Genre Analysis Draft #3: IT
Anxieties about conformity and not being able to fit in with society are all part of the 
Suburban Gothic genre. Being afraid to step outside the box and be your true self can be hard 
especially when you are surrounded by a community of people who all share the same beliefs 
and values. Implementing surprise elements to shock the audience also emphasizes the anxiety 
the audience can feel when the prey gets trapped into the manipulation of the attacker. Stephen 
King has made some of the most popular works of suburban gothic films that have made this 
genre boom in the last decade. For example, IT demonstrates the true horror that can happen 
when putting your trust in the wrong person. Most crimes and attacks occur during broad 
daylight and are usually committed by people in your inner circle. This imposes the threat of not 
being able to trust those around you even if they seem like a nice person with good intentions. 
The intense music, low lighting, and much more are all combined to create an eerie situation 
where the protagonist has to escape their biggest fears. Familiarity is the recurring topic of how 
danger doesn’t always involve strangers but instead danger revolves around the people you trust. Therefore, the suburban gothic genre, especially seen in Stephen King’s IT creates anxieties and 
brings out the deepest fears in the audience to impose the urge to be aware of the familiar which can be seen by preying on vulnerable children, haunting family houses, and attacking the 
bourgeois which are all part of the suburban gothic genre. 
          To continue, children in the suburban gothic genre are the main targets and victims of the 
perpetrators because of their lack of experience in life and their vulnerability. Kids don’t have 
the certain mental tools it takes to determine if a situation is dangerous or not. Most children are gullible and believe that the enemy is trying to be “friends” with them. “’The clown laughed. '"I 
sure do." That's good! That's very good! And how about a balloon?'” (King 1986). As 
mentioned, Pennywise tries to gain Georgie’s heart by offering him a balloon and his boat back. 
Specifically, in IT the children chosen as the victims were the outliers of the town which adds 
another element of the suburban gothic genre. It states in the article The Literature of Suburban 
Change by Dines that “They are outliers within a social system that values straightforward 
definition above all else” (Dines 2020). This citation describes how in suburban gothic films and 
books the outliers of the town is everyone who isn’t seen as “normal” in society’s eyes. In the 
movie IT it is very common that the kids get referred to as losers for being different like 
stuttering or weight issues. For example, in IT the character of Beverly suffers from an alcoholic 
father that is verbally abusive since her mother passed away. The other kids in Derry were 
considered “normal” due to their nuclear family and conformity. 
         The nuclear family depicted in IT can be connected to one of the main reasons why 
Georgie wasn’t properly looked after. It is stated in Chapter 1 of IT, “while their mother played 
Für Elise on the piano” (King 1986). While Georgie was creating his paper boat and going out in 
the rain during a heavy storm to play, his mother was too busy playing the piano instead of going 
with Georgie to make sure he was safe. A common detail in the suburban gothic genre is that the mother is supposed to be the main parent that protects the kids but in It Georgie’s mother does 
not fulfill her responsibility. Also, Georgie’s father was busy at work and Bill was too sick to get 
out of bed. All of these situations combined foreshadowed Georgie’s death. 
            When a book includes historical events with fiction it creates a vortex where it leaves the 
audience feeling nervous about walking alone at night or trusting a stranger. Also, there are 
certain details in suburban gothic films like the love interest being the killer or someone from 
your inner circle wanting revenge from something from the past. These kinds of books can help 
the youth understand how the closest people to you can betray you completely without feeling 
remorse. Also, being manipulated into thinking that someone has their best interests with you 
until they get what they want is a way to mentally obtain your trust. 
        A recurring theme of the Suburban Gothic genre is the past coming back to haunt you. It 
is stated, “Gothic horrors such as Poltergeist thus moralize that suburban America’s ignorance of 
or disregard for the past will always result in that past coming back to haunt it (Dines 2020). 
These kinds of films include monsters or rituals that won’t die unless the original characters die 
