Review - 'American Goth' - Documentary

Ryan Rhea’s 2005 documentary ‘American Goth’ is a response to the approval of a $273000 grant from the Federal Government to the City of Blue Springs, Missouri in 2002. The purpose of the grant was to study and investigate the Goth culture due to the rising concerns of parents and citizens within the community that it was a danger to the local youth. The documentary however provides only limited information on the results of the grant and the issues that it was supposed to address, and instead focuses on giving a broad overview of the Goth culture in Middle America itself.

Using interview footage from both full-time Goths and fringe dwellers (people for whom it is not their entire life) Rhea explores different facets of the Goth culture without ever really examining them in depth. Discussing topics such as Goth fashion and its emphasis on the colour black, Goth music and its development from post-punk/nu-wave into sub genres of industrial and electronica, as well as literature and cinema that holds appeal for Goths, ‘American Goth’ presents the Goth subculture in a positive manner. This is aided by the presentation of any negatives as problems that affect youth cultures across society, not specifically Goth.

By the end of the documentary, despite all the interview footage and its first-person glimpse into the Goth subculture, Rhea’s goal is revealed to not only be to present a positive understanding of the Goth subculture but to question why $273000 dollars was granted to quell local fears. Overall ‘American Goth’ is informative enough for parental and non-Goth viewers but needs more expert and academic involvement to be any more useful.