Beetlejuice. Shego. Edward Scissorhands. Elvira. Johnnie Guilbert. The entire Addams family. There’s a little aesthetic mixing thrown in, but these are some of pop culture’s most prominent goth icons.
The term goth derives its origins from the eponymous Germanic group and Medieval European architecture. Gothic literature, inspired by the decadent architecture of its namesake as well as mystery and imaginative terror, hit its peak in the 1790s. As such, castles and monasteries were often the settings of these extravagant novels. Many revivals of Gothic literature occurred, with popular novels including Mary Wollstonecraft Shelley’s “Frankenstein” (1818) and Bram Stoker’s “Dracula” (1897).
Meanwhile, the modern connotation of goth as it relates to fashion can be found in Victorian-era England. Following the death of her husband, Queen Victoria adopted traditional black mourning wear for the last four decades of her life. Her reign set a precedent for all social classes to wear black for up to two and a half years after the death of a loved one. At this point, the color black was introduced into the mainstream as a message of grief.
We have inherited this theme as seen through Western funeral services. Black is the power source of the goth aesthetic, and it has become more multifaceted in contemporary society.
Modern goth fully materialized in the U.K. as a byproduct of 1970s punk and post-punk. With bands like The Cure, Bauhaus and Siouxsie and the Banshees, gothic rock exploded, quickly becoming known for its introspective and melancholic themes. Young people were getting acquainted with Gothic Victorian literature, and all sectors of the arts erupted into a gothic frenzy.
With inspiration from music and literature, it was only a matter of time before goth became an accessory, even a lifestyle. The Batcave was a nightclub in London’s Soho from 1982-1986 that defined the goth movement before it existed. Though only active for a brief period, the legacy of the club’s spooky interior, cabaret extravaganzas and live gothic rock music performances continue to this day.
Like all aesthetics, pinpointing a single root that definitively started contemporary goth is impossible. But there is one big cause that was instrumental to goth’s creation: Margaret Thatcher’s reign as British prime minister from 1979-1990. A staunchly conservative ideology, Thatcherism garnered hatred from the youth, especially in creative circles. By revolting, artists reached new heights: British cinema surpassed its widely acknowledged mediocrity from the ’50s and ’60s; sculptures and digital media found lasting ways to depict political leaders through alternative personas and impressions; as noted previously, atypical musical artists became mainstream. Lastly, goth was born. Social and artistic movements coalesced to critique political transgressions.
Of course, America in the 1980s had their own version of Thatcher; Ronald Reagan, Or “a cruel and stupid lizard,” as Slate Magazine put it. Mirroring Britain, American creatives went wild. Fashion embraced pattern clashing, disco tops and leather everything while an unprecedented amount of art galleries opened to bear witness to the rise of political commentary on pressing issues like the AIDS crisis, infamously exacerbated by Reagan’s lack of action. Goth was a statement adopted by young people as an artistic form of retaliation against societal issues.
Television and popular culture reflected goth statements and aesthetics more and more. The Addams Family is a beloved franchise, with roots dating back to 1938 when it was first released as a newspaper comic strip. Before modern goth existed, the unorthodox family obtained a fandom through its zany, mysterious behaviors. Rebooted in the ’90s as movies from the television series in the ’60s, the franchise found new fans while still riding the waves of the goth epidemic from the ’80s.
The latest Addams Family spinoff aired in November 2022, when Netflix released “Wednesday,” a television series following a teenage Wednesday Addams as she attends boarding school and encounters spooky adventures. The spirit of goth was reinvigorated once more. The unconventionality of this anti-establishment family is both entertaining and impressive. They have the courage to live outside of societal norms, breathing life into lifestyle aesthetics that are associated with death and gore.
Goth draws attention; it allures us. Every time something gothic goes viral, we can’t seem to leave it alone. Therefore, when subtlety and mindless pleasantries are entrenched in our social interactions, we need it back more than ever. I love the thrill of seeing someone’s goth outfit and getting slapped in the face with shock.
Polarization and general dissatisfaction with American democracy have plagued Gen Z. A cultural shift is bound to happen, and goth is the appropriate aesthetic to focus on. A contradiction within itself, black is the absence of all visible light yet also the combination of various pigments, a fitting representation of the color’s multifaceted meanings. Black is symbolic of death, discontent and general abnormality that by itself invokes rebellion and discontent.
Pure, pitch black is also the most unnatural color. Though rare, when it appears in nature as mold, precious stones and dangerous animals (panthers, bears and orcas to name a few), it typically represents a threat. Paired with moody literature, music and art, nothing screams a rejection of society more than goth.
In a perfect society with no discontent or ill will, there would never be good, outrageous art. I see the processing of this generation’s collective outrage as the pinnacle of a gothic reset. Flawlessly subversive, chic and reminiscent of the proactive youth before us, it’s time to sink our fangs into goth.
Daily Arts Writer Tara Wasik can be reached at tarawas@umich.edu.
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