Goth: Difference between revisions

{{quote|''"My life is a big, dead rose..."''|Seen as graffiti in an art school classroom}}

 

 

It can't be emphasized enough, the fact that Hollywood [[Totally Radical|really does not understand]] the myriad and various subcultures of young people and the many subtleties to be found within. Hence, this trope, which refers to stereotyped Goths in popular culture.

Just as much as Biker is a way of life (and overlaps with Goth heavily, if not a subset), Goth is a lifestyle and nothing less.

 

 

A handy guide to different (stereo)types of Goths can be found [http://www.blackwaterfall.com/viewall.php here.]

 

== Anime and Manga ==

* Sunako in ''[[The Wallflower]]'' is an example of the Lone Psycho Goth.

** She's hard to stick in one category really. She does [[Loners Are Freaks|Lone Psycho]], she occasionally tries to kill people [[Yandere|she's attracted to]], she [[Friend to All Living Things|can be really nice]] [[Perky Goth|and happy]], she loves the [[Nightmare Fuel Station Attendant|macabre]], she can be an [[The Hero|utter]] [[Badass]], she can be [[Gonk|ugly]], she can [[She Cleans Up Nicely|be]] [[Tall, Dark and Bishoujo|sexy]], [[Bifauxnen|even to]] [[Les Yay|girls]], she [[Supreme Chef|cooks]], [[Yamato Nadeshiko|cleans]] and she [[Knife Nut|juliennes]].

* Re-l Mayer, the heroine of ''[[Ergo Proxy]]'' is something of the [[Deadpan Snarker]] gloomy goth, dressing in all black and wearing lots of eye liner.

* Mizho from ''[[Karakuridouji Ultimo]]'' is introduced as one. She dresses like a dead school girl, with bandages wrapped all around her body, along with an eyepatch.

* Sawyer the Cleaner of ''[[Black Lagoon]]'' dresses as a goth when not "on the job". She's basically the Lone Psycho Goth, although she's more lone, due to having her vocal cords cut, and psycho, because everyone in this series is, than because she is a goth.

** She does have her [[Perky Goth]] moments, but even those are tempered by her usual deadpan expression.

* D Gray Man can be considered a full-on goth shonen series, which is pretty awesome when you think about it.

* Gil of ''[[Pandora Hearts]]'' frequently looks and acts the part.

** {{spoiler|In the end, they didn't appear in the series, although Japanese heroes the Super Young Team are considered their spiritual successors.}}

* The '90s run of ''Titans'' where Damage becomes a big fan of a slasher star named... Goth. Yeah, Goth. Oh, and it turns out Goth is actually a demon who uses his fell powers to convince his fans to kill themselves and shoot up schools. Oh, and Goth also fronts as a Marilyn Manson-style singer, so all the late '90s hysteria bases are covered.

* Most of the cast of ''Wet Moon'', a [[Graphic Novel]] series by Ross Campbell. The author has considerable knowledge and experience with the scene, which helps.

* ''[[Kimmie 66]]'' is all about goth kids.

** FTFY.

** ...or make them fall out of their chairs laughing.

* A lot of "[[Jerk Sue|Bitchiwitch]]" [[Mary Sue|Mary Sues]] in the ''[[Harry Potter]]'' fandom, at least for a while anyway, when they're not punks, tend to be goths. (Usually, they'll also have a hatred of either punks or "preps".) Though of course, a lot of them are [[Troll Fic|Troll Fics]] still trying to jump on the ''[[My Immortal]]'' bandwagon.

 

 

== Film ==

** Though by the end of the movie, she also seems like more of a [[Perky Goth]].

** Hell, [[Tim Burton]] in general.

* [[Ghost Rider]] rescues a rather ample girl who is a stereotypical goth. She mostly accurately describes him as a really thin guy with his hair on fire, but since she looks like a loony nobody believes her. Right before the camera pans away from her, she makes a gesture which some have identified as a gesture from a vampire LARP.

* In the Hilary Duff film ''[[Raise Your Voice]]'', a gloomy goth girl (Kat Dennings) and a [[Hollywood Nerd]] (Johnny Lewis) were paired as the [[Beta Couple]].

