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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,art, film and television, focused on anxieties associated with the creation of suburban communities, particularly in the United States and the west, 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]

Literature

Important early works identified with the subgenre includeRichard Matheson'sI Am Legend(1954) andShirley Jackson'sThe Haunting of Hill House(1959).[4]A more recent book identified within the genre isBret Easton Ellis' mock memoirLunar Park(2005).[5]

Film

Important films includeStanley Kubrick's take onLolita(1962),Wes Craven's originalA Nightmare on Elm Street(1984)[6]andTobe Hooper'sPoltergeist(1982).[7]Works that incorporate environmental concerns includeIra Levin'sThe Stepford Wives(1972),Anne Rivers Siddons'sThe House Next Door(1978), theTodd HaynesfilmSafe(1995)[8]and the filmBlue Velvethave been identified as part of the suburban gothic subgenre.[9]An earlier cinematic example of this isNicholas Ray's 1955 classicRebel Without a Cause.[9]Films with threats from a female protagonist, includingFatal Attraction(1987) andDisclosure(1994) have also been identified as part of the genre.[10]In addition, films that feature a more character-driven or dramatic standpoint also inform the genre notablyPeter Jackson'sHeavenly Creatures,Todd Solondz'sHappiness,[6]Sam Mendes'sAmerican Beauty,andRichard Kelly'sDonnie Darko.[6]Other films described as within the suburban gothic genre includeBrian De Palma's version ofBrian De Palma'sCarrie(1976),John Carpenter'sHalloween(1978),The Amityville Horror(1979),[11]Fright Night(1985),The Stepfather(1987),[12]Joe Dante'sThe 'Burbs(1989),[13]Parents(1989),[13]Tim Burton'sEdward Scissorhands(1990),[13]The People Under the Stairs(1991; also by Wes Craven),[12]John Waters'sSerial Mom(1994),[12]Peter Weir'sTruman Show(1998),Little Children(2006),[12]The Girl Next Door(2007),The Sisterhood of Night(2014),The Invitation(2015),[12]Snowtown(2011)[6]andThe Babadook(2014).[14]

Television

The works ofDavid Lynchare seen as defining examples of the genre, notably the television seriesTwin Peaks,alongside the 1992 featureFire Walk with Me[6].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.[15]Another televised example is the Emmy-winningAmerican Horror Story.[6]

Visual Art

Australian visual artistTanja Starkexplores themes ofSuburban Gothic and theSublimeDivine,drawing from a background as asocial worker,domestic violencecounsellor and upbringing in theBaptistchurch.[16]She approaches her creation through a symbolic lens, and sees the genre of suburban gothic as influenced bypsycholanalyticalideas of theJungianshadow,and the parts of domestic life that lie beneath conscious awareness. Her art explores theseunconsciousdesires and feelings and their powerful influence on waking life, particularly when they are associated with seriouspsychological trauma.In accordance with Jungian ideas, where the 'shadow' is not acknowledged or integrated, but is repressed, projected or inflated, the darker aspects of the psyche may emerge in ways that can be dangerous or destructive to mental or physical well-being of the individual and those around them, a key tension in Suburban Gothic art.[17][18]


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. ^Scott, A. O. (August 14, 2005)."'Lunar Park': Hero and Heroin ".
  6. ^abcdefThe 15 Best Suburban Gothic Films — Page 2 — Taste of Cinema
  7. ^J. E. Hogle,The Cambridge Companion to Gothic Fiction(Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 2002),ISBN0-521-79466-8,p. xxv.
  8. ^B. M. Murphy,The Suburban Gothic in American Popular Culture(Palgrave Macmillan, 2009),ISBN0-230-21810-5,p. 4.
  9. ^abThe Anadromist (2012) American Gothic Films: An Incomplete List. The Anadromous Life, [blog] November 7, 2012, Available at:[1]Accessed: December 9, 2012.
  10. ^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.
  11. ^Hughes, William (2015).The Encyclopedia of the Gothic.John Wiley & Sons.ISBN9781119210412.
  12. ^abcdeCrow, Charles L. (2013).A Companion to American Gothic.John Wiley & Sons.ISBN9781118608425.
  13. ^abcMulvey-Roberts, Marie (1998).The Handbook to Gothic Literature.NYU Press.ISBN9780814756096.
  14. ^The 15 Best Suburban Gothic Films — Taste of Cinema
  15. ^B. M. Murphy,The Suburban Gothic in American Popular Culture(Palgrave Macmillan, 2009),ISBN0-230-21810-5,p. 166.
  16. ^Stark, T (15 March 2022)."tanjastark_artist".
  17. ^"Lecture: Suburban Gothic and the Sublime Divine, Tanja Stark for C.G.Jung Society of Queensland".C.G. Jung Society of Queensland.Retrieved13 March2022.{{cite web}}:|archive-date=requires|archive-url=(help)
  18. ^Stark, Tanja."Spiralling Undercurrents: Melbourne Jung Society Lecture March 2022".C.G Jung Society Melbourne.
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