WORKS CITED

“17 Things You Completely Missed in Riverdale.” Screen Rant, 11 Oct. 2017, https://screenrant.com/riverdale-things-didnt-noticed-missed/. Accessed January 2018.

Easter Eggs for Archie Comics and horror fans alike along with other info that might have slipped past me while watching. Episode titles are named after classic thriller and horror films. Fred Andrews prophecies his son Archie being dragged down by a drowning person when he gives him advice in the form of a metaphor.

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Bailey, Edward I. “Prelude: “Implicit Religion”?: Its Meaning.” Mental Health, Religion & Culture, vol. 16, no. 9, 2013, pp. 883–886.

Here is where I found my idea of what implicit religion is and how it functions. The three fundamentals of implicit religion can be broken down into self-examination that leads to ideas and beliefs, a community of individuals with similar ideas or beliefs, and the influence of the ideas and beliefs from both the individuals and the group as a whole. With Edward I. Bailey’s definition I argue that anti-Catholicism is an implicit religion in gothic fiction and that Riverdale fandom is also implicitly religious by definition.

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Beaty, Bart. “Modernism in Riverdale: Reading the Self-Evident Text Ambiguously.” Jeunesse: Young People, Texts, Cultures, vol. 6, no. 2, 2014, pp. 104–115.

Bart Beaty discovered a reprint while researching Archie Comics that to me resembles an easter egg in modern media. In this article, Harry Lucey’s act of redrawing a comic printed 9 years earlier is suggested to be his signature because he could not actually sign his name. This is one of the few academic articles on the Archie Universe (Archieverse) as a whole that I could find and it points out perfectly the subversive and modern nature of Archie Comics in its 1960’s prime. The television (TV) show Riverdale takes the suggestion that comics are “kitsch” to another level by recreating the Archieverse as a mystery-thriller TV spin inspired by lovecraftian horror and infusing it with camp style that fans both cringe at and love. Beaty ends by noting the lack of Archie in the literary field has nothing to do with it’s repetitive nature but instead reflects a flaw in academic culture.

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“Camp.” Kitsch and oddities Wiki, http://kitsch.wikia.com/wiki/Camp. Accessed January 2018.

An overview of camp style in media and its relation to kitsch attributes or cheesiness. Riverdale is intentional camp to add humor and pay homage to the wholesome comedic name the Archie Comics have. It’s through the campy style and sarcasm of the show that viewers understand the shows underlying themes as a suggestion to reinvent other traditions such as that of the Catholic Church.

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Clark, Terry Ray., and Dan W. Clanton. Understanding Religion and Popular Culture : Theories, Themes, Products and Practices. Routledge, 2012, pp. 72-88.

According to Eric Bain-Selbo, the violence in Riverdale serves a purpose as an ethical function of justice, order, or vengeance. In Season 2 we see the Black Hood killing “sinners” and Archie threatening violence for the same reasons, to keep the town safe. Both the Black Hood and Archie see themselves as heroes who must save Riverdale which implies a sense of justice, order, and vengeance. Religion is stated as an institution that is inherently violent and Riverdale gives example to that. Violence is suggested to give a cathartic relief in consideration of the range and depth of emotions it can make one feel. This further supports the idea of gothic fiction as a surrogate religion due to it’s Emotional Aesthetic.

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“Comics Folk React To… Riverdale.” Bleeding Cool, 27 Jan. 2017, https://www.bleedingcool.com/2017/01/27/comics-folk-react-riverdale/. Accessed January 2018.

A large list of tweets in reaction to Riverdale written by fans of the Archie Comics. It looks like a majority of the tweets are positive and supportive while some are apprehensive. Comics fan involvement in the Riverdale online community gives proof of implicit religion within the Archie Comic fandom.

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“From Clean Cut Kids to Chrisitan Comics to Riverdale: the Archiverse Revolution.” The Conversation, 5 Feb. 2017, https://theconversation.com/from-clean-cut-kids-to-christian-comics-to-riverdale-the-archiverse-revolution-72181. Accessed January 2018.8

The article that started it all. It’s kind of like my holy grail because it gives such a comprehensive history of where the comics have been, what they’ve grown into, and how this dark interpretation of Riverdale came to be. Here you will find evidence that Archie Comics once gave Christian writer Al Hartley permission to use the characters in a Christian comic that was even more cringeworthy than CW’s Riverdale; it’s true camp to anyone other than a Christian audience which makes the shows campy and anti-Catholic feel even more enticing.

