the greater society, but generally just change them up a bit, just enough to achieve some level of difference that allows the people in the sub-culture to feel like they are inside the bubble of new and out side the bubble of the old, where they felt rejected. The reasons for wanting that feeling are as varied as the individuals in the sub group, but the result is the same. A new group established to allow its members to feel like they are apart of something that in some way relates to who they are. Everyone seeks this through whatever choices they make of where to fit in. And yes I said it, “fit in”. The second thing that defines a Goth is the manner of dress. This is the most glaring example of carrying over the same rules into the subculture and changing them in order to establish someone as being in the new culture, and the first clue that Goth is not a culture of free thought, but rather a culture tethered to what has gone before and at its heart has adherence to the “culture type” as firmly imbedded in it as the mainstream.
The standardization of dress is a way for the sub-group to establish “normality” within itself. I give the perfect example from Goth.net. In the section “How do I get into Goth?” I offer the following quote, “This is the simplest part of the page. Go check out our Community section over on the left, and use it to find out what is going on in your local area. Goths tend to be accepting and open minded. Just turn up to a club or event wearing all black and you are already in the Goth scene.” I wonder how “open minded” they would be to a group of people showing up that belonged to the mainstream and did not “fit in”.
Please stop fooling yourself with the “we are free thinkers” bit. Opening up every option and having an everything goes attitude does not make you a free thinker, at the very best it makes you non-judgmental and at the worst it makes it impossible for people to truly reach conclusions, because in doing so you would reach a point where you would have to make decisions on things, and that would mean rejecting some things. Which is very non Goth right? Free thinking is thinking without bias, but you will still reject ideas, or you are not thinking at all.
In looking at Goth Art, Goth Music and Goth writing I find in overly dominated with self indulgent, pity wallowing. I like a lot of what I see and hear in the art and music, but Goth is a “one trick pony” that you soon tire of. The “society just does not get me, my pain and the void in my soul” act just does not play well, for very long. We get it. We have our own, and feel no need to foist it upon others then cry out that we are not understood. It is merely that others simply do not give a fuck and no matter how much you rub it in their face they will not.
Just in looking around during the process of writing this I personally am sick of seeing web cam pic’s of betty page wannabe’s looking sullen and disinterested and guys that think they are The Crow. I mean, god damn, how original is that? By all means be different, but at least be self aware enough to understand what you drives to be so.
My trip started on a website called Goth.net. It seemed to be a great place to start and try and get a sense of “Gothness” in all it’s subtleties and nuances. Searching through the site under the “What is Goth Section” I soon learned that Goth was as indefinable as “society” and was not bound by any one set of beliefs or moral standards. That it was a group of free thinkers that came together because they had been spurned by “Normality”. That the only unifying feature that cut straight across all Goth’s was the manner of dress. This constant, it seems, is wearing black clothes.
So we have two features of Goth defined. Firstly, that it is as indefinable as “society” and secondly, that it has a particular style of dress attached that a member of this subculture would adhere to in order to be part of the subculture. I hate to break it to Goths, but society has been well defined and there are thousands of books that do a very good job of detailing how a society functions, even right down to the part about subcultures, of which they claim to be. Of course, this would require them to read those books and reading those books, it seems to me, might just make the facade of Goth crash in on them. Subcultures are micro-societies within the larger society and carry over all the same rules as the greater society, but generally just change them up a bit, just enough to achieve some level of difference that allows the people in the sub-culture to feel like they are inside the bubble of new and out side the bubble of the old, where they felt rejected. The reasons for wanting that feeling are as varied as the individuals in the sub group, but the result is the same. A new group established to allow its members to feel like they are apart of something that in some way relates to who they are. Everyone seeks this through whatever choices they make of where to fit in. And yes I said it, “fit in”. The second thing that defines a Goth is the manner of dress. This is the most glaring example of carrying over the same rules into the subculture and changing them in order to establish someone as being in the new culture, and the first clue that Goth is not a culture of free thought, but rather a culture tethered to what has gone before and at its heart has adherence to the “culture type” as firmly imbedded in it as the mainstream.
The standardization of dress is a way for the sub-group to establish “normality” within itself. I give the perfect example from Goth.net. In the section “How do I get into Goth?” I offer the following quote, “This is the simplest part of the page. Go check out our Community section over on the left, and use it to find out what is going on in your local area. Goths tend to be accepting and open minded. Just turn up to a club or event wearing all black and you are already in the Goth scene.” I wonder how “open minded” they would be to a group of people showing up that belonged to the mainstream and did not “fit in”.
Please stop fooling yourself with the “we are free thinkers” bit. Opening up every option and having an everything goes attitude does not make you a free thinker, at the very best it makes you non-judgmental and at the worst it makes it impossible for people to truly reach conclusions, because in doing so you would reach a point where you would have to make decisions on things, and that would mean rejecting some things. Which is very non Goth right? Free thinking is thinking without bias, but you will still reject ideas, or you are not thinking at all.
In looking at Goth Art, Goth Music and Goth writing I find in overly dominated with self indulgent, pity wallowing. I like a lot of what I see and hear in the art and music, but Goth is a “one trick pony” that you soon tire of. The “society just does not get me, my pain and the void in my soul” act just does not play well, for very long. We get it. We have our own, and feel no need to foist it upon others then cry out that we are not understood. It is merely that others simply do not give a fuck and no matter how much you rub it in their face they will not.
Just in looking around during the process of writing this I personally am sick of seeing web cam pic’s of betty page wannabe’s looking sullen and disinterested and guys that think they are The Crow. I mean, god damn, how original is that? By all means be different, but at least be self aware enough to understand what you drives to be so.
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