Suburban Gothic

Suburban Gothic is a sub-genre of Gothic Literature, visual art, and cinema.

Like its predecessor, Suburban Gothic writing is dark and disturbing, often employing psychological and supernatural devices to drive the plot along. It uses these devices not so much to entertain, but to explore social issues and to challenge the suburban dream.

Suburban Gothic strives to break down the facade of normality that pervades suburbia. The knights and heroes of traditional Gothic literature have been replaced in most cases by a heroic underdog figure. The grotesqueness of its characters lay not in the dis-figuration of the body but of the mind, delving into the dark and twisted psyche of its characters.

In most cases in Suburban Gothic literature, good does not prevail. Wrongs are often left unrighted and often can not be righted. They are, in fact, often compounded when confronted.

This genre of writing is exemplified in the works of Edward Bloor and Robert Cormier, and in some of the works of Stephen King.

Visual artists who explore suburban gothic themes include Gregory Crewdson, Joel Sternfeld, and Thomas Cummins.

Suburban Gothic has emerged as a considerable genre in contemporary film. The genre mixes elements of drama, thriller, dark comedy, and even fantasy, all to the idyllic settings of fences, lawns, and boxes. This style has seen an impressive build-up under the wings of such auteurs as David Lynch, Larry Clark, Todd Solondz, and Todd Field. A flourish in these dark suburban films has grown over the last several decades, filling the void, along with Southern Gothic & Urban Gothic, for true American gothic enlightenment. Archetypal portraits of the grotesque suburbs can be seen in such films as: Blue Velvet, Edward Scissorhands, American Beauty, and Donnie Darko.

Films

• Entertaining Mr Sloane (1970)
• Bad Ronald (1974)
• The Stepford Wives (1975)
• The Little Girl Who Lives Down the Lane (1976)
• Carrie (1976)
• Halloween (1978)
• Poltergeist (1982)
• Christine (1983)
• Fright Night (1985)
• Blue Velvet (1986)
• The 'Burbs (1989)
• Parents (1989)
• Heathers (1989)
• It (1990)
• Edward Scissorhands (1990)
• The People Under the Stairs (1991)
• Twin Peaks: Fire Walk with Me (1992)
• Short Cuts (1993)
• Spanking the Monkey (1994)
• Welcome to the Dollhouse (1995)
• Scream (1996)
• Lawn Dogs (1997)
• Gummo (1997)
• Happiness (1998)
• Apt Pupil (1998)
• Idle Hands (1999)
• Election (1999)
• American Beauty (1999) (Best Picture win)
• Julien Donkey-Boy (1999)
• The Virgin Suicides (2000)
• Storytelling (2001)
• Donnie Darko (2001)
• In the Bedroom (2001) (Best Picture nod)
• Bully (2001)
• Ken Park (2002)
• One Hour Photo (2002)
• The Stepford Wives (2004, remake)
• The Butterfly Effect (2004)
• Mean Creek (2004)
• Palindromes (2004)
• Crutch (2004)
• Bubble (2005)
• Little Children (2006)
• Snow Angels (2007)
• Disturbia (2007)
• Teeth (2007)
• An American Crime (2007)
• The Girl Next Door (2007)
• Beautiful (2008)
• Lake Mungo (2008)
• Let the Right One In (2008)
• Life During Wartime (2009)
• The Stepfather (2009, remake)
• The Crazies (2010, remake)
• A Nightmare on Elm Street (2010, remake)

Television

• Are You Afraid of the Dark? (1990-2000)
• Twin Peaks (1990-1991)
• Eerie, Indiana (1991-1992)
• The X-Files (1993-2002)
• Goosebumps (1995-1998)
• The Oblongs (2001-2002) (animated)
• Glory Days (2002)
• Happy Town (2010)

See Also

• Southern Gothic
• Urban Gothic
• Tasmanian Gothic
• American Gothic Fiction
• Dark Romanticism
• Gothic Literature