Goth has been around since the early 1980s, originating in the United Kingdom with fans of Gothic rock. The all-black outfit with metallic jewelry and dark eyeliner has been a point of mockery for many people. The goth culture has been put down by “normal” society since it was created, but now it is copied all over the internet following the release of the new show “Wednesday” starring Jenna Ortega on Netflix.
For many people, Wednesday Addams is a goth icon. Outwardly, she is depicted as a dark and solemn child in all black who does not care about anyone. That was not what made her goth, though; what made her goth was that she defied societal norms and did what she liked. For example, she preferred what many people ran away from, including having spiders, scorpions and squids as pets.
Many teens go through a ‘goth phase’ but never actually get what the goth subculture is. The Goth subculture rejects most societal norms, such as sexual propriety, and instead does what everyone else does. Instead, this subculture focuses on self-expression and freedom, most make their own clothes and many are androgynous. Androgynous being a mix of feminine and masculine characteristics. Most clothing in this subculture is gender fluid, with people born as men wearing clothing like skirts that are considered female clothing.
For Goths who are truly part of the subculture, wearing these clothing and having these values is their life and personality. It is hurtful when it is copied without actually displaying all their values. Other than copying the appearance of a goth, many artistic ideas are taken from them. Gothic tattoos include images of vampires, the reaper, pentagrams and other darker figures. These artistic creations are made from the gothic culture, yet most people who get them are not goth.
All over social media, people are dancing to “Goo Goo Muck” by The Cramps in a black clothing, mimicking the black vintage dress worn by Wednesday in the show. While they are copying the culture without knowing what it is all about, they are finally acknowledging gothic-punk music. This song was released in 1989 and did not reach the iTunes charts until November 2022, at the 96th position, reaching a high of 20 in December.
While copying the goth culture is not okay, acknowledging and enjoying the music is. Hopefully one day bands like The Cure, Bauhaus, Fields of the Nephilim, The Damned and many more will be recognized for their great music.
By Riley Heeb, Reporter
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