Are We Living in a Modern Gothic Society?
The gothic genre of the 18th century lapsed England into a fully absorbing era of architecture, science, literature, and performance. From such, emerged a new form of society, where innate fears were capitalised on through literature such as ‘Dr Jekyll and Mr Hyde’ or ‘Frankenstein’ for entertainment and as a critique of societal attitudes. Perhaps, we see this mirrored in the modern day, within media not limited just to literature. For example, heightened anxiety towards climate annihilation, and the claustrophobia of a global disease (in a modern case, Covid-19) are equally as capitalised upon (through social trends and sensationalism) as xenophobia or fears of science would be in the 18th century (through it’s presentation in literature and cultural conventions). If so, are we too, lapsed into a modern form of a gothic society?
Likewise, the gothic convention of innate curiosity was manipulated to provoke societal unease in the 18th century, which is arguably also seen in the modern world, with fascination in true crime and the dark web. With approximately 3 million users a day, the dark web proves to be a hub for taboo interests to be (most often illegally) explored, likening to how much of Victorian society would lead a multifaceted life, to humour their own more taboo interests, away from the public eye. In a similar vein, true crime fiction and film allows consumers to indulge in a more malevolent nature that they most likely wouldn’t display in real life - similar to that of an 18th century society which would indulge in older versions of such media, without the technological advancements that we have in the 21st century. In both eras, innate curiosity is explored in private, and the lack of real difference between such instances suggests that in the modern world, we do in fact share the same societal bounds as the contemporary gothic movement of the 18th century.
Freud described the uncanny —a typical convention of the gothic— as "that class of the frightening which leads back to what is known of old and long familiar". In a 21st century society, the “long familiar” that we are led back to is the modern regression to conservative social and political ideals, which include an increasingly negative reaction against progressive ideologies (‘wokeness’) which entails debate over gender identity and LGBTQ+ rights. This backlash emerges in policies such as Florida’s “Don’t Say Gay” bill, which proves a larger resistance to previous social acceptances. Moreover, concern over immigration and demographical change has intensified, with protest about national identity loss, which promoted the rise of anti-immigrant rhetoric and parties, such as the Alternative for Germany (AfD) and Italy’s “Brothers of Italy” led by Giorgia Meloni. Is the deterioration of such progression hinting to us a modern gothic society?
Are the similarities within popular conventions of the gothic between our 21st century society and that of the 18th century to similar to be coincidence – or are we truly living in a modern gothic society?
Emma Shuttleworth
https://deepstrike.io/blog/dark-web-daily-activity-2025
https://www.freud.org.uk/2019/09/18/the-uncanny/
https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-us-canada-60576847
https://www.dw.com/en/alternative-for-germany-afd/t-17455253
