Dark Costume in Contemporary Television

Abstract

This chapter identifies how within television’s unique serial format, costume often adds to the complexity of the narrative structure of the contemporary gothic series which exploits ever more complex, nonlinear styles of storytelling. Looking specifically at female characters within Westworld, American Gods, Penny Dreadful, American Horror Story and Sharp Objects, contemporary gothic femininity is constructed in narrative cycles of damage, trauma and resilience. From harmful garments and nostalgic dress to liminal costumes; contextually these series depict how contemporary neo-liberal horrors surface when women engage in acts self-fashioning or self-harm in pursuit of control, power or an escape. As well as a source of visual pleasure, costume here offers a critique of the complicated body politics of contemporary culture which push the limits of bodily representation on television.