Goth Cruise, The Movie..Simply Gothtastic!

What happens when 150 Goths, get together with 2500 “norms” on a seven day Caribbean cruise? You can find out by watching Goth Cruise, the modern documentary (nicknamed a gothumentary), on the Independent Film Channel.

I first learned about the movie from an ad in Entertainment Weekly magazine, with the headline “For the Love of Goth”. Since I am a goth chick, turned “norm” I was immediately intrigued and decided that it was a must see.

The movie premiered on November 27, 2008 and is currently playing on the IFC Free channel, which is available from most cable services. The IFC website, linked here, provides a full channel lineup and schedule. The movie tagline on the website is “Disregard everything you know about Goth culture. 'Goth Cruise' is a landmark documentary that takes a candid and ultimately redefining look at what it really means to be Goth.”

The film highlights a handful of the 150 goths, through interviews and short videos that take place before the cruise. Then - we get to watch them in action during the cruise.

Q) What do you call a bunch of Goths in a Hot Tub?

A) Goth Soup

Q) What is the SPF 100, 000 that Goths used on the cruise?

A) Goth Block

The vacationers include Amanda and Mike, the 20 something Gothics on their honeymoon. There’s Sean, the single dad, war veteran and one of the oldest Goths on the cruise. And, we can’t forget Lobster X, a married architect who left his significant other behind, to come on the cruise to party and wear dresses and an over the top Satan costume.

I enjoyed watching the suitcase packing scenes, where the gothic cruisers hand-picked their gothic clothing of choice. Most vacationing “norms” heading to the Caribbean pack shorts, tank tops, bathing suits, sundresses etc. Our gothic cruisers packed a mostly black mix of leather, lace, velvet, rubber and PVC. Plus their boots, make-up and gothic jewelry.

The film is 74 minutes of gothtastic fun. We get a chance to understand how each “profiled” cruiser became who they are today and what goth means to them. For some, it’s an attitude. For others it’s the music and fashion. The background music (a mix of punk and industrial) in the film is outstanding and includes Siouxee and the Banshees, The Cure, Voltaire and Rome Burns.

“You can’t have the light without the dark. We’re the dark to give them their light.”

The reactions from the vacationing “norms” on the cruise, mostly senior citizens, were what you’d expect.. many whiplash stares and amusing commentary.

If you want to know more about the film, the Goth Cruise trailer is available on You Tube. You can visit the official film website at www.gothcruisethemovie.com. And there is a public photo library of pictures taken during the cruise available through Flickr, linked here.

Goth Cruise was directed by Jeanie Finlay, an artist and film-maker whose specialty is creating unique documentaries. In addition to Goth Cruise, Jeanie directed the critically acclaimed BBC documentary “Teenland - In Teenagers' Bedrooms” and the award winning “Home-Maker” and “Different for Girls”.

1. The Goth lifestyle is very accepting of all body types: slim, curvy, tall or short
2. By staying out of the sun to keep your skin pale, you avoid wrinkles and look 10-15 years younger
3. The color black looks great on everyone and is very slimming
4. One word - Corsets. A gothic clothing choice for goth girls and guys.
5. It’s a chance to act and dress to express your individuality and uniqueness

Yes, there are several cruise lines that offer goth themed vacations.

Vampire Rave and Gothic Beauty Magazine are sponsoring the 2009 Annual Gothic Cruise and Masquerade Ball, from October 11, 2009 to October 18, 2009 on Carnival Cruise lines. The seven night, Western Caribbean cruise starts in Tampa Florida with port stops in Cozumel, Grand Cayman and Belize. Visit www.gothiccruise.com for more information.

The Royal Caribbean cruise line has scheduled “Goth Cruise 6: Noir Noir” departing on September 28, 2009 for five nights. Stops include Key West, FL, Cozumel and Belize. Visit www.gothcruise.com/GothCruise6.htm for more information.

Copyright © 2008, M. Reynolds, All Rights Reserved