* Sinaed Laren from ''But I'm a Cheerleader'', including stereotyped speech and an obsession with self-inflicted pain.

* ''Series 7: The Contender'' has a [[Stylistic Suck|hilariously accurate]] [[Parody]] of [[Le Film Artistique|artsy-fartsy student films]], in this case a music video to "Love Will Tear Us Apart" by Joy Division. This establishes that two of the main characters, in their [[Backstory]] went through a goth phase together. The hilarious music video stands out as the [[Crowning Moment of Awesome]] for the film.

* Fang from ''[[My Soul to Take]]'' is a paradoxical Goth [[Alpha Bitch]], complete with [[Girl Posse]].

* Kelly from ''[[Mystery Team]]'' is an ex-Goth; she hates shopping.

* Lisbeth from the [[Millennium Trilogy]]

 

* One of the [[Older Than They Think|earlier literary examples]] of the Gloomy Goth as a social fad can be found in, of all places, ''[[War and Peace]]''. See Julia's thoughts on the smile of melancholy in Chapter V.

* Another early example is in ''[[Adventures of Huckleberry Finn]]''. See Huck's description of (the late) Emmeline Grangerford in Chapter XVII.

** And let's not forget the young vampires in ''Carpe Jugulum'', who try to freak out their elders by wearing bright clothes, stay up 'til noon, and call themselves names like "Henry" or "Pam". They even pretend to drink... [[I Do Not Drink Wine|wine]], although only "real weirdos who file their teeth blunt" actually do. They also spend their days dressing up as accountants...

* Similar to the above example, the rebellious kids of the vampire dimension in Robert Asprin's ''Myth'' series express themselves by wearing bright colors and partying in brightly lit clubs. There's also a market for plastic-human teeth, if you want to scare somebody.

* Severus Snape In ''[[Harry Potter]]''. [[Deadpan Snarker]]? Check. Family drama (namely, abusive father and (possibly) negligent mother)? Check. Nihilist? Check... As a teenager. ([[Alternate Character Interpretation|At least, he comes off as one at times.]]) Wears all black and is an [[Eerie Pale-Skinned Brunette]]? Double-check; cosmetic though they may be, they certainly help qualify him. And if the sub-plot with {{spoiler|Lily being his lost love}} doesn't do it, nothing does.

** Lucius Malfoy could also fit this trope

* The titular character of ''[[Goth Girl Rising]]'', Kyra Sellers, is one, but she doesn't believe in labels and considers calling herself "post-Goth" since [[Emo]] has pretty much replaced [[Goth]] in the minds of most.

* The "[[Ruddigore|murgatroyds]]" in ''[[Anno Dracula]]'' are a parody of fashion-Goths. And are seen as posers despite ''actually being vampires'', most of all by [[Stop Being Stereotypical|other vampires]].

{{quote| ''Walking down the street alone.<br />

Everything I've ever loved is gone gone gone...'' }}

** Apparently, nobody told him that you ''can'' be a goth and a nerd at the same time.

** Morticia and Lily Munster only dressed the part. But Wednesday had the attitude down perfectly.

* One episode of ''[[This Is Wonderland]]'' had Elliot defending a goth man who had gotten into a fight with a car dealer who had made fun of him. The goth character was treated much more sympathetically than it sounds, and the judge eventually agreed that the provocation was sufficient. Along the way, they commented upon the unfair stereotypes associated therewith. Elliot even went goth for a few episodes.

* Parodied on ''[[The Morgan Waters Show]]'' with Trent, the badminton-playing Goth.

* Nadine from ''[[Girls In Love]]'' was normally a gloomy goth, although she would occasionally slip into [[Perky Goth]] territory depending on what was happening in her private life.

{{quote| '''Tommy:''' "Death signed my yearbook. 'Have a good summer,' he wrote, 'see ya next year.' And then I noticed it wasn't my yearbook he signed, it was my tombstone."<br />

'''Lorna:''' What d'you think?<br />

'''Lorna:''' You're the first one to get the irony. }}

* Vivian Wu from ''[[Naturally Sadie]]''.

