The Suburban Gothic in American Popular Culture

by Bernice M. Murphy

An examination of the way American suburbia has been depicted in Gothic and horror films, television and literature from 1948 to the present day, in which Bernice Murphy demonstrates that Gothic depictions of suburbia provide an intriguing glimpse into the way modern American society views itself.

Genres: Nonfiction, Film, Horror

242 pages, Hardcover

First published August 21, 2009

Reviews

[Bridgitte · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is a really smartly done, well researched take on both literary and film depictions of the suburban gothic. Murphy grounds her research in the changes at mid-twentieth century that precipitated the suburbs, a new version of consumerism, new sorts of gender malaise, and a new understanding of what horror is. This is a fantastic read for anyone interested in place/space, the gothic genre and its offshoots (horror and sf specifically), environmental issues in American cityscapes/suburbanscapes and in horror, apocalyptic ficiton, and gender shifts in the 20/21st centuries. She covers a lot of ground and offered me a great deal of directions to contiunue reading on these topics.

[Anbey · Rating 4 out of 5]

Extremely helpful text for my final paper, practically its backbone. Fascinating stuff conveyed through comprehensive research and accessible language.

[Becky Graham · Rating 3 out of 5]

a useful look at suburban gothic, but rather repetitive.

[tom · Rating 1 out of 5]

Pointing out the obvious that any book club or cinema club member might observe. Nothing noteworthy or insightful.

[Ben · Rating 4 out of 5]

I did skip a couple of chapters (concerning a novel I haven't read yet and, later, TV shows I don't care about), but that didn't detract from my overall enjoyment of this book's focus on the relationship between the 'burbs and the darker side of pop culture. Exploring the crossroads of sociology and entertainment is an easy sell for me anyway, but Ms. Murphy does a fine job of covering all of the different expressions of suburban horror - quiet alien invasions, serial killers, haunted tract homes, suburban witchcraft, etc. - and digging into why and how it is that this particular setting can breed such nightmares. It seems it might be the only academic approach to this specific topic that's available in book form (albeit $100 on Amazon) and I don't know what else one might add to this well-researched work.

[Jonathan · Rating 4 out of 5]

Interesting stuff though there could always be a bit more elaboration on various points made throughout the book. Not necessarily a complaint as the content that is there is great, but it could've just used more.