Southern Gothic: Difference between revisions

'''Southern Gothic''' is an artistic subgenre of [[Gothic fiction|fiction]], [[Gothic country|country music]], [[Gothic film|film]], theatre, and television that are heavily influenced by [[Gothic fiction|Gothic]] elements and the [[Southern United States|American South]]. Common themes of Southern Gothic include storytelling of deeply flawed, disturbing, or [[Eccentricity (behavior)|eccentric]] characters whosometimes maysuffering befrom involvedphysical indeformities [[hoodooor (folk magic)|hoodoo]],<ref>{{cite book |author=Merkel, Julia |title=Writing against the Odds |year=2008 |pages=25–27 }}</ref>insanity; decayed or derelict settings, and [[grotesque]] situations;<ref>{{cite book |author=Bloom, Harold |author-link=Harold Bloom |title=The Ballad of the Sad Cafe – Carson McCullers |year=2010 |pages=95–97 }}</ref> [[grotesque]] situations, and other sinister events relating to or stemmingbred from poverty, [[Social alienation|alienation]], crime, violence, forbidden sexuality, or violence[[hoodoo (folk magic)|hoodoo]] magic.<ref>{{cite book |author=Merkel, Julia |title=Writing against the Odds |year=2008 |pages=25–27}}</ref>

Elements of a Gothic treatment of the South were first apparentappeared during the [[American Civil War|ante- and post-bellum]] 19th century in the grotesques of [[Henry Clay Lewis]] and in the de-idealizedsardonic representations of [[Mark Twain]].<ref name="Flora">{{cite book |editor-last= Flora |editor-first= Joseph M. |editor2-last= Mackethan |editor2-first= Lucinda Hardwick |title= The Companion to Southern Literature |year= 2002 |pages= [https://archive.org/details/isbn_9780807126929/page/313 313–16] |publisher= LSU Press |isbn= 978-0807126929 |url-access= registration |url= https://archive.org/details/isbn_9780807126929/page/313 }}</ref> The genre was consolidated, however, in the 20th century, when [[dark romanticism]], Southern humor, and the new [[Naturalism (literature)|literary naturalism]] merged in a new and powerful form of social critique.<ref name="Flora"/> The thematic material wasthemes largely a reflection ofreflected the culturecultural existingatmosphere inof the South following the collapse of the [[Confederate States of America|Confederacy]] asin athe consequence[[American of theCivil War|Civil War]], which left a vacuum in itsof cultural and religious values as well as economic devastation. The resulting poverty and lingering bitterness overduring the loss of the Civil War in the region duringpost-war [[Reconstruction era|Reconstruction]] era exacerbated the racism, excessiveeveryday violence, and religious extremism endemic to the region.{{Citation needed|reason="endemic to the region" is heavy enough wording to warrant at least one source citation|date=April 2023}}

TheLike the original artistic term "[[Gothic architecture|Gothic]]", the term "Southern Gothic" was originallyat first pejorative and dismissive. In 1935, [[Ellen Glasgow]] used the term in this way when she referred tocritiqued the writings of [[Erskine Caldwell]] and, [[William Faulkner]]., She included the authors in what she calledand the "Southern Gothic School" in 1935, stating that their work was filled with "aimless violence" and "fantastic nightmares". ItThe connotation was so negatively viewed at first so negative that [[Eudora Welty]] said: "They better not call me that!"<ref name=":0">{{Cite book |title=Defining Southern Gothic |last=Marshall |first=Bridget |publisher=Salem Press |year=2013 |isbn=978-1-4298-3823-8 |location=Critical Insights: Southern Gothic Literature |pages=3–18}}</ref> Another prominent feature in Southern Gothic is its relation to voodoo and hoodoo.

