Goth's Dark Empire

Notes

Notes Notes Notes Notes Notes Introduction 1. Following the lead of Gilles Deleuze and Félix Guattari’s first academic popularizer , Ronald Bogue, I have chosen to avoid the “somewhat awkward . . . neologism” “Deleuzoguattarian” except when it seems absolutely necessary to clarity, preferring the more common adjective “Deleuzian” for some of the ideas associated with the collaborative, as well as the independent, work of Deleuze (Deleuze and Guattari, 9). As Bogue says in the introduction to his later text, Deleuze on Literature, because of the depth of the “integration of their styles and thought” from their first collaboration on, “it is impossible to separate Deleuze and Guattari either in their joint works or even in their individual projects after Anti-Oedipus,” and so the most sensible approach for the scholar of Deleuze who will be citing several texts in the production of which Guattari did not collaborate seems to be to “treat Deleuze’s works and the Deleuze-Guattari volumes both as constituents of Deleuze’s oeuvre” (8). 2. Because I understand contemporary Goth subcultures as existing in rhizomatic relation to the Gothic tradition, I capitalize the word “Goth” in reference to these subcultures. 3. I agree with Joanne Addison and Michelle Comstock that “[r]esearch guidelines that are meant to prevent the exploitation of ‘under-age’ survey respondents . . . also serve to isolate youth and deny them the opportunity to speak for and contribute to accounts of their communities that are being constructed by others,” and that this is particularly the case when one deals with youth with minoritized sexualities, “since most of them are not ‘out’ to their parents or guardians,” whose presence at a formal interview is mandated by academic rules for work with human subjects (371). In both my earlier study of subcultures and here, I have forgone formal interviews in favor of unstructured conversations with young people. In finding young people with whom to talk I have relied heavily on my large acquaintance within rock and roll communities and among former students, some of whom I remain close to. These young people, often accompanying me on “fact-finding missions,” as one liked to call them, helped me engage young people at subcultural events, concerts, cafés, and all-ages clubs in conversations about their lives. They also let it be known among their circle of acquaintance that I was writing a book representing specific subcultural groups, and that they might want to have input into it. Dozens of young people responded to these “calls” and came around to talk to me. Others emailed me on their own after seeing my webpage, and to them I did send out some preformulated questions. And 186 Notes to Pages 00–00 finally, on my own, I sought out young people whose personal style identified them to me as members of rock and roll subcultures and initiated conversations with them. Young people have consistently responded to me with seemingly earnest confidences and exhortations to report truthfully on their group. I think the information I have gathered from these conversations is as accurate as such research can be. 4. See my New Millennial Sexstyles for detailed and extensive discussion of this band and its audiences. 5. Edmundson dismisses “rants about AIDS and environmental disaster, framed in the apocalyptic Gothic mode,” as useless, claiming they “spawn guilt and fear but contribute nothing to progress” (61). As is often the case in his discussions of social problems, he fails to recognize the validity of the outrage felt by adolescents who bear no responsibility for these problems that may take their lives, nor does he seem moved by the desperation of the young to impress upon their tormentors, the very generation to which he (and I) belong, some sense of guilt for the toxic world we have wrought. 6. Moynihan, a prominent member of Anton LaVey’s Church of Satan, is considered by many to be a neo-fascist, although he often suggests that this is a misinterpretation of his political position. His adversarial relationship with the media, mocking attitude, and apparent love of sensation and notoriety make it nearly impossible to determine exactly what his politics are. 7. I was hired by Loyola University New Orleans to develop a minor in women’s studies (among other duties) and soon found myself working to create a women’s center at the school as well as acting as unofficial advisor to a large number of gay, lesbian, and bisexual students because they...