Goth Cruise: Literally a film about 150 goths on one boat!

Nottingham-based filmmaker Jeanie Finlay is currently showcasing her debut feature-length documentary around the country, so all aboard – Goth Cruise is ready to sail.

At a friend’s wedding, Finlay was awed by how beautiful her friend looked in her gothic bridal wear. Reminded of her passion for goth as a teenager, she was inspired to delve into what it meant to people to be goth and why for many it is much more than just a short-lived, adolescent phase.

The ‘gothumentary’ follows the passengers of the fourth annual Goth Cruise as they set sail from New York to the Caribbean. Out of nearly 3,000 passengers onboard, 150 are goths and the remainder are ‘norms’. The majority of the goths aboard the luxury liner are American and it is this perspective that makes Goth Cruise such an appealing documentary. Goth Cruise reveals the importance of what it is to be a goth in America. It is much more of a statement about who you are as a person than it is in England, in some ways; a rebellion against the ‘Have a nice day!’ culture.

Due to cultural differences, American goths are more likely to be deemed by fellow countrymen to be evil Satanists and morbid freaks than their British counterparts are by other Britons. Whereas British goths shy away from the label, American goths seem to embrace and run with it in whichever direction suits them.

What I learnt from Goth Cruise is that to define goth is a pointless, and thankless, task in that it is an ever evolving subculture that refuses boundaries. Its genesis in modern culture can be considered to have begun in the late seventies as a post-punk movement with bands such as Bauhaus and Siouxsie and the Banshees. What is considered to be goth today, musically, is not the same as it once was. Although, to be goth is more than just about the music you listen to; it is a fashion statement, an artistic statement and a statement of intelligence which draws influence from all genres of art.

The focus of the documentary is on a handful of cruisers: honeymooners Mike and Amanda come from New Jersey and want to take back the word ‘freak’ from the people that use it against them. Cross-dressing computer programmer Heath is a DJ who loves the ability he has to express himself through goth culture. Lobster X is an architect and extrovert, a latecomer to the Goth scene, who loves nothing more than out-doing his friends in the ‘wackiest outfit’ stakes. Sean is a single dad and Gulf War veteran who is angry with the government for their war policies and hates the suburban way of life. Then there’s Ian, Bridie and Kyle, a goth family from the UK who are quite content to live as full time goths.

Along with highlighting the difference in attitude between American and British views on goths, Goth Cruise shows the fun side of goth and that people are just people no matter what they wear. This is not a feature about 150 suicidal maniacs or satanic ritualists, it is about a group of people who want to come together to have fun and celebrate their shared passions. Jeanie Finlay has captured something rare in Goth Cruise, an unbiased look at a largely misunderstood subculture with lots of humour. Whether you yourself dabbled in all things black as a teen, or wondered what the hell those people were doing with all that taffeta and eyeliner, this is a documentary that isn’t just for the freak clique.

Goth Cruise website





 

Goth Cruise