Dark Shadows: Why Such a Huge Gay Following?

[Gothick]

One thing I tried to do in that article was to pull apart the whole notion of "Camp" and DS--I thought Sontag's work pointed to a way of thinking about the over-the-top semi-demented proceedings on the show that captured just how magical it all was.  And the innate poetry of some of the most extreme scenes and moments on DS and how this fits into the notion of "gay sensibility" which can be seen as a strongly creative force (albeit often underground) in the arts scene of the 20th century.

All rather a heady brew to bring to the table with our favorite show, perhaps; I'm not sure the result is a success. I have only vague memories now of what was going through my head when I wrote this (it was nearly 15 years ago), but I do remember that I wanted to tighten it up a bit.  I also wanted to write more about Julia ... writing this article probably did lead me to take on the Grayson project.

cheers, G.

[David]

Had a busy week, but I finally found a moment to return to this thread.

Nancy:
you've been a true friend, & I respect you a lot.
His right to say it, my right to express my displeasure,
you're right to chastise me.
It's all part of open discusions in a free society.
I opened myself up to your comments by posting my feelings on the board, just as Mr H opened himself up when he made comments that, frankly, disgusted a lot of people.

The whole idea that all DS fans are fat, ugly, gay, or sexually repressed, and that these are our reasons for loving DS,  was rampant in the 80s.
In my humble opinion,  we need less of that kind of talk and more of the heartfelt, uplifting sentiments that Heather & Magnus Trask expressed in their posts.
We also need more of the kind of brilliance Steve shows in his essay.

When I was a fest attendee, many moons ago, I was subjected to a lot of abuse & false, sexually graphic rumor mongering from closet cases  who couldn't deal with my being an out, loud gay activist.
Many of them bought into Mr H's description of fandom hook, line & sinker.

It's time to say no to that mentalty and lift ourselves up (which we've been doing for years at this board)

On that note, I'm now going to go read my favorite poem:
Rise by Maya Angelou.

And I Rise,
David
 

[MagnusTrask]

Thanks David.

[David]

You May Write Me Down In History
With Your Bitter, Twisted Lies
You May Trod Me in the Very Dirt
Still, Like Dust, I Rise

~~~~from Still I Rise
by Maya Angelou

And this is my response to those 1980s Fest attendees who put me down for being openly gay even then.
This is also my response to those I knew in the 1960s who made fun of me and tried to deny me the pleasure I got~~and still get~~from watching Dark Shadows. 

[Miranda]

This is an interesting topic, but I do have to wonder about someone who would pay 20,000 in two years for DS merchandise--think of all the good one could do with that much money!!

[Mysterious Benefactor]

Well, if one is spending that sort of money at Fest auctions, then the vast majority of it is going to charity.

[MsCriseyde]

This is an interesting topic, but I do have to wonder about someone who would pay 20,000 in two years for DS merchandise--think of all the good one could do with that much money!!

If you cling to that line of logic, then I think you would also have to wonder why money was spent to make the series in the first place. A fair number of people in this world make a living via the sale of merchandise that others might consider frivolous.

[Charles_Ellis]

Hey, one man's trash is another's treasure.  I just paid $26 for a copy of the original DS Cookbook on eBay.  Some non-fans may shake their head at this, but it is a bit of original DS merchandising and I wanted to add it to my collection.  On the other hand, the "Celebrity Cookbook" is probably more collectable at this point as it was done by the stars of DS and is out of print, with probably fewer copies made than the original 1970 book, which was released while DS was on the air.