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Amazon.com: "Books: Goth Chic: A Connoisseur's Guide to Dark Culture"
Amazon.com: Books: Goth Chic: A Connoisseur's Guide to Dark Culture: "This book had an impact on my life and am now one of those 24/7s. I used to be a joke because I liked Manson now I am legit. If you are seriously into goth, whatever you do don't listen to Nine Inch Nails or Marilyn Manson. "
WTF?
Comments please.
# posted by Matt the Hat at Saturday, September 04, 2004 | |
Goth as we know it today was born at the end of the punk era in a small part of London that had previously sporned the Punk rock movement. Many trad goths still dance the way those early proto-goths did (these guys danced like that because of structural limits in the night club in question). The birth happened when the media used the term Goth. It caught and became a name for something that was un-named.
For this reason we have the goth "fashion" of calling oneself not-a-goth and generally denying any goth connection. It was has been and always shall be a media label.
At this stage there was no difference between punk, goth, (new romantics (UK) and Beatniks (us) were still getting going). These new youths now called goths were effectively second and third gen punk. As with all true art movements the lines are never truly defined and the edges blur easily. Thus we add to the mix:
Beatnik, New Romantic, Teddy Boys, n-th gen hippie, Religious imagery, Wild West (Field of the nephilim), Third and forth gen punk, Mods (of mods and rockers fame), pop-rock, fetish, BDSM, Retro Fashion, The Retrospectives (Victorian Obsessed types), Body pop, Heavy metal, EBM, Dance & House etc, Dark Metal, Death Metal, Shock Rock, media stereotypes, culture stereotypes, inter-culture bickering, labelling, misunderstanding and self analysis.
and then stir it up with a sprinkle of: trying to figure it all out.
Every time some-one tried to sort it all out they muddy the waters further and add new ideas to the mix. Effectively if you name it so then it becomes so.
This is further exacerbated by Alchemy Gothic, Black Rose ltd, Gothic Martha Stewart and the likes.
Then you get Whitby and Gotham Festivals held in the UK that further re-enforce the first gen fiction. The first generation goth is in fact a lie call it Goth.Generation(1.5) if you like (as some do) and place it just before 2nd generation up to third and this is what "trad goth" is (or is now). Does that make it wrong? No, it makes it changes nothing but it would be foolish to point to the new trad goth and call them first gen.
In the evolutionary pool of alt.culture True First Gen goths would be totally unrecognisable do to almost total lack of black.
What we as the sub-cultures analysts need is an agreed word (invented perhaps) that identifies what we have tried to call goth.
: --feel free to have a different opinion and express it here--
# posted by Matt the Hat at Monday, August 30, 2004 | |
Goth With a Sledgehammer
Goth With a Sledgehammer: "If most (10 or more) of the following statements are true, it is VERY likely that you are Goth. If the first statement is false, you aren't Goth. No, not even if all 16 of the rest are true. Of course, you would be readily accepted and most welcome amongst Goths for your strength of individuality and ability to appreciate the culture in general and themselves in particular.
What a truly refreshing point of view. Something that not only rings true but tries (and largely succeeds) to get to the nub of the issue.
You feel the need to spend a lot of time creating things (music, art, poetry, philosophies, stories and the like)
Your creative efforts are often described as dark, shocking, scary, morbid or strange
You like museums and cultural centers
You understand and even enjoy Shakespeare, Shelley, Browning or some other similar work without having to read the Cliffe Notes
You know the difference between nihilism and existentialism, even if you don't really live by either
You really, truly enjoy music of many kinds
You are a very sensual person (aware of color, texture, sound, taste and scent)
You don't understand why the people around you spend so much time watching TV
You don't feel comfortable looking just like everyone else you know
You do feel comfortable just being yourself, even if no one else around is anything like you
You wonder 'why' a lot, and come up with some interesting answers
You wonder 'how' a lot, and often figure it out on your own
You don't just reject something because you don't understand it
You base your opinions of people on who they are and what they do rather than what they look like
You are not afraid of the unknown
You are not afraid of the dark
You are afraid of mediocrity "
# posted by Matt the Hat at Monday, August 30, 2004 | |
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