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Is #WorldGothDay2020 still going? Idk.
Anyway i feel like breaking peoples hearts today, so I'm going to dispel one of the longest-running Teen titans myths there is:
Raven is NOT a Goth. (A thread)
Anyway i feel like breaking peoples hearts today, so I'm going to dispel one of the longest-running Teen titans myths there is:
Raven is NOT a Goth. (A thread)
Lets start at the beginning, with the 80s run of New Teen Titans.
Marv Wolfman created Raven with the intention of her being a dark witch-type character. And while she is definitely a mysterious sorceress, she is not a goth.
Marv Wolfman created Raven with the intention of her being a dark witch-type character. And while she is definitely a mysterious sorceress, she is not a goth.
While Raven does meditate a lot, when shes out in her civillian attire she wears some decidedly not-goth clothes.
See? No black to be found.
See? No black to be found.
Not to mention that she spends her free time doing some very not-goth things, like going to school and volunteering at charities.
And then after she is cleansed of Trigon's evil, she becomes White Raven.
Scenes like this are basically as far removed from a goth as you can get.
Scenes like this are basically as far removed from a goth as you can get.
So 80s Raven is not a goth. So where did the stereorype come from?
As much as I hate to say it, we have to blame the cartoon's depiction for Raven for this one.
As the cartoon is by far the most well-known piece of Teen Titans content to the public, it has created a lot of...
As much as I hate to say it, we have to blame the cartoon's depiction for Raven for this one.
As the cartoon is by far the most well-known piece of Teen Titans content to the public, it has created a lot of...
...stereotypes about the characters that persist to this day. (Most notably the misconception that Starfire is naive and ditzy.)
This is of course, in spite of the fact that many of these misconceptions are easily disproven is you actually watch the show.
This is of course, in spite of the fact that many of these misconceptions are easily disproven is you actually watch the show.
The cartoon Raven definitely does do some things that can be associated with a goth, such as her sarcastic remarks and her occasionally emo attitude.
But at the same time many episodes of Teen Titans focus in the fact that Raven does not act this way by choice; she does so in order to maintain control of her emotions and her powers.
Many episodes show that she is perfectly willing and capable to open up to others...
Many episodes show that she is perfectly willing and capable to open up to others...
...and that she can even have fun on occasion.
If anything, I'd argue that Raven is actually a subversion of the goth trope, since her portrayal in the cartoon is essentially a deconstuction of why someone would behave this way.
If anything, I'd argue that Raven is actually a subversion of the goth trope, since her portrayal in the cartoon is essentially a deconstuction of why someone would behave this way.
So why does the misconception persist?
A lot of it imo is due to ppl who grew up watching the Teen Titans cartoon as children likely misremember how the character was actually portrayed
Not to mention all the other goth characters in shows at the time.. https://mobile.twitter.com/RiseFallNick/status/1263812845688496129
A lot of it imo is due to ppl who grew up watching the Teen Titans cartoon as children likely misremember how the character was actually portrayed
Not to mention all the other goth characters in shows at the time.. https://mobile.twitter.com/RiseFallNick/status/1263812845688496129
...the prevelance of these characters causes Raven to be lumped in as one of them.
Thus, people everywhere who only remember the bare basics of Raven's character (wore dark clothes, meditates a lot, sarcastic remarks) believe her to be the ultimate goth.
Thus, people everywhere who only remember the bare basics of Raven's character (wore dark clothes, meditates a lot, sarcastic remarks) believe her to be the ultimate goth.
It is also worth remembering that we never actually see Raven in civillian attire in the cartoon since the Titans don't have civillian identities in that show.
So we don't actually know if she'd actually dress like a goth if she ever went shopping or smth like that.
So we don't actually know if she'd actually dress like a goth if she ever went shopping or smth like that.
(As an aside, many TT fanworks do have Raven in goth attire. You're allowed to headcanon whatever you want of course. Me personally, i believe she'd wear something akin to this drawing from @shock777. A jacket and hoodie, probably. But not full-on goth)
But either way the popular perception of Raven as a goth has spread and become popular with fans, enough so that DC themselves have taken notice
This is why many modern comics do have Raven wearing stereotypically goth clothing. They know what the fans want and capitalized on it
This is why many modern comics do have Raven wearing stereotypically goth clothing. They know what the fans want and capitalized on it
And then this has in turn spread to her non-comics appearances, further colouring the way people perceive her.
I'd argue Raven doesn't act like a goth in any of these media either, but dressing like one is enough to convince most people.
I'd argue Raven doesn't act like a goth in any of these media either, but dressing like one is enough to convince most people.
For the record, i don't really blame the general public either. A lot of the blame for Raven being coded this way does fall on how DC has decided to portray her.
How can you look at images like these and not think 'goth'?
How can you look at images like these and not think 'goth'?
But no matter how much modern DC has mischaracterized her and how many normies believe otherwise, just remember that Raven was not created to be a goth, and should not be treated as one.
Take it from the lady herself:
Take it from the lady herself:
(on an unrelated note i also have a problem with how modern Dc has aged Raven down from a 16-20 year old to a 12-14 year old, but thats for another time)
I'm sure a lot of yall are probably upset by this revelation, but i believe it's important to be well-educated.
Besides, there are two other characters on the Teen Titans cartoon who actually ARE goth girls. Just stan them instead.
Besides, there are two other characters on the Teen Titans cartoon who actually ARE goth girls. Just stan them instead.
