TY - JOUR
T1 - From Czechoslovakia with nightmares
T2 - how the search for "Clock Man" illustrates the digital deterritorialization of world literature online
AU - Nutting, Imogen
PY - 2023
Y1 - 2023
N2 - This study follows the origins of and search for “Clock Man”, from a nineteenth century Yorkshire folktale to a 2012 forum post about a lost 1976 Czechoslovakian stop motion film, and evaluates its merits as a piece of contemporary world literature. The internet has significantly altered how people communicate and share stories, allowing a range of texts to be instantly created, disseminated and discussed around the world. As the classification and study of 'world literature' are affected by changing standards of communication and literary merit, these new media communications can provide contemporary insight into how literature may be found in virtual public spaces. This paper blends theories of literariness, reception and new media with Deleuze and Guattari's theory of deterritorialization to track the changes in the “Clock Man” story and observe broader trends of contemporary world literature in digital storytelling spaces.
AB - This study follows the origins of and search for “Clock Man”, from a nineteenth century Yorkshire folktale to a 2012 forum post about a lost 1976 Czechoslovakian stop motion film, and evaluates its merits as a piece of contemporary world literature. The internet has significantly altered how people communicate and share stories, allowing a range of texts to be instantly created, disseminated and discussed around the world. As the classification and study of 'world literature' are affected by changing standards of communication and literary merit, these new media communications can provide contemporary insight into how literature may be found in virtual public spaces. This paper blends theories of literariness, reception and new media with Deleuze and Guattari's theory of deterritorialization to track the changes in the “Clock Man” story and observe broader trends of contemporary world literature in digital storytelling spaces.
KW - Clock Man
KW - Czechoslovakia
KW - deterritorialization
KW - digital storytelling
KW - folklore
UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/record.url?scp=85170662671&partnerID=8YFLogxK
U2 - 10.1163/24056480-tat00006
DO - 10.1163/24056480-tat00006
M3 - Article
AN - SCOPUS:85170662671
SN - 2405-6472
VL - 8
SP - 376
EP - 392
JO - Journal of World Literature
JF - Journal of World Literature
IS - 3
ER -