We have to sleep upside down like bats*
Undead, undead, undead
There's a piece in today's Independent about Goths. There's also one - played for cheap laughs - in the Guardian, and it's no doubt in the other papers too, as it's based on that most vital of newspaper sources: the study. In fact, a media studies doctorate. Hey, it's all news.
To save you the bother of hitting the link and reading the whole thing, here's a precis: Dr Dunja Brill, a 32-year-old German "with her own Gothic tendencies" (it says here), studied Goth subculture for her doctorate in media and cultural studies at Sussex University. She believes Goths were misinterpreted following the 1999 Columbine High School massacre and insists that far from being "a sinister group of social misfits, Goths place a high value on university education and highbrow culture. Parents agonising over their offspring's sudden passion for black clothes and eyeliner should be reassured they are more likely to end up a doctor, architect, social worker or in the creative industries than dropping out."
Dr Brill states, "The Goth lifestyle allows you to lead a perfectly sane, stable lifestyle with a proper job, your own flat and even a family, then at the weekends or in your leisure time follow your Gothic activities. The scene has quite middle-class values - education, highbrow culture, theatre, museums, romantic literature, poetry, philosophy, Gothic architecture. Many Goths like classical music. It's a status symbol to have a good collection of classical pieces - mostly requiems and darker pieces."
Well, I preferred Alien Sex Fiend to classical music, but as a professional ex-Goth (a bit like being a professional Northerner, I suppose), I was contacted by the writer of the Independent piece, Ciar Byrne and she interviewed me over the phone. Hence, my testimony alongside her piece:
'There were never any fights or violence': Andrew Collins, writer and broadcaster
I turned 18 in Northampton in 1983. I was in the sixth form and there was a big style move towards longer hair and looking a bit moody. My look just evolved. The first hair colour I dabbled in was henna and then black. I wore a black coat, black scarf and Dickensian fingerless black gloves. I went to art foundation school [clearly, Ms Byrne misunderstood this - I actually did a foundation course at art school, but she's quoted me with a high degree of accuracy so I won't complain] and started to become more Gothic. I never dared to wear make-up. I don't think anyone did in Northampton. I went round to my friend Kevin's on a Saturday night and we would listen to the Cure and Sisters of Mercy and sculpt our hair in identical fashions. Robert Smith of the Cure was our model. We used to go to wine bars. They would always change as the management realised we were spoiling the view. Bauhaus were Northampton's most famous export and they used to drink in a wine bar in Bridge Street, although we were too cool to look like we recognised them. There were never any fights or violence in the places where we were. We drank blackcurrant and lemonade because it looked good. The flip side was what we called "rugby players", wearing a suit and a smart haircut and white socks and yet they would be rowdy and have fights. Then I went to art school in London and suddenly I was surrounded by people who looked even more ridiculous than me.
Interesting footnote about Goths of today, the little Marilyn Manson fans. "Goth culture still arouses suspicions. On its website, the Parents' American Religious Organizations [sic] Defending Youth, Parody for short, blames Goths for everything from the Columbine massacre to Buffy the Vampire Slayer and South Park. The website asks: "What are the worst dangers that threaten our children today? Satanism? Drugs? Homosexuality? A culture of violence? Heat exhaustion? What if there was a danger that included all of these? That danger is here and its name is GOTH."
*This is a quote attributed to Craig, bassist in our band Absolute Heroes, from an article about us in the Northampton Chronicle & Echo, September 15, 1982. It refers to our sticking-up hair. Here's a picture (I hadn't really "gone Goth" at this stage, but our singer Jo was well on the way):
posted by Andrew Collins @ 8:37 AM
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13 Comments:
As a semi-retired goth myself, I would certainly be less worried if my children dyed their hair black and got into whoever the equivalent of Marilyn Manson is in 10 years time rather than a evangelical church or something!
Sorry Beth, have to take umbrage at that comment. As someone who attends a church, please don't base your opinions on outdated stereotypes. What exactly is wrong with a child trying to be good to others and demonstrate forgiveness? On a slightly more positive note, like the hair from back then Andrew - why did you change it?!! (Tim B)
Sorry Beth, have to take umbrage at that comment. As someone who attends a church, please don't base your opinions on outdated stereotypes. What exactly is wrong with a child trying to be good to others and demonstrate forgiveness? On a slightly more positive note, like the hair from back then Andrew - why did you change it?!! (Tim B)
"the Parents' American Religious Organizations [sic] Defending Youth, Parody for short"
Either they're not being entirely serious, or they have a very ill-chosen name...
I fear the Independent has been had. The P.A.R.O.D.Y. website is an obvious parody and appears to be an advert for the Blair Witch Project soundtrack album!
http://www.redmusic.com/goths/warning.html
That's search-engine research for you!
Wasn't "Heat exhaustion?" enough of a clue?
Would the hair not stay up long enough for you to get a photo outside the bathroom?
Kitchen, actually. And my hair stayed up all night long, I can tell you!
Tim B, I apologise, I'm certain that many Christian establishments are a force for good, my best friend's dad is a Baptist minister and my family regular church goers, but I prefer my own children to have enquiring minds rather than be instructed by someone's interpretation of the Bible.(bad experience of insistent evangelical church in my local area)
I'm glad to hear it stayed up all night. I'm just jealous of anyone who has enough hair to do anything with it.
Looking at it again though, that hairstyle does kind of look like a black furry crescent moon. And the bit above your ear looks like a nose. And if you squint at it there's a kind of eye and a mouth there too. Was that deliberate?
Aaargh! Goths.
Somethings never seem to go away. Or come back all too easily.
Urgh.
Well there's a nice, open-minded attitude, Robert in NW9! Did a Goth once steal your girlfriend, or is the prejudice less deep than that?
FIRSTLY I AM ONE OF THE CURIOUS PEOPLE ON EARTH AND A PHOTOGRAPHER BY ACCIDENT.SO I AM INTERESTED IN MEETING GOTHS WHO NOW EITHER OWN BUSSINESSES OR WORK FOR INSITUTIONS OF IMPORTANCE CONTRIBUTING GREATLY TO SUNDERLANDS ECONOMY.EVEN IF THEY ARE BASED IN NEWCASTLE.
I WOULD LIKE TO PHOTOGRAPH THOSE WHO ARE GOTH INSPITE OF THE DRESS CODE BUT MOST IMPORTANTLY THOSE WHO WOULD EITHER WEAR A UNIFORM TO WORK OR A SUIT.
AT THE SAME TIME WOULD NOT MIND BEING EDUCATED IN MY NAIVE EDUCATION THAT I HAVE OF GOTHS
CONTACT ME ON MY MOBILE+44 784 772 3495 URGENTLY AS THIS IS MY ONLY CHANCE TO DOCUMENT THE LOCALS AND CHECK OUT MORE ABOUT THE PROJECT ON WWW.THEIPRN.ORG
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