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“Gothic Fiction - Emotional Aesthetic.” Wikipedia, 28 Jan. 2018, https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gothic_fiction#Emotional_aesthetic. Accessed January 2018.

Emotional Aesthetic is the rope that ties the elements of true gothic fiction together, it’s what hooks us when we watch TV shows such as Riverdale. The gothic emotional experience lives in each episode of Riverdale and so does the wholesome-and-cringeworthy kitsch emotional experience mentioned in Beaty’s “Modernism in Riverdale: Reading the Self-Evident Text Ambiguously.” This is more support for Herrera’s claim that readers [and implicitly, viewers] are looking for a cathartic experience they aren’t having in real life. I suggest Archie Comics and Riverdale are a replacement for religion. Gothic fiction developed during and was inspired by the Enlightenment when spirituality and the superstition was challenged by science and includes anti-Catholic (i.e. anti-institutional) undertones in some popular novels such as “The Monk”, by Matthew Lewis.

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Herrera, Sylvia E. “Riverdale, Season 1/Jughead: The Hunger.” The Irish Journal of Gothic and Horror Studies, no. 16, 2017, pp. 219–223.

This is a summary of two of the latest additions to the Archiverse. It depicts the stylistic and thematic changes in Archie Comics of recent years and the gradual move to the horror genre. Sylvia E. Herrera sheds light to some of the similarities and differences between the mid-twentieth century Riverdale and the 2018 TV Riverdale including the show’s use of modern topics such as questioning one’s sexuality as a teen and women as heroes. Herrera argues that readers today are not looking for relatable characters, but are looking for stories that will make them feel differently or more strongly than average life will using The Walking Dead’s success as an example.

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“It Looks Like Riverdale is Going to Go Full-On Lovecraft.” Comic Book Reviews, 22 Jan. 2018, https://www.cbr.com/riverdale-lovecraft-teases/. Accessed January 2018.

There are hints that the show is to become more lovecraftian in nature. When Archie and Jughead deliver “pancake mix” (a code for drugs) to Greendale, the hometown of Sabrina the Teenage Witch, one shot reveals the crate they are delivering has an homage to H.P. Lovecraft. Archie Comics announced a Sabrina the Teenage Witch remake in September 2017 and fans have come up with theories about the two shows being in the same universe

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Maher, Michael J, et al. “How Catholic College Students Think about Homosexuality: the Connection between Authority and Sexuality.” Journal of Homosexuality, vol. 55, no. 3, 2008, pp. 325–49.

Findings from this survey imply Catholic belief continues to be similarly subjective and private in nature, like it was after the Emancipation Act. the majority of young Catholics at a Jesuit Catholic university were found to be accepting of homosexuality and were likely to question the teachings and authority of the Church. This gives an insider scoop of the young minds of the Church and how the teenaged characters in Riverdale might accurately depict them. Betty Cooper, Veronica Lodge, and Cheryl Blossom all seemingly have Catholic roots yet they also test out their sexuality and are accepting of the Archie Comics first openly gay character Kevin Keller. Veronica completed the sacrament of Confirmation in Season 2 Episode 12 when she literally confirmed her decision to make Christ the center of her life despite her active sex life and involvement in her family’s mob business. Is Riverdale pointing out her hypocrisy or the changing tides of religious affiliation and what it means to be Catholic today?

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O'Malley, Patrick R. “EPISTEMOLOGY OF THE CLOISTER: Victorian England's Queer Catholicism.” GLQ: A Journal of Lesbian and Gay Studies, vol. 15, no. 4, 2009, pp. 535–564.

