Overview: This film follows the guests of the 4th Annual Goth Cruise. 150 American and British Goths embark on a luxury cruise ship along with 2,500 non-Goths for a relaxing vacation in the Caribbean. It is directed By Jeanie Finlay, and premieres on IFC FREE (VOD): November 27, 2008 at Midnight.
The production is filmed documentary style, jumping right in with brief spotlights on a select group of Goth cruise-goers. Throughout the duration it transitions back and forth between following anecdotes & events of the Goth cruisers as a group, and taking sidebars to go into detail on aspects of the Goth scene or additional select guest experiences.
Your Reviewer:
I have been attached to the Goth scene for over 15 years. My wife was a post-Mod Darky (what Goths were called at the time in California) and a number of my very good friends from high school spent countless late nights attending various Goth clubs and events with me. While I have never really considered myself a Goth, I am certainly fond of the music and style. I disclose this not to establish any sort of Goth credentials, so much as giving the reader insight into my a priori perspective as it most certainly affects my feelings on the subject matter.
Content:
This film offers an interesting and even-handed look at a well-established and long-lived scene/sub-culture as it exists on two sides of the Atlantic. Despite my preconceived notions of this being a “tongue-in-cheek, pretending to take itself seriously while laughing quietly the whole time” reality event, Goth Cruise was nicely handled, taking the Goth cruisers in all their individual and group eccentricities at face value. It did not mock or judge them, choosing simply to allow them to speak in their own voices and let their actions speak for them.
The Goth cruiser background bits were an excellent touch, showing the diversity of the scene’s denizens. They were, as a group, quite interesting coming from different backgrounds, professions, ethnic groups, ages, even continents. It was shown that while Goths participate in the scene for differing and individual reasons, from feelings of being unusual, to simple appreciation of the Goth aesthetic, the Goths as a group are a warm and largely cohesive bunch.
The interactions between the Goths and non-Goths (called Norms or Mundanes) were especially interesting. The Norm cruisers were, in general, quite well disposed toward the Goths, espousing little of the negative attitude many Goths come to expect from non-Goths. A few of them spouting the usual and trite assumptions about Goths being Satan worshipers (no doubt reinforced by the appearance of one Goth cruiser prancing around in a devil costume partway through the cruise), but most of the encounters between Goths and Norms seemed quite positive.
I thoroughly enjoyed the film, as did my afore-mentioned wife. The Goth scene, like most music/style/persona-themed scenes, is more benign than the casual observer might conclude, and I feel the film portrayed this fact clearly. Are the Goth cruisers and their non-cruiser ilk a quirky bunch of folks really into dress-up? Absolutely. But then again, when was the last time you attended a comic convention, historical reenactment event, or even, heaven forbid, a dog show? Freaks abound. We live in a freaky world. That said, most freakiness we witness on a day to day basis is just skin deep.
In conclusion, this documentary has solid technical production values, and accomplishes exactly what it sets out to do: show the viewer a peek into the Goth scene, juxtaposed with a large number of non-Goths in a setting well outside the normal Goth venue. Anyone affiliated with the Goth scene will appreciate this release, as will viewers associated with other fringe groups such as Renaissance Faire goers, live action role players, and, you guessed it, comic book enthusiasts.
Rating:
ComicsOnline gives Goth Cruise 4 stars out of 5 when considering an audience positively acquainted with the Goth scene.