** The youngest son adopted a goth look in his teens, complete with makeup and lip ring.

** There was an episode where the family's at a poetry reading for Wilson, and a goth girl goes up to read/recite her poetry:

{{quote| '''Goth Girl:''' Die... Die... Go on, Die!<br />

'''[[Deadpan Snarker|Randy]]:''' You first. }}

** Two main characters, Prentiss and Garcia, are former goths themselves.

** There is a season one episode, "The Popular Kids," in which the team suspects for a short time that a local group of goths are responsible for a double murder. {{spoiler|They're not}}.

** In the season five episode "The Performer," several goth girls are murdered, and the team believes the killer may be a singer who caters to a largely goth crowd. {{spoiler|It's actually his completely non-goth manager, aided by a schizophrenic goth fan}}.

** A suspicious goth was featured in "Risky Business", and his had good reason to be an [[Emo Teen]] {{spoiler|His chainlink choker was to hide the fact that he was constantly strangled to unconsciousness by his sadistic, Munchhausen-by-proxy/''paramedic'' dad, who also killed his mom.}}

* Ellie Nash (until season 5), Ashley Kerwin (in season 2 only), Jane Vaughn, and Eli Goldsworthy from ''[[Degrassi]]''.

* An ep of ''Two of a Kind'' sees one of the Olsen twins befriending a goth... played by [[Hey Arnold|Helga Pataki]]'s voice actress. Replete with dark hair, pale skin, black outfit, nose ring, and love of heavy metal (about a CD by her favorite band "Human Sacrifice": "Don't let the name fool you, they do a good thrash version of You Light Up My Life" [insert [[Laugh Track]] here]). And when the other Olsen twin offers to buy her a new backpack (long story), guess what color backpack she offers to buy her?

== Tabletop Games ==

* The card game ''Gother Than Thou'' includes cards such as "Fun with eyeliner," "That wasted look," and "Crying yourself to sleep on the fresh grave of your lifelong love who died of consumption and being found the next morning unconscious, naked, and nearly frozen to death by the groundskeeper."

 

 

== Web Comics ==

* Subverted by Melanippe from ''[http://amazoness.co.uk/index.htm Amazoness!]''; while she ''looks'' like a stereotypical goth, the comic takes place in ancient Greece, and she's really a Goth... as in, the tribe of barbarians who would go on to sack Rome.

** Tsukiko is still in her Goth phase. Haley [http://www.giantitp.com/comics/oots0518.html mocks her for it].

* ''[[Zebra Girl]]'''s friend Crystal, formerly a [[Genki Girl]] and bordering on [[The Ditz]], has recently gone Goth in reaction to the strip's [[Cerebus Syndrome]].

* In ''Acorn Grove,'' the character Tota the Squirrel briefly becomes a goth, but only because she had identity issues. Later she becomes emo and later a lesbian.

* In ''[[Questionable Content]],'' Dora and Raven are both former goths from the same coven. Dora's reason for going goth in the first place was something along the lines of 'because people are retarded.' She eventually drifts away from the coven saying that while it was fun, it had started to feel 'shallow and pointless.' Raven is the classic sheep following whatever herd piques her interest (she tries to be emo at one point to attract 'cute emo boys'), though she may be smarter than she appears to be.

{{quote| '''Torg:''' Novocain please!<br />

'''Nana:''' Nothing is real but pain. Would you rob yourself of that last grasp of truth? ''(Lunges at Torg with her dentist's drill)'' FEEL MY EMBRACE, TO FILL THE CAVITY OF YOUR HEART! }}

* ''[http://www.gothybeans.com/beans/ Gothy Beans]'' is a strip entirely devoted to [[Perky Goth]] beans.

** And one [[Deadpan Snarker]].

* ''[[Rhapsodies]]'' has Blossom, Francine, Olive, Bian, Stefan and, presumably, Bert.

* ''[[Bobwhite]]''. [http://www.bobwhitecomics.com/?webcomic_post=20080918 Here] and the following page, Cleo and Ivy debate what is and isn't "goth". Marlene ends up resolving the debate for them: "It doesn't matter because actual gothic people stopped existing sometime in the early 2000's. Now there's just a lot of unhappy people who enjoy claymation."

