History Main / GothsHaveItHard

* ''Series/TheSopranos'': Vito Spatafore is murdered by his cousin-in-law Phil Leotardo for being gay, which is a huge no-no in the highly homophobic mafia. His son, Vito Spatafore Jr., starts to dress in all black and act out in school. Phil rather sanctimoniously tries to teach him to "man up" and take charge of his family now that his father is gone, and when he still refuses, has him shipped off to a MilitarySchool.

The {{Goth}} subculture, the {{emo}} subculture, and other related subcultures originated from a genre of music.[[note]]The goth subculture started with fans of "gothic rock", a variation on punk music. Meanwhile, the emo subculture began with fans of a certain type of rock music, "emotional hardcore."[[/note]] Now, both subcultures have expanded to include any music, fashion, or media that celebrates the morbid, dark, and spooky. Goths and emos may have a dark aesthetic, enjoy reading GothicHorror stories, enjoy listening to sad songs about death, etc., but that doesn't mean they ''want'' pain, suffering, or death. [[note]] In fact, most of them listen to this music as a form of [[CatharsisFactor therapy]], using the music to help het them through life[[/note]]

The {{Goth}} subculture, the {{emo}} subculture, and other related subcultures originated from a genre of music.[[note]]The goth subculture started with fans of "gothic rock", a variation on punk music. Meanwhile, the emo subculture began with fans of a certain type of rock music, "emotional hardcore."[[/note]] Now, both subcultures have expanded to include any music, fashion, or media that celebrates the morbid, dark, and spooky. Goths and emos may have a dark aesthetic, enjoy reading GothicHorror stories, enjoy listening to sad songs about death, etc., but that doesn't mean they ''want'' pain, suffering, or death.

** Saki Hanajima originally forced herself into becoming a goth, since she accidentally made one of her elementary school bullies pass out with her PsychicPowers and from then on only wore black clothing to punish herself for it. Her peers would either be afraid of her because of her powers, or mercilessly bully her to test if her powers were real. After befriending Tohru and Uotani, she came to accept herself and her powers, though she still wears gothic fashion because she'd gotten so used to it.
** Isuzu "Rin" Sohma also shows an affinity for gothic fashion, and she's easily one of the most troubled of the cursed Zodiac members. Not only does she suffer from stomach ulcers that put her in and out of the hospital, but she's also deeply traumatized by her horribly AbusiveParents.

** Eric in ComicBook/TheCrow. Eric’s a goth guy who receives superpowers in a very gothic way, having received them from a magical crow after being brought back from the dead. He’s consistently depressed and often mourns his dead girlfriend Shelly.
** ComicBook/ThePunisher suffers from PTSD, is a dangerous vigilante, and is heavily implied to be suicidal. His appearance is equally bleak, as he wears head-to-toe black with a white skull on his chest.

**

** Eric in ComicBook/TheCrow. Eric’s a goth guy who receives superpowers in a very gothic way, having received them from a magical crow after being brought back from the dead. He’s

* In ''VideoGame/TotalDistortion'', Edgar Death is a zombie Goth rocker in the Distortion Dimension, who comes back to life just to play tragic rock songs. A radio broadcast in your Personal Media Tower implies that Edgar became this by combining his vocal talent with "mortuary science".
* ''VideoGame/TheSims2'': Lilith Pleasant wears goth-inspired clothing and makeup, but she's [[DarkIsNotEvil never shown to be outright malicious]] and has just had it rougher than her twin sister Angela, owing to ParentalNeglect.

* ''Film/TheCraft'': All the girls could count to a greater or lesser extent (Sarah attempted suicide, Rochelle is being tormented by a racist bully, and Bonnie is badly scarred), but all are acting under the influence of the ''most'' Goth friend in the group, Nancy, who embraces the aesthetic fully in clothes and makeup, and the gloomy mood, while the others are mostly just followers. It's no coincidence that, as the biggest Goth in the group, Nancy is the most troubled, having a reputation as someone who sleeps around, grew up poor and is abused by her [[WickedStepfather stepfather]], and is dangerously unstable.

* ''Film/TheCraft'': Nancy is Goth, with dark, punk-inspired clothes and an overall more "witchy" look than the other girls in her coven. She also has an abusive father, lives in a trailer, and clearly has some issues even ''before'' [[spoiler: she begins to go insane]].

The {{Goth}} subculture, the {{emo}} subculture, and other related subcultures originated from a genre of music[[note]]The goth subculture started with fans of "gothic rock", a variation on punk music. Meanwhile, the emo subculture began with fans of a certain type of rock music, "emotional hardcore."[[/note]]. Now, both subcultures have expanded to include any music, fashion, or media that celebrates the morbid, dark, and spooky. Goths and emos may have a dark aesthetic, enjoy reading GothicHorror stories, enjoy listening to sad songs about death, etc., but that doesn't mean they ''want'' pain, suffering, or death.

The {{Goth}} subculture, the {{emo}} subculture, and other related subcultures originated from a genre of music[[note]]The goth subculture started with fans of "gothic rock", a variation on punk music. Meanwhile, the emo subculture began with fans of a certain type of rock music, "emotional hardcore."[[/note]] Now, both subcultures have expanded to include any music, fashion, or media that celebrates the morbid, dark, and spooky. Goths and emos may have a dark aesthetic, enjoy reading GothicHorror stories, enjoy listening to sad songs about death, etc., but that doesn't mean they ''want'' pain, suffering, or death.