with them to end the curse. In IT the theme of the past is correct since Pennywise comes back to haunt the town of Derry every 28 years. Pennywise doesn’t quit killing innocent people until the 
original kids return to the town of Derry and face their fears. This is a prime example of how the 
past doesn’t leave you alone and will come back to finish the job. In many scary books the 
hauntings are caused by Indian burial grounds or satanic rituals. This can specifically be seen in 
IT 2 when it shows how the curse of Pennywise originated from a ritual. In the The Literature of 
Suburban Change it explains, “Is there anything more to suburban Gothic’s preoccupation with 
the presence of the past than a simple reworking of the biggest cliché in the book of American 
hauntings, the house built over an Indian burial ground? (Dines 2020). This quote shows how 
there are certain elements to this genre that come naturally for the viewer to catch. Stephen 
King’s IT implements the past coming back to haunt but follows the suburban gothic detail 
where the “monster” comes back for the original characters. This exhibits how the combination 
of cliché within the suburban gothic and surprise twists can create one of the most successful 
pieces. 
        Perpetrators in this genre love to use common interests with the victim to form a false 
sense of “friendship” but what the children don’t realize is that it is just a form of mental 
manipulation. It is shocking to see how the predators in the situation don’t force their victims 
into doing something but rather manipulate the situation to have more fun. In IT the character 
Georgie fell for a false illusion that was created by a clown pretending to be genuine. In reality 
Pennywise offering Georgie a balloon and his boat back was a way to win the kid’s heart. 
Combining all of these factors and feeding off of the vulnerability of a young child was the 
perfect combination to trap Georgie without actually forcing him to get into the sewer. 
Emotional manipulation is a big cause of how tragic events begin. IT can increase anxiety over the storyline because it leaves the reader becoming more aware of their surroundings. Lies can go a long way if the person doesn’t know how to detect if the person is being truthful. 
         Furthermore, conformity can be an issue when ignoring the perspective of others and 
wanting others to have the same beliefs and values. The Landscapes of the Gothic Mind: 
Memory and Genre states, “’ has to do more specifically with a disturbance of the familiar’” 
(Moore 2016). This quote describes the problem with conformity and trusting people that are 
close in proximity as if they weren’t strangers. Neighbors doesn’t necessarily mean that the 
people near you are trustworthy and that is how problems arise. People would rather be friends 
than enemies with people nearby, but it is not always a good idea when they are putting up a 
façade to hide their true intentions. 
       To conclude, the Suburban Gothic genre has repetitive details that don’t come as a shock 
to the audience but the way they are implemented can cause the audience to get a feeling of the 
supernatural world. It involves using personal fears to gain power and the anxiety of the post war world with the rise of the suburbs just added panic to the people who didn’t belong in society’s 
eyes. Another point is the nuclear family which can cause emotional dependency and feeling 
alone because of the relationship with the parents and siblings. In modern times, the nuclear 
family isn’t the norm or the generic family structure anymore since divorce rates are high and the cost of sustaining a family is close to impossible. emotions is to create a false sense of identity so you can fit in with society. Fear and anxiety have increased since the creation of the suburbs and after the suburban gothic genre gained popularity the only way for society to placate their emotions is to create a false sense of identity so you can fit in with society. Genres like suburban gothic include worry and angst because the points made in these books show the reader that the nuclear family and conformity combined can foreshadow loss. These books show the audience what putting your trust in the wrong hands can lead to your worst nightmare. 

                                                                 Works Cited
Dines, Martin. “Suburban Gothic and Banal Unhomeliness”. The Literature of Suburban 
Change (2020): Edinburgh University Press.

Moore, Erica. “Haunting Memories: Gothic and Memoir”. Landscapes of the Gothic 
Mind: Memory and Genre (2016): Department of English , Wheelock College , 
Boston , MA , USA.

Stephen, King. “The Shadow Before”. IT (1986).

Changes between drafts in blue highlighter