This article takes readers on a trip of considering hiding in the metaphorical closet in queer theory as a phenomenon created by religion (in particular the Catholic Church), but also experienced by religious minorities. Patrick R. O’Malley also identifies how Catholicism has been used as a mask for non-normative sexuality. He defines the Catholic identity-shift in England after the 1829 Catholic Emancipation Act as subjective and private stating it as “the experience of an inward self that may or may not correlate with the public persona.” Today, many will say they are Catholic without holding any Catholic belief simply to look better. In CW’s Riverdale every character seems to have this conflict that O’Malley describes since each is keeping parts of themselves secret and out of public view. This is a nod to gothic fictions typical questioning of the Church and is absolutely relevant today. I would like to argue that Riverdale is speaking up to religious authority by challenging the idea of what it means to be Catholic and what sin is, particularly in the topic of sexuality. Catholicism or anything to do with Christian faith seems to be used in Riverdale by a character as a tool to make them appear different than how they actually behave and who they truly are, but maybe the teens have more faith than is let on.

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O'Malley, Patrick R., and MyiLibrary. Catholicism, Sexual Deviance, and Victorian Gothic Culture. Cambridge University Press, 2006, pp. 108-113

Many ideas are expressed in this book, but I would like to direct you to chapter three, “Domestic Gothic: unveiling Lady Audley’s Secret” part one, “Sister’s and Serpents: Catholicism and Deviance in Lady Audley’s Secret”. Here, O’Malley informs the reader that Lady Audley has been speculated to be asexual. Aside from Jughead being canonically asexual in the comic books and fans hoping for this theme to pop up in Riverdale this gives us an idea of the borderless nature of sexuality in gothic fiction. Goth is a smooth way to go if you want to display non-normative sexuality in popular culture. Furthermore, Lady Audley has the characteristic of being fascinating to everyone which is apparently gothic code for being irresistibly attractive and evil, a trope used in Riverdale through the character of Cheryl Blossom who’s comic book counterpart was once kicked out of the series for being “too sexy.” I see this as encouragement for viewers to adopt a modernized religious attitude on sexuality separate from that of the Church.

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“Riverdale is Nowheresville.” Slate, 17 Jan. 2018, https://slate.com/culture/2018/01/the-placelessness-of-the-cws-riverdale.html. Accessed January 2018.

A deeper look into the Black Hood’s affinity for Betty. Dark Betty holds a message reflective of the town itself: everyone has a dark side. Betty is considered innocent and pure and has been the epitome of the girl next door since she came into existence and yet she struggles with her own sins and inner demons. The Black Hood sees her on a pedestal and kills sinners in response to a speech she made in Season 1 Episode 13 about turning the town around with a new attitude.

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“Riverdales Queer Problem.” Medium, 29 Jan. 2017,

https://medium.com/@AlexGabriel/riverdales-queer-problem-add14ffcefea. Accessed January 2018.

This article gives me real feedback on Riverdale and it’s lack of representation of non-normative sexuality in Season 1. Even the possibilities of some characters developing non-normative sexualities seems to be problematic due to character traits that reinforce negative stereotypes. The main characters are only teenagers, but I need to diversify my heteronormative views. I hope to analyse Season 2 and compare to see if any improvement has been made. Sexuality is a big topic in gothic fiction and I would like to see the genre represented in every way on this show.

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“The Queerbait is Strong with This One.” Recapping Shows, 7 Feb. 2017, https://harmonydreven.blogspot.ca/2017/02/the-queerbait-is-strong-with-this-one.html?view=classic. Accessed January 2018.

The author questions the underlying lesbian themes of Betty and Veronicas relationship asking why make them kiss at all if they’re not to be canonically lesbian. I’d like to suggest the answer to this question lies in the gothic genre and it’s tendency to illustrate non-normative sexualities as well as the fact that Betty and Veronica are both teenagers who are growing into themselves and might do things impulsively or only to get attention.

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“Who is the Black Hood? Riverdale Creator Breaks Down Archie’s Menacing New Enemy.” MTV, 26 Oct. 2017, http://www.mtv.com/news/3043771/riverdale-black-hood-killer-zodiac/. Accessed January 2018.

The Black Hood is a pre-existing character described here as a “hooded vigilante.” In Riverdale he is not the same character but an homage to the comics. His recent publications involve him fighting crime to atone for his own sins. His motives are quoted as being more Zodiac Killer than Punisher.