The pleasurable pain.
An obsession with the paranormal and fantastic, evil and distorted deeds and minds, is first explored in the Gothic novel more than two hundred years ago. It is closely related to the gloomy, highly decorated gothic architectural style, also surrealism and the art nouveau because of their indulgence in the 'OTHERWORLDLY' a very important quality that draws me into this world. Deals a lot with the subconscious mind rather than the conscious.
The Goths' look have a strong inclination towards black. A dark, Gothic manner continues to distinguish street and haute couture fashion with an emphatic bent towards the 'glamorously deathly, an avant-garde look that presents a borderline case where the next step could involve illustrating the very face of death.' and a break up of traditional gender role. The fashion statement is closely related to the music scene, though there lack a coherent musical style and sometimes it is 'style-over-substance'. Goth rock, it's distinct dress code and lifestyle predates the revival of gothic aesthetic by almost two decades. Devotes dyed their hair black, wear black lipsticks and a white pancake makeup, black lace and chains. Despite stylistic similarities, heavy metal music and gothic music are two genres are said to divide along the gender line. Heavy metal was aggressive, sexist and therefore masculine', while Goths had a softer, more accepting, 'feminine' or, I'd say more appropriately, gentlemen cast. Goth inspired a euphoric 'utopianism' rather than heavy metal's warlike 'feudalism'. On the other hand, punk and Goth were indistinguishable at first, when punk switched emotionally from anger to depression, and became the atmospheric post punk.
Gothic theme metaphysical dramas have a distinct mordant and grotesque aesthetic. The strange and bizarre is emphasized by placing it within the context of apparent normality. Look into the film Seven to understand what I'm talking about.
Engage & Encage:
The subculture itself has many sub streams.
My favorite sub stream would be the industrial Gothic, a blend of primal past and cyber gothic future. Good examples are the films Blade runner, Metropolis, Tetsusou (Japanese) & the RPG game Myst. Negative utopian societies and totalitarian surveillance are often depicted. Future becomes a sterile world inhabited by brainwashed and emotionally castrated individuals, a post-apocalyptic, technological wasteland. An important theme being the perceived inability to control our destiny and sometimes the rebellion force to go against this. Computers exist as instruments of surveillance, control, regulation or even torture. Often comes with fetishistic representation of elaborate instruments, mechanical apparatuses and intricate contrivances.
The geographical and architectural setting is the key element in setting the mood of the suspense. I'm especially fascinated by the settings like dramatically lit interiors of old factories, blast furnaces, and the heavy, monumentally towering machinery that celebrate the 'heroics of industry' and the characters that have 'Gothicized' bodies such as cyborgs, aliens and endless variations on the mythical figure, where human and machine become indistinguishable (look in HR Giger's illustrations). The claustrophobic sense of enclosure in space, the rain and the eternal night, dark urban nightscapes, places with an apparent normality and peace... The Gothic Revival buildings, its shadowed 'gloomth', narrow passages, stained-glass windows have profound theatricality, provides places for memories of the subconscious to hide.
"Otherworldly" would be a key reason why I liked the Goths. For rock stars, the more rock stars live to their images, the more 'real' they appear while rap stars are held closely to their 'outlaw' standard. The Goths however, by turning death, madness and violence into archetypes, depersonalize their connection to horrific events. They are determined to make a distinction between their onstage and offstage images. They position themselves as reporters or tour guides to the macabre, rarely its victims (another interpretation of the 'otherworldly'). Amongst them , I'd say I'm inclined to like Asian Goths more than western Goths, 'cos the western seems to deal more with shock and pain while the Asian deals more with melancholy and beauty, sometimes even happiness, but often with a tinge of sadness attached.