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East German Goth and the Spectres of Marx

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  25 January 2011

Isabella van Elferen
Isabella van Elferen
Affiliation:
Utrecht University, Department of Musicology, Muntstraat 2A, 3512 EV Utrecht, The Netherlands. E-mail: I.A.M.vanElferen@uu.nl
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Abstract

The East of Germany, the Bundesländer of the former GDR, is an important centre of Goth activity. The Goth scene is remarkably large in this part of Germany, and one of the most important yearly Goth festivals, the Wave-Gotik-Treffen, takes place in Leipzig. This article investigates the specific characteristics and internal dynamics of East German Goth subcultures after German reunification. Combining subcultural theory and Gothic criticism with Derrida's notions of spectrality and hauntology, the potentials of Gothic as a form of cultural criticism are explored in an investigation of the psycho-social wasteland of the undead GDR. It will be argued that post-Cold War unification has not only led to a new political order, but has also given rise to a new type of Gothicism, as East German Goth subculture is haunted by ‘spectres of Marx’ that provide a critical engagement with globalised capital and media. As a specifically German version of the worldwide Goth scene, moreover, it marks the local boundedness of globalised subcultures.

Type
Articles
Information
Popular Music , Volume 30 , Issue 1 , January 2011 , pp. 89 - 103
Copyright
Copyright © Cambridge University Press 2011

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