Dante , the Gothic , the Abject , and the Grotesque in Mathieu Missoffe ’ s Thriller-Crime Drama Black Spot
al anxieties that have been generated in response to several cultural phenomenon that have reached crisis proportion in Villefranche and in the contemporary Western world for which Villefranche is both caricature and microcosm . In fact , the most significant crises are variations of two standard Gothic tropes : a tyrannical , even bullying white patriarchy , and women who find themselves marginalized , victimized , and at times brutally abused by members of this patriarchy . Additional anxiety-inducing crises that the series targets include the continuing rape of the environment by capitalistic enterprises , a growing crime rate , an epidemic of mental illness , and the seeming absence of God , once the spiritual and moral center for a Western world that currently seems to be moving toward an almost complete rejection of traditional belief ( Trofimov 2 , Wells ). Indeed , to help call attention to these crises , the series ’ creator Mathieu Missoffe has incorporated several other Gothic elements into the script of Black Spot to create a steadily building sense of terror that verges on dread : a protagonist haunted by terrifying memories , a gloomy forest setting where the rays of the sun penetrate only the tops of the gigantic pines , a series of uncanny events , and a monster , presumably a demonic Wendigo with a craving for human flesh (“ Wendigo ”). Complimenting his series ’ Gothic dimension , Missoffe has woven into his script an analogy comparing Villefranche to Dante ’ s Inferno , where the condemned must spend eternity separated from the transforming light and love of God . Indeed , Villefranche is offered to the viewer as a Gothicized caricature of a contemporary Western world recalls the Hell of Dante ’ s own Inferno .
At first , season one ’ s episodes may seem randomly arranged . Each is a tale of mystery and horror , complete in and of itself and takes place in a “ savage wilderness ” ( Dante , Inferno ,
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