Book contents
- The Cambridge History of the Gothic
- The Cambridge History of the Gothic
- The Cambridge History of the Gothic
- Copyright page
- Contents
- Figures
- Notes on Contributors
- Acknowledgements
- Introduction: A History of Gothic Studies in the Twentieth and Twenty-First Centuries
- 3.1 Gothic and Silent Cinema
- 3.2 Gothic, the Great War and the Rise of Modernism, 1910‒1936
- 3.3 Gothic and the American South, 1919‒1962
- 3.4 Hollywood Gothic, 1930–1960
- 3.5 Gothic and War, 1930‒1991
- 3.6 Gothic and the Postcolonial Moment
- 3.7 Gothic and the Heritage Movement in the Twentieth and Twenty-First Centuries
- 3.8 Gothic Enchantment: The Magical Strain in Twentieth and Twenty-First-Century Anglo-American Gothic
- 3.9 Psychoanalysis and the American Popular Gothic, 1954–1980
- 3.10 Gothic and the Counterculture, 1958‒Present
- 3.11 Gothic Television
- 3.12 Gothic and the Rise of Feminism
- 3.13 Gothic, AIDS and Sexuality, 1981–Present
- 3.14 The Gothic in the Age of Neo-Liberalism, 1990‒Present
- 3.15 The Gothic and Remix Culture
- 3.16 Postdigital Gothic
- 3.17 Gothic Multiculturalism
- 3.18 Gothic, Neo-Imperialism and the War on Terror
- 3.19 Global Gothic 1: Islamic Gothic
- 3.20 Global Gothic 2: East Asian Gothic
- 3.21 Global Gothic 3: Gothic in Modern Scandinavia
- 3.22 Gothic in an Age of Environmental Crisis
- 3.23 Gothic and the Apocalyptic Imagination
- Select Bibliography and Filmography
- Index
3.9 - Psychoanalysis and the American Popular Gothic, 1954–1980
Published online by Cambridge University Press: 29 July 2021
- The Cambridge History of the Gothic
- The Cambridge History of the Gothic
- The Cambridge History of the Gothic
- Copyright page
- Contents
- Figures
- Notes on Contributors
- Acknowledgements
- Introduction: A History of Gothic Studies in the Twentieth and Twenty-First Centuries
- 3.1 Gothic and Silent Cinema
- 3.2 Gothic, the Great War and the Rise of Modernism, 1910‒1936
- 3.3 Gothic and the American South, 1919‒1962
- 3.4 Hollywood Gothic, 1930–1960
- 3.5 Gothic and War, 1930‒1991
- 3.6 Gothic and the Postcolonial Moment
- 3.7 Gothic and the Heritage Movement in the Twentieth and Twenty-First Centuries
- 3.8 Gothic Enchantment: The Magical Strain in Twentieth and Twenty-First-Century Anglo-American Gothic
- 3.9 Psychoanalysis and the American Popular Gothic, 1954–1980
- 3.10 Gothic and the Counterculture, 1958‒Present
- 3.11 Gothic Television
- 3.12 Gothic and the Rise of Feminism
- 3.13 Gothic, AIDS and Sexuality, 1981–Present
- 3.14 The Gothic in the Age of Neo-Liberalism, 1990‒Present
- 3.15 The Gothic and Remix Culture
- 3.16 Postdigital Gothic
- 3.17 Gothic Multiculturalism
- 3.18 Gothic, Neo-Imperialism and the War on Terror
- 3.19 Global Gothic 1: Islamic Gothic
- 3.20 Global Gothic 2: East Asian Gothic
- 3.21 Global Gothic 3: Gothic in Modern Scandinavia
- 3.22 Gothic in an Age of Environmental Crisis
- 3.23 Gothic and the Apocalyptic Imagination
- Select Bibliography and Filmography
- Index
Summary
This chapter discusses the ways in which psychoanalytic concepts influenced the American popular Gothic during the post-war era. The 1950s and 1960s were what Nathan G. Hale has described as the ‘Golden Age of Popularization’ for psychoanalytic thought in the United States. The historical underpinnings of this psychoanalytic ‘boom’ period are discussed, with a focus upon the prominent place occupied by American ego psychology during this period. As argued, this influence soon permeated the ‘popular Gothic’ fiction of the era, which was characterised by texts which revolved around tensions rooted in the dysfunctional nuclear family, sexual and emotional repression, and unresolved childhood trauma. The work of authors such as Robert Bloch, Charles Beaumont, William March and Ira Levin is considered. The chapter concludes with a discussion of the ways in which the late 1970s ‘Satanic Panic’ scare, which drew upon both core psychoanalytic principles and the most lurid elements found in works of horror fiction such as Rosemary’s Baby (1967) and The Exorcist (1971), severely damaged the movement’s reputation in the United States.
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- The Cambridge History of the GothicVolume 3: Gothic in the Twentieth and Twenty-First Centuries, pp. 180 - 198Publisher: Cambridge University PressPrint publication year: 2021