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Suburban Gothic

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This article is about the subgenre. For the 2014 film, seeSuburban Gothic (film).

SuburbanGothicis a subgenre ofGothic fiction,film and television, focused on anxieties associated with the creation of suburban communities, particularly in the United States, from the 1950s and 1960s onwards.

Criteria

It often, but not exclusively, relies on the supernatural or elements of science fiction that have been in wider Gothic literature, but manifested in a suburban setting.

Description

Suburban Gothic is defined by Bernice M. Murphy as "a subgenre of the widerAmerican Gothictradition which dramatises anxieties arising from the mass urbanisation of the United States and usually features suburban settings, preoccupations and protagonists ".[1]She argues that a common trope of the suburban Gothic is the danger within a family or neighbourhood, rather than an external threat.[2]Teenagers and children are often major protagonists or sources of threat and characteristic conflicts often focus on issues of individuality and conformity.[3]

Examples

Important early works identified with the subgenre includeRichard Matheson'sI Am Legend(1954) andShirley Jackson'sThe Haunting of Hill House(1959).[4]

Important films includeStanley Kubrick's take onLolita(1962),Wes Craven's originalA Nightmare on Elm Street(1984)[5]andTobe Hooper'sPoltergeist(1982).[6]Works that incorporate environmental concerns includeIra Levin'sThe Stepford Wives(1972),Anne Rivers Siddons'sThe House Next Door(1978) and theTodd HaynesfilmSafe(1995).[7]A more recent book identified within the genre isBret Easton Ellis' mock memoirLunar Park(2005).[8]Several works byDavid Lynch,notably the television seriesTwin Peaks(alongside the 1992 featureFire Walk with Me)[9]and the filmBlue Velvethave been identified as part of the suburban gothic subgenre.[10]An earlier cinematic example of this isNicholas Ray's 1955 classicRebel Without a Cause.[10]Films with threats from a female protagonist, includingFatal Attraction(1987) andDisclosure(1994) have also been identified as part of the genre.[11]In addition, films that feature a more character-driven or dramatic standpoint also inform the genre notablyPeter Jackson'sHeavenly Creatures,Todd Solondz'sHappiness,[12]Sam Mendes'sAmerican Beauty,andRichard Kelly'sDonnie Darko.[13]TV series such asBuffy the Vampire Slayer,Supernatural,andDesperate Housewiveshave also been seen as dealing with concerns about hidden Gothic worlds behind the suburban façade.[14]Other films described as within the suburban gothic genre includeBrian De Palma's version ofStephen King'sCarrie(1976),John Carpenter'sHalloween(1978),The Amityville Horror(1979),[15]Fright Night(1985),The Stepfather(1987),[16]Joe Dante'sThe 'Burbs(1989),[17]Parents(1989),[17]Tim Burton'sEdward Scissorhands(1990),[17]The People Under the Stairs(1991),[16]John Waters'sSerial Mom(1994),[16]Little Children(2006),[16]The Girl Next Door(2007),The Sisterhood of Night(2014),The Invitation(2015),[16]Snowtown(2011)[18]andThe Babadook(2014).[19]

Another televised example is the Emmy-winningAmerican Horror Story.[20]

See also

Notes

  1. ^B. M. Murphy,The Suburban Gothic in American Popular Culture(Palgrave Macmillan, 2009),ISBN0-230-21810-5,p. 2.
  2. ^B. M. Murphy,The Suburban Gothic in American Popular Culture(Palgrave Macmillan, 2009),ISBN0-230-21810-5,p. 3.
  3. ^B. M. Murphy,The Suburban Gothic in American Popular Culture(Palgrave Macmillan, 2009),ISBN0-230-21810-5,pp. 2–3.
  4. ^B. M. Murphy,The Suburban Gothic in American Popular Culture(Palgrave Macmillan, 2009),ISBN0-230-21810-5,p. 15.
  5. ^The 15 Best Suburban Gothic Films — Page 2 — Taste of Cinema
  6. ^J. E. Hogle,The Cambridge Companion to Gothic Fiction(Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 2002),ISBN0-521-79466-8,p. xxv.
  7. ^B. M. Murphy,The Suburban Gothic in American Popular Culture(Palgrave Macmillan, 2009),ISBN0-230-21810-5,p. 4.
  8. ^Scott, A. O. (August 14, 2005)."'Lunar Park': Hero and Heroin ".
  9. ^The 15 Best Suburban Gothic Films — Page 2 — Taste of Cinema
  10. ^abThe Anadromist (2012) American Gothic Films: An Incomplete List. The Anadromous Life, [blog] November 7, 2012, Available at:[1]Accessed: December 9, 2012.
  11. ^K. I. Michasiw, "Some stations of sub-urban Gothic", in R. K. Martin and E. Savoy, eds,American Gothic: New Interventions in a National Narrative(University of Iowa Press, 2009),ISBN1-58729-349-8,p. 240.
  12. ^The 15 Best Suburban Gothic Films — Page 2 — Taste of Cinema
  13. ^The 15 Best Suburban Gothic Films — Page 2 — Taste of Cinema
  14. ^B. M. Murphy,The Suburban Gothic in American Popular Culture(Palgrave Macmillan, 2009),ISBN0-230-21810-5,p. 166.
  15. ^Hughes, William (2015).The Encyclopedia of the Gothic.John Wiley & Sons.ISBN9781119210412.
  16. ^abcdeCrow, Charles L. (2013).A Companion to American Gothic.John Wiley & Sons.ISBN9781118608425.
  17. ^abcMulvey-Roberts, Marie (1998).The Handbook to Gothic Literature.NYU Press.ISBN9780814756096.
  18. ^The 15 Best Suburban Gothic Films — Page 2 — Taste of Cinema
  19. ^The 15 Best Suburban Gothic Films — Taste of Cinema
  20. ^The 15 Best Suburban Gothic Films — Page 2 — Taste of Cinema
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