[[File:Seward Plantation House, Independence, Texas.jpg|thumb|right|Seward Plantation House, Independence, a strictly fantastical onerepresentation of a plantation.<ref>Bjerre, T. (2017, June 28). Southern Gothic Literature. ''Oxford Research Encyclopedia of Literature''.</ref>]]

Similar to the elements of the Gothic castle, Southern Gothic gives usdepicts the decay of the plantation in the post-Civil War South.<ref name=":0" />

Villains who disguise themselves as innocents or victims are often found in Southern Gothic literature, especially stories by [[Flannery O'Connor]], such as "[[Good Country People]]" and "[[The Life You Save May Be Your Own]]", giving usthe reader a blurred line between victim and villain.<ref name=":0" />

Southern Gothic literature set out to expose the myth of the old [[Antebellum South]], andwith its narrative of an idyllic past hiddenthat covered byover social, familial, and racial denials and suppressions.<ref>{{Cite news|title="Dark Legacy": Gothic Ruptures in Southern Literature|last=Walsh|first=Christopher|publisher=Salem Press|year=2013|isbn=978-1-4298-3823-8|work=Critical Insights: Southern Gothic Literature|pages=19–33}}</ref>

* [[Harry Crews]] (1935–2012), who has been called "the [[Hieronymus Bosch]] of Southern Gothic"

* ''[[Southern Comfort (1981 film)|Southern Comfort]]'' (1981)<ref>{{cite web|title=20 Best Southern Gothic Movies |website=Taste of Cinema|date=December 17, 2014 |url=http://www.tasteofcinema.com/2014/the-20-best-southern-gothic-movies/}}</ref>

* ''[[Frailty (2001 film)|Frailty]]'' (2001)<ref>{{cite web|website=A Taste of Cinema|title=20 Best Southern Gothic Movies |date=December 17, 2014 |url=http://www.tasteofcinema.com/2014/the-20-best-southern-gothic-movies/}}</ref>

* ''[[Preacher (TV series)|Preacher]]'' (2016–2019)<ref>{{cite web|website=UrbanDaddy|title=A Supernatural Southern Gothic Superhero Show |date=June 13, 2016 |url=http://www.urbandaddy.com/ntl/entertainment/37826/A_Supernatural_Southern_Gothic_Superhero_Show_Three_Episodes_In_Preacher_National_NTL}}</ref>

[[Bruce Springsteen]]'s [[Nebraska (album)|''Nebraska'']] (1982) was influenced by the writings of Flannery O'Connor.<ref>{{Cite web |title=At 40, Springsteen's "Nebraska" Holds Up as a Harbinger of Rural Despair {{!}} History News Network |url=https://historynewsnetwork.org/article/184323 |access-date=2023-12-05 |website=historynewsnetwork.org |date=October 28, 2022 |language=en}}</ref> [[Athens, Georgia]]–based [[alternative rock]] band [[R.E.M.]] displayed a Southern Gothic influence with their third album, ''[[Fables of the Reconstruction]]'' (1985).<ref>{{cite web |url= https://www.thelineofbestfit.com/reviews/albums/r-e-m-fables-of-the-reconstruction-deluxe-edition-35114 |website=The Line of Best Fit |title=R.E.M. 'Fables of the Reconstruction (Deluxe Edition)' |last=Wisgard |first=Alex |date=3 September 2010 |access-date=15 November 2023}}</ref> [[J.D. Wilkes]], frontman of the band [[Legendary Shack Shakers]], described Southern Gothic music as "[taking] an angle that there’s something grotesque and beautiful in the traditions of the South, the backdrop of Southern living."<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.aspentimes.com/news/shackshakers-get-back-to-the-roots-of-goth/ |title=Shack*Shakers get back to the roots of Goth |last=Oksenhorn |first=Stewart |date=February 21, 2006 |publisher=The Aspen Times |access-date=2022-11-22}}</ref> [[Ethel Cain]]'s music has been described as "Southern Gothic Pop,"<ref>{{Cite web |title=Ethel Cain Is Making Southern Gothic Pop Music for the End of the American Empire |url=https://floodmagazine.com/108819/ethel-cain-preachers-daughter-feature/ |access-date=2023-01-08 |website=FLOOD |language=en}}</ref> often focusing on themes such as intergenerational trauma, Christianity, grotesque violence, poverty, and abuse, and she often credits inspiration to the works of Southern Gothic writers such as Flannery O’Connor.

