Ever since the end of the Gothic Revival period (~1930 - 1960) the use of Gothic to make new buildings has declined. However the influence of Gothic Architecture has stayed and especially influenced some post modernism designs. (Martindale, A. 1985) Whilst trying to find examples of new modern Gothic architecture I found some interesting things;
The Windsor Arms Hotel, Toronto, Canada
(SimonP. 2007).
The hotel was closed down in 1991 after years of neglect. However it was bought in 1995 by George Friedman who hired an architect to reconstruct the hotel in its original Gothic style. (Windsor Arms Hotel. 2011).
I found this quite interesting and nice that the hotel was redesigned in its original Gothic styling. Rather than just becoming another 'modern' hotel the building should now retain character and stand out from its surroundings.
An interesting note is the history of the hotel - as it has been featured in many films, most recently Chloe (2010). (Windsor Arms Hotel. 2011).
Gare de Oriente, Lisbon, Portugal
(Putz, M. 2010).
This is a good example of how some Gothic themes and styling have affected modern day architecture. This post modern train station clearly has Gothic influence in its large iron arches constructed resembling the ribbed vaults of the past Gothic cathedrals. I'm not sure I particularly like the building, although I can see it being very impressive in person from the scale of it.
(Amscan. 2011).
Looking on Amazon you can buy many Gothic related items, most of which are Halloween costumes, however one weird item that peaked my interest was the Room Setter - Gothic Mansion. This is a very weird Halloween themed item for you to decorate your walls with to make them look like their out of an old horror film. This item interested me because it's quite a unique weird one.
(Character Options. 2011).
Whilst having a look at Amazon I also found a Scooby Doo toy that had certain elements of the Gothic styling incorporated into it. This cartoonised mansion playset shows that the Gothic architecture is still used today in many different items.
A very popular and well used source of 'Gothic' is in film. Many horror or science fiction films borrow heavily from the Gothic art styling.
(FilmDistrict. 2010)
The film Insidious (2010) has a heavy gothic atmosphere running throughout the entire film, making it much more scary.
Today the term Gothic will also be associated with the goth subculture;
(Intothewind. 2008)
Today 'Goth' is recognized as a subculture, just like the Mods and Rockers or Punks of previous generations. The followers listen to music and dress in the same fashion, usually all black clothing and makeup. However these fashion rules are still open as to what materials they wear - with many goths being from many different backgrounds and jobs. (Scathe, P. 2001).
(Pogrzzebra, N. 2006).
The goth subculture also say they are open and accepting of new people. They also take pride in saying that subjects that are usually taboo in normal society - such as death, magic, etc - are openly discussed. (Elder, P. 2001).
Overall the goth subculture has evolved from the punk subculture.
Gothic Rock
Gothic Rock is a form of rock music with dark themes such as death and more recently satanic rituals. The genre evolved from Punk era music of the 1970's and twisted the British 'glam' rock fashion into the darker sense. (Rhodes, P. 2011).
(Evanescence. 2011)
Examples of Goth Rock bands are Evanescence and Nightwish.
From researching gothic and goths I have decided to do a bit of research into the 'horror' genre.
Horror seems to be a very popular genre today for media, especially films and games.
Condemned: Criminal Origins
(Sega. 2005).
Even in this genre these differ quite a bit, tending to either try to induce fear with excessive amounts of gore (Saw 2) or as a psychological horror.
In horror there is also a lot of different but common settings such as alien planets, abandoned buildings or industrial locations.
I think that there are many different ways of inducing fear in horror genres. It can be most scary when you can't actually see the 'attacker' although you know they are close by. I however don't like the way that most modern horror films just flood themselves with needless gore, violence and sex. The Shining is an amazing horror film because it doesn't have some unbelievable or out of this world enemy, but it is more of how a family member could turn crazy. I believe the setting is also perfect as an empty large hotel would be creepy, and the fact they are secluded with no (or little) help nearby.
I also believe that the game Condemned: Criminal Origins is a perfect example of good horror. Although the game is very violent it creates the fear in its players through the psycological aspect. Dark settings, errie sounds and the combat is more melee based creates a fear of running into conflict. The enemies are never really explained either and there are many locations where an enemy will jump out at you unexpectedly.
Condemned Scary Moments and Sick Scenes - Part 1
Sega. (2005).