 

* There are plenty of Goths at the [[Super-Hero School]] Whateley Academy in the ''[[Whateley Universe]]''. Some are that way for superpowered [[Teen Titans (Comic Book)|Raven-like]] reasons. Some are just magic wannabes who are trying to steal real magic from some of the wizards on campus. Some, like Bloodworm, are actively using Dark Magic to get boons {{spoiler|right up until he suffered a fate way worse than death.}}

* Being about highschool students, there have been a fair amount of gothic characters in ''[[Survival of the Fittest]]'' over the course of four versions. Most of them are of the "gloomy" variety. One of the examples that comes to most handlers' minds is Meredith Hemmings, who has nicknamed herself "Pandora Black" and is definitely a gloomy goth. This is explained as her not actually being a goth, but a poser who is only acting how she thinks goths act like.

* [[Uncyclopedia]]'s article for Goths describes them as "[[I Thought It Meant|a violent East Germanic tribe of barbarians]] who proved to be a great nuisance for the Roman Empire from the 1970s to 1990s, [[Arson, Murder, and Jaywalking|primarily with their bad taste in music and dark eyeliner.]]" It comes complete with a photoshopped picture of American Gothic (as Goths) and lists the "Emoae tribe" as their chief enemies.

* [[Deadpan Snarker|Persephone]] and Hades in ''[[Thalias Musings]]''. Hades is, after all, [[Incredibly Lame Pun|the god of metal]].

 

== Western Animation ==

*** In that same episode they got pissed about being called emos and ended up burning down Hot Topic (complete with a song called "Burning down Hot Topic") to stop the Vampire-obsessed from copying them.

** And in the dance-off contest, they took non-conformism to absurd lengths, where three of the goths, trying to out-nonconform, refuse to join Stans' dance troupe, until the fourth out-nonconforms the rest and joins them, leading one of the three to observe that they "just got Goth-served."

** It should be noted that Parker and Stone have a significant renown for the quality of their musical (re-)interpretations - which is all the better since if you try to parody somebody you had better do your research...

*** Parker and Stone spoke through Kyle in the Mecha-Streissand episode: "Disintegration is the best album ever!" Both are huge fans of The Cure, who are held along with Siouxie and the Banshees as the origins of Goth Rock. Even if they jibe at the subculture, they likely are quite familiar with the musical genre on a personal level.

** Also, Honorary Titan Argent is depicted posing as interested in this sort of dark fashion style.

** Jinx seems to fit, or at least has the general style in mind. Of course, [[Bad Powers, Bad People|her outlook on life]] has a lot to do with it, too...

** The same show's take on the Scarlet Witch has a very strong Hot Topic-Goth vibe.

** Funny, because that adult cartoon was actually based on gothic art.

** Oddly enough, she's arguably the most sane, level-headed character on the show.

** Hey, she was going for an Adam and the Ants kind of look. And it's not like she can get into her closet...

* Andrea from ''[[Daria]]'', though she gets about three lines per season on average, is unmistakably Lawndale High's token Goth kid.

{{quote| '''Andrea:''' ''(Reciting her own poetry)'' I'm here. But where are you? Sure, I see your body. Anybody ''home'' in that rotting bag of flesh?}}

** Duncan seems to fit the Lone Psycho Goth more, although he's arguably considered to be a punk rather than a Goth.

*** Speaking of those two, there are many fans that [[Fan-Preferred Couple|pair the two]]. {{spoiler|In the first few episodes of Total Drama Action, they start getting along really well because of their similarities. Enough to make Gwen's actual boyfriend Trent [[Love Makes You Crazy|jealous and kinda nuts.]] }}

* Not quite a Lone Psycho Goth (she has a boyfriend and a small clique of Goth friends), Chloe Crashman from ''[[Carl Squared]]'' could be the poster girl for the Angry Goth.

* Creepie Creecher, from ''[[Growing Up Creepie]]''. She also has a cadre of goth friends/acquaintances. None are really portrayed negatively.

* Sam from ''[[Danny Phantom]]'' is said to be goth and goes between Perky and Gloomy, but more often comes off as an activist hippie who wears black.

* German cartoon singer [[Anna Blue]] is considered as a less then funny side of [[Jamster]].

{{quote| '''Milhouse''': What are you now Lisa? An Oakland Raiders fan? <br />

'''Lisa''': It's called "Goth" eternally clueless one. My new name is "Raven Crow never smiles." <br />