Session 6: Gothic Aesthetic

2nd Global Conference

Monday 16th May – Wednesday 18th May 2011
Warsaw, Poland

Glitter Gothic: Uses of the Past in Contemporary YA Urban Fantasy
Hannah Priest
University of Manchester, Lancashire, UK

The genre of ‘urban fantasy’ distinguishes itself from ‘high fantasy’ by its contemporary setting. The first decade of the twenty-first century saw a dramatic increase in the genre, and many urban fantasy texts are written for young adult (teen) audiences. However, while the settings and protagonists are definitively twenty-first century, these novels make both self-conscious and implicit uses of the past. In vampire fiction, the past which is invoked is usually that of the nineteenth century. Buildings, objects and characters often originate in the Victorian period (for example, Twilight’s Edward Cullen was born in 1901). Moreover, the societal structures and mores presented (and sometimes affirmed) are those of the nineteenth century, with an emphasis placed on patriarchal values, the nuclear family and the protection of often hysterical females. In contrast, fairy and werewolf fiction evokes a different past. Usually pre-modern and pre-industrial, this imagined past is one of tribal allegiance, ritual and connection to nature. Theorists of the Gothic have drawn attention to the importance of an invocation of the past to the construction of the genre, and these ideas can be applied to contemporary YA urban fantasy. This paper will explore, with reference to a wide selection of texts, the significance of imaginary pasts, nostalgia and the failure of modernity. Moreover, as I will show, which past is being invoked has implications for constructions of identity. Issues of sexuality and gender, as well as race and class, are inextricably linked to the juxtaposition of past and present in YA fantasy. I argue that the use of the past in this genre of fiction is one of the main reasons why we can read these texts as true descendants of the Gothic tradition.

The Gothic as a literary and cultural construct has continued to evolve since its first dated appearance in Horace Walpole’s 1764 novel The Castle of Otranto, and its current popularity is evidenced in various productions, including high street fashion and haute couture. From Topshop to Alexander McQueen, from Stevie Nicks to Boho chic, various interpretations of traditional Gothic elements have manifested in contemporary fashion.    The Museum at the Fashion Institute of Technology in New York City had a major exhibition from September 2008 through February 2009 on Gothic fashion entitled “Gothic: Dark Glamour,” thereby giving such stylistic choices the imprimatur of the design establishment.  Why the continuing incorporation of Gothic elements in contemporary fashion exists and the influences upon that incorporation will be the subject of this presentation.  Particular attention will be given to designs and cultural influences of the past thirty years—an era of growing gothic interest–in an attempt to explain why, as curator Valerie Steele remarked in her notes for the FIT show, the “dark glamour of the gothic has made it perversely attractive to many designers.”

Download Draft Conference Paper (pdf)

Fashioning Bodies, Styles, and onvention: The Strangeness of Others
Louise Katz
University of Sydney, Australia

Much has been said about what one’s style of dress reveals about one’s sense of self and place in the world; a little less is said of how that style affects others. In an increasingly global environment, what one means may be at odds with what others, from a diversity of cultural backgrounds, will perceive. Regarding either personal or cultural mores, what may we think, and what may we say about those whose styles and conventions appear to be at odds with what we are accustomed to?

I would like to discuss modes of presentation that may provide a sense of security for some, and promote anxiety in others, and to consider the reasons for this. I will begin with discussion of that emblematic garment, the burqa, before moving on to other modes, including those adopted by Goths, whose evocation of eros and thanatos, mystery and revelation, may share – at least in the eyes of some observers – certain qualities with the veil. I will consider masking as display – and overt display as a form of concealment; the contrivance of personal and cultural identity though dress; and ideas about the wisdom of revelation, and the value of discretion.

This involves dealing with the rhetoric of ‘choice’ of self-presentation in relation to the notion of consensus: traditionally, certain styles evolve over time and are seen as conventional; but as communities fragment and produce cultures within cultures, this process is complexified, and with the proliferation of microcosms burgeoning within globalised cities of the world, different notions of consensual normality must live side by side; this involves becoming accustomed to the ‘strangeness’ of others.