The {{goth}} subculture, the {{emo}} subculture, and similar things, originated from music[[note]]The goth subculture started with fans of "gothic rock", a variation on punk music. Meanwhile, the emo subculture began with fans of a certain emotional type of rock music.[[/note]] but now it's expanded, so they are all about celebrating the morbid. Goths, emos, etc do things like read sad stories, listen to songs about death, etc., but that doesn't mean they ''want'' pain or death. You wouldn't get that impression from fiction, though.

Most fictional goths, emos, etc. are that way because they have some serious psychological problem, usually depression but occasionally PTSD or perhaps they had a bad experience but it didn't really result in PTSD as such, and may want to kill themselves or (especially in the case of emos) [[SelfHarm cut themselves]]. Some people even believe that the emo subculture actually ''encourages'' self-cutting, which just isn't true.

While there is a ''slightly'' higher rate of such issues in goths and emos than in other subcultures, it is slight, and it's usually due to the stigma attached to the subcultures than the subcultures themselves.

Contrast PerkyGoth. If it's a villain, see DarkIsEvil and FreudianExcuse. If not, see DarkIsNotEvil. May overlap with TroubledButCute. If the goth's suffering is played for comedy, see BlackComedy and TheChewToy, if not, see TheWoobie (do note, however, that The Woobie is YMMV.)

* ''Series/TheSopranos'': Vito Spatafore is murdered by his cousin-in-law Phil Leotardo for being gay, which is a huge no-no in the highly homophobic mafia. His son, Vito Spatafore Jr., starts to dress in all black and act out in school. Phil rather sanctimoniously tries to teach him to "man up" and take charge of his family no that his father is gone, and when he still refuses, has him shipped off to a MilitarySchool.

* ''Series/{{Sopranos}}'': Vito Spatafore is murdered by his cousin-in-law Phil Leotardo for being gay, which is a huge no-no in the highly homophobic mafia. His son, Vito Spatafore Jr., starts to dress in all black and act out in school. Phil rather sanctimoniously tries to teach him to "man up" and take charge of his family no that his father is gone, and when he still refuses, has him shipped off to a MilitarySchool.

* In ''VideoGame/BrutalLegend'', the Drowning Doom faction, which represents UsefulNotes/GothicMetal, is made up of undead goths who committed suicide or otherwise died tragically and they use their crushing depression as debuffs in combat.

* ''Series/TheITCrowd'': Parodied. When Richmond explains why he became a goth, he mentions how people at work started treating him differently for no reason. This social alienation caused him to turn to gothic music for comfort. However, flashbacks showed the reason people started treating him differently was because he showed up to work [[SelfFulfillingProphecy wearing stereotypically gothic clothes]].

-->-- '''Ebony Dark'ness Dementia Raven Way''', referring to Harry "Vampire" Potter, ''Fanfic/MyImmortal''

Most fictional goths, emos, etc are that way because they have some serious psychological problem, usually depression but occasionally PTSD or perhaps they had a bad experience but it didn't really result in PTSD as such, and may want to kill themselves or (especially in the case of emos) [[SelfHarm cut themselves]]. Some people even believe that the emo subculture actually ''encourages'' self-cutting, which just isn't true.

!! Examples

[[folder: Advertising]]
* Parodied in an [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6jX1kBjQga8 advert for a credit ratings firm]]. A sample random group of people (well, Goths) on a London Underground train are assessed on the basis of their credit records, from worst to best. The highest possible credit rating is held by a stereotypically grim-looking goth girl - called Joy. When she realises all the things that are possible for her because her credit is so good, she bursts out into a delighted happy smile.

[[folder: Fan Works]]

** The author of ''Fanfic/MyImmortal'' also wrote a fanfic called ''Ghost Of You''. In this story, Hermione becomes a goth after learning that she's been adopted by the Granger family (who are turned into abusers).

[[folder: Films- Live Action]]

[[folder: Literature]]

[[folder: Live-Action TV]]

[[folder: Video Games]]

[[folder: Web Original]]

[[folder: Western Animation]]

* In ''VideoGame/TotalDistortion'', Edgar Death is a zombie Goth rocker who comes back to life just to play tragic rock songs.
[/folder]]

[[folder: Web Original]]
* [[https://drawception.com/game/eMaRDOq8AF/is-w-d-gaster-a-fraud-pio/ This]] ''Website/{{Drawception}}'' game starts out with an emo who's an amputee and [[BlackComedy wants to cut himself but has no hands]]... [[SubvertedTrope then, it devolves into an emo who's an amputee]] and wants to cut ''vegetables'' but has no hands.

[[folder: Web Original]]
* [[https://drawception.com/game/eMaRDOq8AF/is-w-d-gaster-a-fraud-pio/ This]] ''Website/{{Drawception}}'' game starts out with an emo who's an amputee and [[BlackComedy wants to cut himself but has no hands]]... [[SubvertedTrope then, it devolves into an emo who's an amputee]] and wants to cut ''vegetables'' but has no hands.
[[/folder]]