“The Ballad of the Sad Café”

In your own words how would you describe “American Gothic”Think about the things we read by PoeUse the word wall for hints

DarkDarkBizarreBizarreCreepyCreepy

grotesquegrotesqueOminousOminousMacabreMacabre

Examples:Movies: VanHelsing, Wolfman, Chupacabra, Llorona, Hybrid, The Crazies Books: Twilight, The Final Cut, World War Z, Pride and Prejudice and ZombiesAuthors: Ellen Hopkins, Stephen King, Dean KoontzMusic: Rob Zombie, Korn, Ozzy, Evanescence, Type O Negative, Mudvein, Behemoth, 115, DisturbedTV: Trueblood, Supernatural, Wolfman, Being Human, Vampire Diaries, The Walking DeadGames: Resident Evil, Silent Hill, Left for Dead, CoD, Werewolf the Apocalypse

Pre-1920s= horror just starting, think Poe, Dracula, etc.1920s-Silent movies with horror, Nosferatu1930s-Talking movies with mad scientists and monsters (like King Kong)1940s-Non-Americans were scary and horrific (Cat People)1950s-Humans+monsters=mutant madness and aliens (Godzilla, Invastion of the Body Snatchers)1960s-Bad girls and lots of blood (Rosemary’s Baby, Psycho)1970s-Children are scary! (The Exorcist/Halloween/Carrie)1980s-Monsters are finally shown vs. hidden , really gory (Nightmare on Elm Street/Child’s Play)1990s-Serial Killer movies (Silence of the Lambs/Se7en/Scream)2000s-The World/Nature get revenge (28 Days Later/Final Destination)/The Happening2010s-End of the world/supposed to be real

From http://www.horrorfilmhistory.com accessed 2/1/11

Horror evolves just like any other genre

-Monsters weren’t scary-Monsters were deformed humans-WWII killed lots of people, and showed how people can be evil to other people-In WWII the mad scientist were human and real

-Born in Georgia (Southern United States)-Music Prodigy with the Piano-Accepted to Juilliard, but no money to pay for it-Was married for 2 years to a writer/singer-After her divorce she lived with other writers in a commune-Remarried her husband, who tried to convince her to commit suicide with him-She was sick a lot and was an alcoholic-From age 31 the whole left side of her body was paralyzed-She died of a brain hemorrhage

From: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Carson_McCullers accessed 2/4/11

SimilaritiesThe were both alcoholicsTheir spouses both diedBoth were unsuccessful in school and had hard livesFailed relationshipsBoth died of a brain sickness

DifferencesDifferent gendersPoe’s wife died because of sickness, Carson’s husband committed suicidePoe married his cousinPoe was from the Northern US McCuller was from the south

The idea of love not being returned, unrequited love, is a problem many characters face (What other stories have this idea?)People may have deformities, but they are still humanPower and respect is not limited by gender

Southern Gothic is defined as: “… a subgenre of gothic fiction unique to American literature that takes place exclusively in the American South. It resembles its parent genre in that it relies on supernatural, ironic, or unusual events to guide the plot. It is unlike its parent genre in that it uses these tools not solely for the sake of suspense, but to explore social issues and reveal the cultural character of the American South” (Wikipedia)

-Grotesque figure that makes people go “ewwwwww”-The Character has a flaw, either physical, racially bigoted, or self-righteous-Shows the flaws in the culture of the Southern US states

-Miss. Ameliaprotagonist, owns the café

-Cousin Lymon“hunchback”, cousin to Miss. Amelia

-Marvin MacyMiss. Amelia’s short time husband

-Henry MacyMarvin’s brother

-Big PapaMiss. Amelia’s dad

Southern US Small Town Early 1900s The Café is owned by Miss Amelia

It was originally a store Miss Amelia sold alcohol from the back window to

people Miss Amelia lived at the store Has a nurse’s office in the backroom