Surveying the widespread appropriations of the Gothic in contemporary literature and culture, Post-Millennial Gothic shows contemporary Gothic is often romantic, funny and celebratory. Catherine Spooner reads a comprehensive range of popular texts from Stephenie Meyer's Twilight series and Tim Burton's film adaptations of Sweeney Todd and Dark Shadows to fashion, advertising, tourism, TV makeover shows, stand-up comedy, sitcom and children's media. In doing so, she argues that conventional academic and media accounts of Gothic culture have overlooked the significance of this celebratory strain of 'Happy Gothic'.
Identifying a shift in subcultural sensibilities following media coverage of the Columbine shootings, Spooner suggests that changing perceptions of Goth subculture have shaped the development of 21st-century Gothic. Reading these contemporary trends back into their sources, Spooner also explores how they serve to highlight previously neglected strands of comedy and romance in earlier Gothic literature.
Pages
232
Format
Paperback
Publisher
Bloomsbury Academic
Release
February 23, 2017
ISBN
1441101217
ISBN 13
9781441101211
Post-Millennial Gothic: Comedy, Romance and the Rise of 'Happy Gothic'
Surveying the widespread appropriations of the Gothic in contemporary literature and culture, Post-Millennial Gothic shows contemporary Gothic is often romantic, funny and celebratory. Catherine Spooner reads a comprehensive range of popular texts from Stephenie Meyer's Twilight series and Tim Burton's film adaptations of Sweeney Todd and Dark Shadows to fashion, advertising, tourism, TV makeover shows, stand-up comedy, sitcom and children's media. In doing so, she argues that conventional academic and media accounts of Gothic culture have overlooked the significance of this celebratory strain of 'Happy Gothic'.
Identifying a shift in subcultural sensibilities following media coverage of the Columbine shootings, Spooner suggests that changing perceptions of Goth subculture have shaped the development of 21st-century Gothic. Reading these contemporary trends back into their sources, Spooner also explores how they serve to highlight previously neglected strands of comedy and romance in earlier Gothic literature.