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A Filmmaker's Guide to: The Southern Gothic

Film Studies (Pt.74)

By Annie KapurPublished 3 years ago 4 min read
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In this chapter of ‘the filmmaker’s guide’ we’re actually going to be learning about literature and film together. I understand that many of you are sitting in university during difficult times and finding it increasingly hard to study and I understand that many of you who are not at university or not planning on it are possibly stuck of what to do, need a break or even need to catch up on learning film before you get to the next level. This guide will be brief but will also contain: new vocabulary, concepts and theories, films to watch and we will be exploring something taboo until now in the ‘filmmaker’s guide’ - academia (abyss opens). Each article will explore a different concept of film, philosophy, literature or bibliography/filmography etc. in order to give you something new to learn each time we see each other. You can use some of the words amongst family and friends to sound clever or you can get back to me (email in bio) and tell me how you’re doing. So, strap in and prepare for the filmmaker’s guide to film studies because it is going to be one wild ride.

The Southern Gothic

What is it?

A narrative often containing gothic themes and ideas which is set in the southern states of the USA during a turbulent social period. The narrative often concerns very human problems and also uncomfortable criminality of some kind which disrupts the plot line and interrupts the protagonist's movement from point A to point B.

Southern Gothic literature is incredibly popular because its ability to rationalise and humanise the most dreadful of situations. For example: a lot of Southern Gothic novels are set at the turn of the century when money was scarce in these parts of the USA for many and thus, it deals with the way in which the patriarchal head of the house would basically become egotistical and a reaction to his inability to provide enough money for his family. This would lead to schemes of a machiavellian nature and often, some sort of epic downfall - very Shakespearean.

Let's have a look at some Southern Gothic Fiction, shall we?

  1. To Kill a Mockingbird by Harper Lee
  2. Absalom, Absalom! by William Faulkner
  3. The Heart is a Lonely Hunter by Carson McCullers
  4. A Good Man is Hard to Find by Flannery O'Connor
  5. Beloved by Toni Morrison
  6. A Streetcar Named Desire by Tennessee Williams
  7. Blood Meridian by Cormac McCarthy
  8. Bastard Out of Carolina by Dorothy Allison

So, we understand that the Southern Gothic novel contains mostly incredibly human conditions in which things go horribly wrong. The social context is turbulent and is also against the protagonist, forcing them into a state of requirement for something or someone. One of the main things that is required by others is acceptance and due to the 'Bible Belt' nature of these states, it just is not possible if the character and their life choice does not align with the tradition and belief of the masses in the narrative.

What about in film?

From what I have seen over the past ten years or so in film, the Southern Gothic atmosphere is becoming a lot more popular than it used to be. The setting of the Southern States of America for being these intolerant, religious outsiders from city-life is a common viewpoint in more modern and post-modern films. But, Southern Gothic cinema still has a long way to go before it accurately portrays the place which it claims to portray. Let us have a look at some Southern Gothic Films to see which ones do this with ease and are successful:

  1. The Devil All the Time
  2. Big Fish
  3. Winter's Bone
  4. Stoker
  5. Cape Fear
  6. Sling Blade
  7. The Monster's Ball
  8. The Night of the Hunter
  9. Midnight in the Garden of Good and Evil
  10. To Kill a Mockingbird

Let us now have a look at some further reading you could do in order to introduce yourself further into the concepts and underlying themes concerning the genre of the Southern Gothic.

Further Reading:

  • Castillo Street, S (2018). The Palgrave Handbook of the Southern Gothic. USA: Palgrave Macmillan
  • Malin, I (1968). New American Gothic. USA: Southern Illinois University Press
  • O'Connor, F (2019). Good Things Out of Nazareth: The Uncollected Letters of Flannery O'Connor and Friends. USA: Convergent Publishing

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About the Creator

Annie Kapur

190K+ Reads on Vocal.

English Lecturer

🎓Literature & Writing (B.A)

🎓Film & Writing (M.A)

🎓Secondary English Education (PgDipEd)

📍Birmingham, UK

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