Southern Gothic fiction writers like [[Carson McCullers]] and [[Zora Neale Hurston]] adapted their own work for the stage in language-heavy productions of ''[[The Member of the Wedding]]'' and ''[https://www.loc.gov/item/hurston000009/ Spunk].''

Playwrights like [[Tennessee Williams]], [[Beth Henley]], and [[Jacqueline Goldfinger]] translated elements of Southern Gothic aesthetic to the stage and added theatrical elements such as stylized movement, dialogue, and design. Examples of Southern Gothic plays include the Pulitzer Prize winner ''[https://www.amazon.com/Streetcar-Named-Desire-Directions-Paperbook/dp/0811216020/ref=sr_1_1?crid=1P1NYAHIVJ1K3&dib=eyJ2IjoiMSJ9.1-jRaDxVBIKOUk9kxTLPV4DoxDMayOCEOvm79qYoqXnAHWeUX9P5jVJO3TBxKxx22fweDh9ELkL3qol-0j0Lt-M5ucCueLzHKjjEL-tdDQ5oGmuUX9JI3ZZtpRMIABCTkSEz1hQX4yWoa8iHCfDw06hKXnZVll1YJ9eDqWg77wtAKPjrdULchcBglt6ohXvUFIhM-ZthEIX1_RlZxxolSkrkHZlHj8dkKGPkG2oxhtQ.qXYlylhBWaX41yKdXeGqO1oU86k30aco2MuGXr1aLFc&dib_tag=se&keywords=a+streetcar+named+desire&qid=1711900839&sprefix=a+stre%2Caps%2C186&sr=8-1 A Streetcar Named Desire]'' (1948), the popular ''[https://www.amazon.com/Jacksonian-Play-Beth-Henley-ebook/dp/B00UEFBB3Q/ref=sr_1_1?crid=1OO672LEU5RO1&dib=eyJ2IjoiMSJ9.F3ZF0moFXt4jZeft92x6cCn5Rn0q5-VNPEoHlaeE1QhkxtVNPP5aTHIT0KOpWkNOA-gB7rBCWGykRW4lT8CjHyXXh-hBGQQ_x1D63JbCFmGwysBF12xmO52fqUOS4omP8O8EYcc5AmnEggMLSrj57KaEvEqNfQ5CBcS25_FHODUn0qhJ3dJK-NibKbchVV0aHUZdNcapDPb90Wdxc5b0qnQ6cG6uq7dX5KEN9DuCryc.Vo96CIqswmdpdL0WNsDi3AHcCntdprO9_LyBlIDMK2s&dib_tag=se&keywords=southern+gothic+plays&qid=1711900908&sprefix=southern+gothic+plays%2Caps%2C88&sr=8-1 The Jacksonian]'' (2014), and the Yale Prize winner ''[https://www.amazon.com/Bottle-Yale-Drama-Jacqueline-Goldfinger-ebook/dp/B07H3XLXJ3/ref=sr_1_3?crid=1CJ3DT4EUP2SS&dib=eyJ2IjoiMSJ9.-BGqYlPE0UDd1hc2574tPG-g48adhOPk_Y1FHqg6zp47Cq5hBcL-yTRkrOE2CYxQsPkBc468vBUxN7MVhBHwuhMzhIbkUhR2-F0wInmAboxhDxm7MqwtNq9QUx8qlrTM-weRDriW6L4N5DR35T3nYPXkgtc-12ptodOc9zzBdVxG9vhKuSfZktNV2kjfRhWphZ05kcelRbjQu7XgLysi5jStUNSExQGaRhbwSUOqiQOR4ouuYg5RXu9ZPE-Y5ic0m5AZxkdOy9JBdiQU5UTxu0r0JWNJuxSTgCmUcqrL2Yw.WVUl3dzCziPgg51SruVHfmuoc3V9GYG-7BTknmrNhiE&dib_tag=se&keywords=bottle+fly&qid=1711900868&sprefix=bottle+fly%2Caps%2C87&sr=8-3 Bottle Fly]'' (2018)''.''