Darksiders (2010)
Darksiders is a video game for the Xbox 360 and PlayStation 3 released in 2010. It is a story about the apocalypse and War - one of the horsemen of the apocalypse. (Darksiders. IGN. 2010).
Darksiders Screen
(THQ. 2010)
(THQ. 2010)
The reason why I've diverted to Darksiders is because the art style has a heavy Gothic influence to it as you can see in the screenshots. This gives the game quite a unique look and art style, and is an example of gothic in present day times. The game as a whole has an 'overly designed' and detailed look and feel to it.
Darksiders
(THQ. 2010).
Although I didn't like the game - the control systems felt a bit clunky - I do like the idea of the story. I think it would be interesting if more media would base itself on the past mythological stories from the bible and different texts.
Judgement Day (The Apocalypse)
After thinking about Darksiders I have decided it could be interesting to have a look at the topic of Judgement Day.
(htn06. 2007).
I was interested to find that Judgement Day is the title of a play coming to The Print Room in West London in November of this year (2011). However the play itself doesn't contain anything to do with Judgement Day and is infact about the strange human behaviors surrounding love. (Foreman, G. 2011).
(Reuters. 2011).
I find it funny when these groups try to predict this kind of event happening as they (or at least so far) have always gotten it wrong. These groups then have to try to explain why what they predicted never happened, usually making up some ridiculous excuse. I have to question how people can believe in this kind of thing. I presume that the leaders of these 'movements' are either clever at exploiting people and wanting the publicity or they are just insane!
Judgement Day is interestingly used in films. I thought that there would be quite a few films that tackle the subject head on, however I cannot actually find a film that tackles it from a religious point of view (at least not for the past 10 years). I believe that this is probably because religion can be a very sensitive matter, especially in the USA, and so film companies are possibly uneasy about depicted the end of the world in this fashion.
The Day the Earth Stood Still
(20th Century Fox. 2008).
(20th Century Fox. 2008).
However that is not to say that Judgement Day is not a popular topic in films today, films tend to depict it in other (perhaps more believable?) ways. For example: The Core (2003) is about the world stopping rotating and hence slowly start to die from longer exposure to the sun. The Day After Tomorrow (2004) is about the world changing dramatically through global warming and life as we know it ending (and adapting). Sunshine (2007) is about the sun dimming too much and the world freezing over. Whereas The Day The Earth Stood Still (2008) takes a more literal approach to Judgement Day - although instead of being judged by god humanity is judged by aliens of a higher intelligence.
Raptures Delight
(Fox Network. 2011).
Judgement Day was also very recently covered in an episode of American Dad. This episode started with The Rapture (where good Christians are lifted to heaven) and sets the whole episode in the war between heaven and hell. (TV.com. 2011).
Cults
After doing research on Judgement Day and how some religious organizations try to predict it I would like to have a look at cults.
"A religion or sect considered to be false, unorthodox, or extremist, with members often living outside of conventional society under the direction of a charismatic leader." (Dictionary Definition. 2011).
I believe in the present day that Scientology (or The Church of Scientology) is one of the most well popularized cults currently in existence.
(Hubbard, R. 2004).
"Writing for a penny a word is ridiculous. If a man really wants to make a million dollars, the best way would be to start his own religion" -L. Ron. Hubbard (1940), Founder of The Church of Scientology.
(Methvin, E. 1980).
(Shankbone, D. 2008).
Scientology has been, and keeps appearing, in media all around the world. It has been attacked and questioned quite a bit for its methods and actions, and especially for past illegal actions taken by its members who were apparently working for the church, these include burglary, espionage and kidnapping! (Methvin, E. 1980). Most recently on the 6th of October 2011 Moscow police admitted they had been searching the Scientology office in Moscow, most likely looking for material of an extremist nature that the church has been handing out previously. (Interfax. 2011).
However when confronted the Church of Scientology denies that it is a cult. They are trying to become recognized as a religion throughout the world, although certain countries like the United Kingdom have not recognized this status. (Atack, J. 1995).
2 comments:
Great variety of examples of diverse media here. You have started with a 'Gothic' theme and your exploration has taken you through 'Judgement day' and cults.This is fine as you may find yourself in a totally different place by the end of your exploration. It would be good to refer these tangents back to 'Gothic' to give an analysis of the connections. You have added some of your own critical comment as you have gone along which is good.
I enjoyed seeing the progression of your research from Gothic, all the way through to Scientology. Also, a big bonus for referencing American Dad ;)
Overall very thorough and well documented.
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