Goth Culture Is A Counter Culture

Separate from geography and location is nature in general, a very important aspect of gothic. As it has already been

A subculture is a part of society that has different ways of doing things that stray from the dominant or mainstream culture. It can sometimes be described as a stereotype. Its members have little commitment to the category. A subculture is different from the dominant culture, but is not necessarily seen as bad, and is generally seen as "okay" with the rest of the dominant culture. It's members still function as a part of

Gothic stories contain supernatural occurrences to incite an imminent feeling of darkness, and mystery. Using supernatural themes helps the reader become entrapped in the story, causing the reader to crave more of the story. For example, in Edgar Allen Poe’s The Black Cat in the short story Poe integrates the theme of supernatural by creating a dark and ominous

The Juggalo subculture is a very unique one with many differing factions that have been around for 20 years. They are a nonviolent group that started in the mid-1990s with the ascent of popularity of the band Insane Clown Posse. They are an interesting and diverse subculture with many unique traits and means of expressing themselves.

Goth is a term that originally referred to a northern Germanic tribe who ransacked southern Europe in the fourth century A.D. Because the Goth was associated with the fall of

The reason for a Gothic setting is to ably portray the dark and sepulchral undertones of the psyche of the stories’ characters, and through them, the nature of humans in general.

society are to accepting others, as well as demonstrating the theme of good and evil.

To begin, “The term Gothic fiction refers to a style of writing that is characterized by elements of fear, horror, death and gloom, as well as romantic elements, such as nature, individuality, and very high emotion. These emotions can include fear and suspense.”. (Greaver, 1). This specific style of writing began in the late seventeen hundreds. Gothic fiction was created in order to keep a narrower set of viewers or readers more intrigued and interested. “The term Gothic actually originated as a term belittling the architecture and art of the period, which was dark, decaying, and dismal. The settings were often old, dilapidated buildings or houses in gloomy, lifeless, fear inducing landscapes.” (Greaver, 1). Gothic literature is often explained as an illusion that is unexplainable. “Gothic fiction hovers between the uncanny and the marvelous, offering little

Society has taught its members how to act in certain ways, and what standards they are required to meet as they journey through their lives. These individuals will take certain actions to maintain a position in their society in hopes of not being cast aside. However, there are the select few in society who chose to go against these rules and standards that society has set in place for example, people who get their face’s tattooed. Society has ruled that facial tattoos go against their rules, compared to someone who receives an arm tattoo. These certain individuals are believed to possess something society labels as deviance. Becker states in his writing that deviance is, “The failure to obey group rules” (Becker 5). Individuals who receive facial tattoos are considered deviant due to opposing the rules set by the hegemonic society. These individuals will take something in their culture and style it to make it their own, causing them to be cast into a subculture, which in turn assaults the ideas of ideology and culture.

Gothic was first used as a term of contempt during the late renaissance. The Goth's were barbarians- which leads to many theories as to why "Goth" was the chosen title for a style that required extreme engineering as well as technical and artistic know how. Since then vast efforts have been made to rename the style with a term that better encompasses the idea of gothic style.

However, there is still much more to Gothic Literature. According to Baldick, “For the Gothic effect to be attained, a tale should combine a fearful sense of inheritance in time with a claustrophobic sense of enclosure in space” (xix). A story can have Gothic tropes but not be Gothic. There are loads of books that have murders and ghosts that aren’t considered Gothic at all, like Harry Potter by J.K. Rowling. His parents were killed and there was a ghost trapped in the girl’s bathroom, but it isn’t Gothic at all. What makes a story Gothic is how it is told or portrayed. Sometimes, the scenes that are used are to make the viewers question what is righteous and what is wicked. Burton shows this with how he introduces his characters and their personalities.

Other than goths I think a subculture that really stands out in our culture is the subculture deemed as redneck, I am not certain what the exact title of this subculture is or should be because it can be pretty diverse. I was raised in a small farming and mining town so I have seen firsthand how diverse red necks can be; a redneck can be anything from a dignified rancher to a back woods, alligator wraslin’[sic], moon shine drinking, hillbilly. Webster defines rednecks as, “a white person who lives in a small town or in the country especially in the southern U.S., who typically has a working-class job, and who is seen by others as being uneducated and having opinions and attitudes that are offensive.”(Webster,2016) I think as a general consensus

Those who don’t fall into social norms are out casted and quickly written off as crazy or insane. They are placed into institutions in an attempt to fix them or in other words remove them from society until they are acceptable. At the start of the novels the reader has a fairly set opinion

Looking at the big picture, subcultures and countercultures are both cultures that have their own values and norms. They are both capable of being a culture within a culture. A subculture is a smaller culture that exists within a larger culture but fit within the dominant culture, where as a counterculture is an opposition to the norms of society and contradict the dominant culture and norms. Both cultures dress and behave in different ways than average citizens of a society and are usually identifiable by their different appearances. A subculture can have its own beliefs, norms and values, but they are usually able to exist

There is something about the ideology of a subculture that sparks an interest in me. Maybe it is intriguing due to its members’ originality, courage to stand up for beliefs, or freely expressing their own self- identity. A subculture forms by individuals taking a risk, separating themselves from the mainstream, and forming their own distinctive norms, not caring what the “normal” members of the mainstream society think of them. Or do they care? Maybe that is the exact statement a subculture is making. Maybe these individuals are forming these groups so that people will care. Maybe their rebellious attitude is a final, somewhat desperate approach to getting that response. The images being portrayed in most subcultures are