KAFKAESQUE

"'Kafkaesque'" is an auctorial descriptive which is used to describe concepts, situations, and ideas which are reminiscent of the literary work of Prague writer Franz Kafka, particularly his novel ''The Trial'' and his novella ''The Metamorphosis''.
The term, which is quite fluid in definition, has also been described as "marked by a senseless, disorienting, often menacing complexity: ''Kafkaesque bureaucracies''" [1] and "marked by surreal distortion and often a sense of impending danger: ''Kafkaesque fantasies of the impassive interrogation, the false trial, the confiscated passport . . . haunt his innocence''" — ''The New Yorker''. [2]
It can also describe an intentional distortion of reality by powerful but anonymous bureaucrats. "Lack of evidence is treated as a pesky inconvenience, to be circumvented by such Kafkaesque means as depositing unproven allegations into sealed files ..." Another definition would be an existentialist state of ever-elusive freedom while existing under unmitigatable control.
The adjective refers to anything suggestive of Kafka, especially his nightmarish type of narration, in which characters lack a clear course of action, the ability to see beyond immediate events, and the possibility of escape. The term's meaning has transcended the literary realm to apply to real-life occurrences and situations that are incomprehensibly complex, bizarre, or illogical.

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Cultural references

See also

External links

Cultural references

★ On November 30, 2006, a federal judge condemned the bureaucracy at the United States Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) as "Kafkaesque" and ordered them to resume benefits to Hurricane Katrina victims.

★ From Woody Allen's 1977 film ''Annie Hall'':
:Rolling Stone Reporter: Having sex with you is a really Kafkaesque experience. I mean that as a compliment.
:Alvy Singer: Umm... thank you.

★ In the comic strip ''Calvin and Hobbes'', Hobbes remarks that people need good night smooches so they don't get Kafka dreams.

★ In the TV series ''Mission Hill'', cartoonist Andy French displays a drawing of a woman at a meat store pointing at a steak and saying "That is so kafkaesque!" Andy explains that it's meant as a satire to the people who misuse the term.

★ In the computer graphic adventure Sam & Max, when they find a human-flea creature at a freak show, Max says "How Kafkaesque...."

★ In the movie ''Naked Lunch'', Joan Lee says that she gets a "Kafka high" off bug powder. "It makes you feel like a bug."

★ In an episode of '', a husband who refused to disclose the location of marital assets (over $15 million) was put in jail longer than any other person in New York State for Contempt of Court. When being interviewed by Detective Goren, the husband referred to his situation as "kafkaesque".

★ In ''Final Fantasy VI'', the main antagonist's name, Kefka, is a pun on Kafkaesque, as its bearer is somewhat insane, illogical, yet menacing.

★ In his remarks kicking off the India conference, the celebrated international trade theorist and Columbia Professor Jagdish Bhagwati refers to the Indian government regulations on the economy as "Kafkaesque". [extensive Kafkaesque controls on production, composition of production, investment and trade]

See also

★ This is one of a series of adjectives based on authors' names, such as Brechtian, Joycean, Orwellian, Lovecraftian, Pinteresque, Sadistic/Sadism, Machiavellian, and Draconian.

★ In his website The Stanford Prison Experiment[3]][4], Phil Zimbardo describes a moment as "Kafkaesque." - ''Slide 29''[5]

External links

★ Thefreedictionary.com

★ IMDb's list of "Kafkaesque" films