Samir Chopra eloquently defines what American gothic is and then uses examples from the introduction sequences of The Walking Dead and American Horror Story to support his definition of the American Gothic genre. I agree with Chopra’s thesis because American Gothic Fiction includes elements specific to the battle between rationality versus irrationality, puritanism, and guilt. This genre of literature, and modern day entertainment, is known for dealing with strange things like ghosts and monsters. Chopra goes on to explain why these two shows can fit under the genre of American Gothic. Chopra describes this subgenre of gothic fiction with a few words like, “the decay of the familiar: inevitable, persistent, insidious, ever-present and perhaps
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American Horror Story is similar in this aspect as well. Despite the fact that the first season included spirits, akin to every other classical gothic themed form of media, the next seasons contain witches, possessed nuns, and serial killers. The monsters play a key role in differentiating these American gothics from older ones. They also strengthen the connection between each show because they monsters are used similarly. The act of omitting the monsters could be seen as a weakness in this Chopra’s article because they are used to send a distinctive messages but in a similar
American Horror Story is similar in this aspect as well. Despite the fact that the first season included spirits, akin to every other classical gothic themed form of media, the next seasons contain witches, possessed nuns, and serial killers. The monsters play a key role in differentiating these American gothics from older ones. They also strengthen the connection between each show because they monsters are used similarly. The act of omitting the monsters could be seen as a weakness in this Chopra’s article because they are used to send a distinctive messages but in a similar