Goths are more stable.m_glowMarch 22 2006, 11:23:41 UTC
I read that article yesterday, and almost posted it in my journal.
But I wonder if the information applies to people like me, who were de facto goths? I grew up in a small Texas hick town in the 80's, and even though I didn't know who Bauhaus were, I had a compulsion to wear black clothes, wear a huge stupid ankh, and practice religions that weren't approved by the local First Baptist Church. All these things went away, but I still have a lot of goth tendencies.
I think it might have been Joseph Campbell who said, that for many people, especially the young, there comes a time to, using the biblical term, "Wallow in the ashes." I think that is what "goth" is, a personification of existential terror. In the goth movie The Crow, one of the bad guys says, "Childhood is over once you know you're going to die."
Better to get your existentialist crisis over when you're young, then wait until you're on your deathbed. Perhaps that is why "grown up" goths are more stable, as the article suggests.
Re: Goths are more stable.gothfrogetteMarch 23 2006, 00:23:04 UTC
you have to love non approved religions by another religion..... hehehe
i'm not sure if you can define goth though, but that could just be because i hate stereo types and the whole point of the artical is aimed at closing peoples perceptions on someone just because of the way they dress. @Goths@ and alternative looking people in general are depicted as drop out, no hopers and so when parents see their child reach for the black they automaticaly think this is what is going to happen to the futuer of their child. people need to realise this after i can not remember a time when a bunch of 'Goths' were hanging around the street corners making trouble.
Goth in forgotten placesm_glowMarch 23 2006, 07:08:30 UTC
i'm not sure if you can define goth though...
I probably shouldn't attempt to , but I've given this some thought over the years. I always think of goth not in terms of the subculture, but in terms of the original literary movement. Goth is an offshoot of Romanticism. To me, Wuthering Heights by Emily Brontë is the most "goth" thing you'll ever find. To me, Goth is about the memory of the past that reflects on the present, sometimes in not so good ways.
I think this influence of Romanticism and Gothic is everywhere in art and literature. It's in places people forget to look. I think the first "goth", in a music and subculture sort of way, was Screaming Jay Hawkins, who appeared in a coffin, had a skulls and stuff like that. His song I Put A Spell On You has been covered endlessly.
Look in your mom and dad's record collection and pull out those Creedence Clearwater Revival albums. Most of it is happy-happy-joy-joy!, and that's a great thing. However...they have several songs that are the darkest, most spooky things I've ever heard
( ... )
Comments 3
But I wonder if the information applies to people like me, who were de facto goths? I grew up in a small Texas hick town in the 80's, and even though I didn't know who Bauhaus were, I had a compulsion to wear black clothes, wear a huge stupid ankh, and practice religions that weren't approved by the local First Baptist Church. All these things went away, but I still have a lot of goth tendencies.
I think it might have been Joseph Campbell who said, that for many people, especially the young, there comes a time to, using the biblical term, "Wallow in the ashes." I think that is what "goth" is, a personification of existential terror. In the goth movie The Crow, one of the bad guys says, "Childhood is over once you know you're going to die."
Better to get your existentialist crisis over when you're young, then wait until you're on your deathbed. Perhaps that is why "grown up" goths are more stable, as the article suggests.
Reply
i'm not sure if you can define goth though, but that could just be because i hate stereo types and the whole point of the artical is aimed at closing peoples perceptions on someone just because of the way they dress. @Goths@ and alternative looking people in general are depicted as drop out, no hopers and so when parents see their child reach for the black they automaticaly think this is what is going to happen to the futuer of their child. people need to realise this after i can not remember a time when a bunch of 'Goths' were hanging around the street corners making trouble.
Reply
I probably shouldn't attempt to , but I've given this some thought over the years. I always think of goth not in terms of the subculture, but in terms of the original literary movement. Goth is an offshoot of Romanticism. To me, Wuthering Heights by Emily Brontë is the most "goth" thing you'll ever find. To me, Goth is about the memory of the past that reflects on the present, sometimes in not so good ways.
I think this influence of Romanticism and Gothic is everywhere in art and literature. It's in places people forget to look. I think the first "goth", in a music and subculture sort of way, was Screaming Jay Hawkins, who appeared in a coffin, had a skulls and stuff like that. His song I Put A Spell On You has been covered endlessly.
Look in your mom and dad's record collection and pull out those Creedence Clearwater Revival albums. Most of it is happy-happy-joy-joy!, and that's a great thing. However...they have several songs that are the darkest, most spooky things I've ever heard ( ... )
Reply
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