A Most Peculiar Mademoiselle - People Who Know More About Gothic/Horror Films And Literature Than I Do...

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legoline

19 May 2008 @ 04:10 pm

People Who Know More About Gothic/Horror Films And Literature Than I Do...

...I might be desperately needing your help.

I've decided to write my master's thesis on "Elements Of The Gothic In Modern Pop Culture", mostly because I attended a module on Gothic Novels and wrote a paper on Jane Austen's Northanger Abbey and thought it would be terribly interesting to see how certain mechanisms still are put to use in modern literature and film (and possibly, song), how certain themes still apply, what elements never really got out of fashion. Especially since recently there seems to be a new wave of horror/fantasy themed books and films coming out.

My problem is: I know more about classic Gothic literature than I do about modern one. In fact, I may have avoided horror films and literature so far in my life, simply because I have very weak nerves ;-) But oh, I really want to write my thesis about that topic. And here's where I need help.

I have no clue which modern films and books I should pick to analyse. Well, I do have a list of possible candidates but as of now, it's kind of short:

Books
Salem's Lot and The Shining (both Stephen King)
I did think about Anne Rice but it's, you know, Anne Rice

Films
Sleepy Hollow (the problem being that it's based on a classic Gothic story even though most of the plot was changed for the film)
Batman (I think this could be really interesting as it's not typically "horror" but certainly has elements. The problem--it's actually a comic)
Casper (Well. Least likely candidate, admittedly)
The Others (I've only heard about this film, not actually seen it)
And maybe, The Rocky Horror Picture Show.
I'm unsure about other classics like "The Excorcist" or "Poltergeist" because honestly, I think they might be too "old"?)

Short, I know.

My question: what candidates am I missing? What books and films should I check out? What would qualify? Especially books, because I'd like to have another author besides Stephen King. Ideas? Thoughts? If you could pick a horror film or book to be compared to classic Gothic, what would it be?

Every help is muchly appreciated!

Thank you in advance!

Tags: master's thesis, university

Current Mood:

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bardling.livejournal.com on May 19th, 2008 02:15 pm (UTC)

Um, I don't know what "classic gothic" is, or what you're trying to compare to, so not sure what I'd look at for modern stuff. (I only know "goth" as the term for black-dressed, often white-makeuped mostly youngsters... ;)

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legoline.livejournal.com on May 19th, 2008 02:29 pm (UTC)

Gothic Novels is what we would translate to "Schauerliteratur" (It's called Gothic novel in English because they came up at a time when people started to be interested in medieval architecture etc. again rather than Renaissance and Classicism. It's a form of the Romanticism movement where emphasis is put on emotion rather than feeling. Because the novels were often set in medieval settings or places inspired by Gothic architecture they were called Gothic novels), or it's also called "Schwarze Romantik".

"Frankenstein" is a late Gothic novel, "Bram Stoker's Dracula" was highly influenced by it too. "Genuine" Gothic novels are "The Monk", "The Mysteries Of Udoplho" and "The Castle Of Otranto". "The Legend Of Sleepy Hollow" is an American example, and lots of Poe's stuff is rather Gothic too :-)

What I want to do is analyse how many of the typical elements (damsel in distress, haunted houses/castles, supernatural creatures, mysteries, obscure settings) are still used in modern horror :-)

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inderpal.livejournal.com on May 19th, 2008 02:24 pm (UTC)

Hmmm, I've not read it, but what about 'Twilight'? I mean, all I know that it is about a Vampire and it is not Anne Rice, but it is quite popular and the film is surrounded by quite the media buzz. Don't know if that is helpful though, I'm not quite sure what you are looking for.

Also, what about Supernatural, does that apply?

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legoline.livejournal.com on May 19th, 2008 02:31 pm (UTC)

I kind of plan on mentioning Supernatural as a side note :-) I think Twilight might be too schmoopy, It think it's rather romance than creepy. I might mention that development though :-) Thank you!

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fluttering-by.livejournal.com on May 19th, 2008 02:25 pm (UTC)

How modern is modern? After approximately which year would they have been written?

I've not seen the newest Johnny Depp film, don't even remember the name (*ashamed*), but that barber guy... is that gothic enough? Or is it just... vaguely grey-ish and old fashioned clothes with lots of cool stuff laying around?

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legoline.livejournal.com on May 19th, 2008 02:34 pm (UTC)

Well, both Stephen King novels I'm taking into consideration so far are mid-seventies, mostly because I can't come up with something newer :-/

Oh, Sweeny Todd right? Thing is, I think it's a remake but I'll make a mental note of it... :-)

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aryana-filker.livejournal.com on May 19th, 2008 02:26 pm (UTC)

Ju refers to her book "Das Obsidianherz" as a kind of gothic novel, and as much as I lerned from beta reading your paper on Northanger Abbey, "Das Obsidianherz" is very much like a gothic novel, although the stereotype characters are a bit... twisted. :)

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legoline.livejournal.com on May 19th, 2008 02:37 pm (UTC)

Hm...with no disrespect to Ju because I'm sure her book is great, but I think it might be better if I picked something more "representative", I guess? As in...I hate to say it, but...popular. Arck. Now I sound like a meanie. *bites lip* (I still wouldn't mind reading it though ;-) )