When the word ‘gothic’ is mentioned, a number of things immediately come to mind, such as fashion or music style. Even to those who barely know anything about the term itself, the word ‘gothic’ tends to remind some people of the color black, of something unordinary and different from the norm. According to Stevens (2000), the word ‘gothic’ originally came from the word ‘goths’, a term used to be associated with some Germanic tribes involved in the disintegration of the Roman Empire, before it was adopted by Anglo-Saxon in British isles in reference to the rebellion against tyranny at the time. By the 18th century, the term gothic had become a tradition that may refer to the idea of a convergence between religious belief, aesthetic taste, and political inclination—as the term often associated with an upheaval against those currently in powers.
As a tradition, gothic has embedded itself in various means, such as literature, art, architecture, music, film, or fashion. While the development of gothic from its beginning until 19th century may be traced through literature, art, and architecture, by the 20th century, it has expanded to other medium, such as fashion, music and film. This expansion means a shift in the definition of the term itself, and nowadays, rather than the rebellion against those in powers, the term gothic refers more to the mysterious, unexplainable, or scary things, including, for example, supernatural elements. As the Merriam-Webster online dictionary stated, one of the definitions of the word gothic is a style of fiction characterized by the use of desolate or remote settings and macabre, mysterious, or violent incidents.
As has been mentioned, one of the medium for gothic tradition, most notably in 20th century, is movies. Even in the beginning, movies based on gothic elements were so popular it created its own genre called gothic movie genre. One of the first gothic movies ever made was The Cabinet of Dr. Caligari, made in 1919. Although it was provided to horror audience, considering the gothic elements and the way the movie relied more on the dark atmosphere and emotional impact, this movie could also be considered a gothic movie. It should also be noted that nearly all movies that centered a vampire could be included on the gothic movie category. As for the recent gothic movies, both incarnation of Batman Series, be it by the hand of director Tim Burton or Christopher Nolan, could be considered gothic movies (Burton even more than Nolan), as both series have the dark, gloomy atmosphere, creepy castle, tragic death, emotional impact and sometimes the blurry line between good and evil, as is the characteristic of gothic genre in general.
Considering their similarities, such as affixation with death, it could be hard to differentiate gothic movies from horror movies. According to Derek M. Kwait, gothic movies have certain characteristics that differentiate them from other movie genres:
• atmosphere
• introspective characters
• death
• grotesque
In a way, it may be said that the easiest way to distinguish gothic from horror is by measuring the amount of emotional impact and/or the gore that could be felt/seen in a movie. If the amount of gore is felt to be greater than the emotional impact, then the movie could be considered a horror movie and not a gothic movie.
Reference
Stevens, David. 2000. The Gothic Tradition. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.
Kwait, Derek M. http://entertainmentguide.local.com/gothic-movie-5678.html Demand Media. (Accessed in 22 February 2012)
Merriam-Webster Online Dictionary. http://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/gothic (Accessed in 22 February 2012)
Nayha, Antti . 1996. http://www.student.oulu.fi/~sairwas/frameX/horror/ (Accessed in 22 February 2012)
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