Main Tropes Index

Troperville

Editing Help

Tools

Toys

Narrative

Genre

Media

Topical Tropes

Other Categories

Custom Search

My life is a big, dead rose...
—Seen as graffiti in an art school classroom

It can't be emphasized enough the fact that Hollywood really does not understand the myriad and various subcultures of young people and the many subtleties to be found within. Hence, this trope, which refers to stereotyped Goths in popular culture.

There are, generally speaking, three major Goth stereotypes:
  • The Lone Psycho Goth: At best, this character may have an obnoxious level of Wangst. At worst, this character will be well off the deep end of Loners Are Freaks, a card-carrying Nietzsche Wannabe, and may even be Ax Crazy.
    • It's worth pointing out that this formerly obscure stereotype was pounced upon and dragged into the spotlight after the Columbine tragedy, simply because the shooters wore black and were erroneously reported to have listened to Marilyn Manson (who, in any case, is generally treated as a joke in the actual Goth community).
  • Perky Goths: At the exact opposite of the spectrum from the Lone Psycho. They get their own entry.
  • Gloomy Goths: We see these most often in fiction. Sometimes, this character is a Deadpan Snarker and/or the sympathetic version of The Daria. S/he may have trace personality traits of the Wangsty type or the more dedicated Nihilist. More often, s/he's The Eeyore. Almost guaranteed in either case to have some kind of family-related drama, usually used as a "justification" for their personality — you will never see a fictional Goth who just happens to be the way they are without reasons.
    • Unless, of course, it's played for laughs by making him the black sheep in a The Brady Bunch-style family with no real psychological beef. In this case, they're generally "cosmetic" goths who are in it just to rebel against their parents, or as "posers" who only want in on the fashion statement. They usually grow out of their "existential depression" with the flip of a switch.

Typically, Goths are also portrayed as being big on the BDSM side of life ... this is not always an entirely unjustified cliche, but then it's not like it's a core part of being a Goth either.

As it happens, real Goths are mostly harmless and tend to have a (frequently dark or self-deprecating) sense of humor and irony (the Deadpan Snarker without the Deadpan part); which their fictional counterparts largely lack.

Most goths in fiction will be presented as Pale Skinned Brunettes who wear only black, leather getups and listen to loud depressing music. It's worth noting that goth is neither a skin tone nor a fashion statement, so most media tend to treat goth characters almost as if it were a fashion or fad for a darker Cutie to go after. Of course, thanks to Hot Topic and its ilk, Goth has been hijacked by a large number of people who think it's nothing but a fashion statement, making for a sort of Truth In Television that utterly infuriates (or nihilistically amuses, see above) "true" Goths. There is also a tendency to equate Goths with vampire wannabees and the vampire-obsessed. While, like BDSM, there is some overlap between the two subcultures, and the post-Victorian vampire can be considered a Goth icon; equating the two in the presence of a Goth can be hazardous to your health.

And just to keep things clear, Goths are markedly different from emo people. Woe betide the person who gets these cultures confused in real life... (And let it be mentioned again: don't bring up Poseurland Hot Topic if you value your life.)


    open/close all folders 

Examples

     Anime and Manga  

     Comics  

     Fan Fiction  

     Film  

     Literature  

     Live Action TV  

     Tabletop Games  

     Video Games  

     Web Comics  

     Web Original  

     Western Animation