"Gothic"--I hate the way the
term is being misused nowadays. Why? Well,
because I have a passion
for gothic literature, and because I'm thinking about
writing my own gothic novel, but honestly, I'm
not overly fond of being associated with the word.
If I search for gothic sites on the internet, nine times
out of ten, I find some dreadful site where the webpage owner
features him or herself decked out in some outlandish
costume of leather and gleaming black, usually
amid the background of a cemetery or other dark environment.
Some of these misinformed webpage owners even go
so far as to depict themselves in semi-nude fashion.
I've even seem some sites where the owner claims
they're--can you guess--a vampire. Now, that almost
comical, unless of course they really ARE vampires!
I'm sometimes tempted to send such people a letter
giving them the real definition of "gothic."
If I did so, what in the world would I say? Well, lets
see...according to the dictionary, "gothic means,
"pertaining to a style of architecture originating in France in
the middle of the 12th century..." The websites I've
mentioned certainly have nothing to do with architecture
unless these "Goths," as these people call themselves,
think they're an antique cupboard or something of the like.
But I've never seen a piece of furniture wear a low-cut
dress or have a Mohawk haircut, so I think it's safe to
assume that this definition is grossly inaccurate.
But, wait a minute, that's not the only definition. The
term also pertains to the music between 1200 and
1450, especially from Northern Europe, or to
the art produced in the 13th and 15th centuries. Definitely
no again, unless the art of that time featured bad taste, and
that's certainly not true. As for music, again,
there's no match to the typical "Goth" sites. Zero.
Zilch! The word can even be applied to a certain type of
alphabetical script used, according to Webster's, "for
the writing of Gothic by Ulfilas and derived by him
from Greek uncials with the addition of some Latin and
some invented letters," and it's often used in reference
to the extinct Germanic language of the Goths.
Still, no match with the bad
gothic websites I've seen.
But I must mention the definition of the word that
I like the most, and I'm sure, as horror
fans, you agree, and that's using "Gothic" to
describe a style of literature of the 19th century,
characterized by a dark setting, full of decay and
despair and heavily
seasoned with supernatural overtones. Of course,
I still see no resemblance between this term and
the websites I've mentioned. There's no writing
on these websites except maybe some bad poetry
and an equally wretched biography that defines the
website owner's stupidity rather than their
self-imagined "Gothicism." But that's all fine by
me, they can have bad taste, they can publish
bad poetry on their sites, and paint their faces
with black and white make-up all they desire--I
just decry that they do so in the name of "Gothicism."
That brings me to the next definition. Of course
the word also pertains to the true "Goths," a
Teutonic people who invaded the Roman Empire
between the 3rd and 5th centuries, but again, this category
wouldn't apply to the internet "Goths, " since these
website owners are obviously from modern times--far,
far from old Rome. Ah, but wait, I think I've found something
that does apply to the tasteless "gothic" websites I've seen.
A "Goth" is also someone with no refinement,
a barbarian. In this sense, it's a term that means "crude"
and "uncultured." So it looks like maybe I've found
a term that can be readily applied to most "gothic"
websites. Yes, I've found the right term at last. Maybe
I was wrong all along; perhaps the websites I mentioned
are indeed "gothic!"
