World Goth Day

History of World Goth Day

Gothic culture can be found in many ways in time, if it be through music, fashion, Tv/movie or books.

Musically it can be traced back to 1967 when someone called the music of The Doors as ‘Gothic Rock’. Because of this more and more music and artists were beginning to be referred to in this way, such as Velvet Underground and Siouxsie and the Banshee’s. you can trace it back just a little further where a writer named Horace Walpole came up with a story in 1764 called ‘The castle of Otranto’ and during the second printing of this it was given the subtitle of ‘A Gothic Story’. Originally this was used to describe music but when it comes to literature the context of it, it is described as a ‘Pleasing sort of horror’ and was seen as a natural extension of romantic literature, it shows the darker side of romance. In 1977 the introduction of gothic cinema came around when films such as Suspiria and Eraserhead came out, although it seems to lose its lacklustre and nowadays there doesn’t seem to be mainstream films that really highlight the gothic trend well, it still is a very well-loved style and genre.

Then in May 2009, a radio station in the UK were discussing subcultures of music. While on the air DJs, Cruel Britannia and Martin Oldgoth created World Goth Day, onwards this is now celebrated all around the world.

Representation of Gothic culture in TV and Film

There are so many iconic characters in many TV shows and movies that represent the gothic community. Here is a list of the highest-ranking gothic characters –

• Morticia Addams from ‘The Addams Family’ – people would say this character is proof that you don’t age out of being a goth and it is not just a phase. While embracing the gothic lifestyle you can see that Morticia Addams loves and cares for her family, she breaks that stereotype that Goths are mean and heartless, but she does still have her gothic ways about her.

• Lydia Deetz from ‘Beetlejuice’ – Lydia screams goth mentality, she is sensitive, serious and deeply morbid. Her dark personality is shown through her fashion and style, with the big black hair, lace chockers and black clothes.

• Edward from ‘Edward Scissorhands ‘– While Tim Burton is known for creating many iconic characters within the gothic culture, Edward Scissorhands may be ranked as his best character to represent the gothic community, this movie basically started a generation of spooky kids to paint their faces white and tape sharp blades to the fingers. Edward has a very skittish personality when it comes to human interaction, and he can only really communicate and obtain social value through his skilled yet cursed Scissorhands.

• Severus Snape from ‘Harry Potter’ – Snape is described with the aesthetic of Dark Academia and may not seem like a true goth, but he is single-minded focused on challenging and protecting Harry who is the child of his departed, unrequited love. The tragic story of Snape losing lily is both deranged yet romantic and is the reason he is considered a prime goth.

• Janis from ‘Mean Girls’ – this movie is not all classed as a gothic story, but we do get representation of the gothic culture through the character, which is Janis Ian, she has the mentality of a typical goth in high school where she is against everything and everyone. She has this struggling artist vibe that goes well her gothic style and with everything she stands for, she fights against normal high school stereotypes and cliques, making her an iconic goth.

At Unique Magazines we have many magazines that could fit into the gothic genre and expresses some of the likes of this community. Some may be stereotypical such Tattoo magazines such as Inked and Tattoo Society and Heavy metal magazines such as Fistful of Metal and Zero Tolerance. But we have so many more, you can check these out on our website and if anything sparks an interest grab yourself a copy.