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![]() ![]() This is Donna Tartt’s southern gothic novel. None more southern gothic than Faulkner, so read anything by him for a fine example of the genre. ![]() As I Lay Dying follows a family carrying their mother’s body to be buried and jumps from the point of view of every relative, including the body. One of the central figures of southern gothic, Faulkner’s novels often tackle the main themes of the genre. The sumptuous visuals are pure southern gothic.Ī black man is accused of the rape of a white woman, threatening the social fabric of a small town. The island community is struggling to keep hold of its West African traditions, as the younger generation hankers for the mainland. The self-styled preacher with ‘love’ and ‘hate’ tattooed on his knuckles is the less than supernatural threat.Ī key inspiration for Lemonade, Daughters of the Dust is the story of a community of former slaves and particularly the black women. The object of his revenge is the lawyer’s daughter. Later remade as Cape Fear, Robert Mitchum stars in this dark thriller, which sees a criminal exact revenge upon the legal man who had him put away. A remake of the 1971 Clint Eastwood film of the same name. Colin Farrell plays the injured soldier who is taken in and nursed by the ladies, who are soon vying for his attention. Yet to be released, this film starring Anna Paquin (of Trueblood and southern native), Kirstin Dunst, Nicole Kidman, as the lace bedecked ladies in a candlelit mansion, which serves as a school. The animal masculinity of Stanley Kowalski clashes with the faded southern belle, Blanche DuBois and threatens her fragile emotional state. Sexual tension abounds in this film of Tennessee Williams’ most famous play. Family secrets eat away at their sanity and the spirits of slaves and an unforgettable past always threaten to surface.Ī film that blends southern gothic and magical realism, with the real life trauma of the communities of New Orleans, post hurricane Katrina. History is a burden for the characters of these stories and often they crack under the pressure. Even the very wealthy can’t escape the source of their privilege. Slavery, poverty and oppression permeates everything. The blood in the land of the deep south is a central theme for southern gothic stories and its the shared, dark past that replaces the supernatural threats of the British gothic tradition. And in the swamps, gators and even supernatural creatures lurk beneath the surface. Nature is part of the fabric of their lives, even in the cities the oppressive heat is all powerful and the trees are draped in Spanish moss, giving everything a mournful grandeur. Many of the communities in southern gothic stories are at the mercy of floods and storms. Government support after Hurricane Katrina. A community under threat from nature and the authorities in Beasts of the Southern Wild
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