Tourists look at a statue of famous writer Franz Kafka in central Prague. Photo: Reuters
On TikTok, classic authors like Franz Kafka are enjoying renewed popularity. On the social platform, Gen Z are reinterpreting The Metamorphosis and other works through creative videos, integrating pop culture references and personal experience.
People might assume that reading is falling out of favour due to social networking, but they could be wrong.
Franz Kafka, a German-language writer born in the 19th century, is currently having a moment on TikTok, taking the web by storm with one of his most famous works, The Metamorphosis.
Mashing up the Kafkaesque tale with pop culture references, web users are breathing new life into Gregor Samsa, the story's main character, who wakes up one morning transformed into a monstrously large insect, often depicted as a cockroach.
In these short videos, Internet users summarise the plot, while giving their opinions, thoughts and impressions about the novella. But that's not all ...
The plot of this book (and others) reflects certain issues that young people are quick to see reflected in contemporary life. Indeed, insomnia, depression, loneliness and anguish abound in Kafkaesque writing – feelings that could explain this author's recent popularity among 15-25 year-olds.
This generation's mental health is in a subject of concern, since research suggests that some 10% of children and teens worldwide suffer from a mental disorder.
Also derided and made fun of, these themes have become real running gags. And there's something for everyone, including thoughts and interpretations, quotes, costumes and outfits, dances, comparisons with TikTokers' personal lives and even tattoos.
The world of Kafka is being endlessly reappropriated in all kinds of forms. Videos abound, and young people comment on them with a whole new vocabulary: "it was Kafkaesque," "so Kafkaesque"...
What about other classic works?
Pop culture references are also breathing new life into books by other authors, notably Jane Austen. Some of her works, such as Pride And Prejudice and Persuasion have been all the rage recently.
Young people, dreaming of love stories like that of Elizabeth Bennet and Mr Darcy in Pride And Prejudice, have been busy transforming these stories into all manner of memes.
The "memification" of Jane Austen's works is facilitated by the fact that they are regularly updated with movie adaptations. For example, Persuasion was released in 2022 by Netflix, starring Dakota Johnson. Meanwhile, in 2005, actress Keira Knightley took on the role of Elizabeth Bennet.
In this way, literary classics are anything but outdated, as they are constantly being updated by current cultural references.
On TikTok right now, Gen Z is also talking about Edgar Allan Poe and Stefan Zweig. For example, in a TikTok video viewed almost 13,000 times, Stefan Zweig, an Austrian writer born in the 19th century, is described by a fan as "my Chicago."
Originating from a trend, the expression "my Chicago" is used by Internet users to describe the place or person to which they feel they belong, or which they consider to be their comfort zone.
Using the song End Of Beginning by Djo, TikTok users are now busy sharing their own "my Chicago," whether it's the works of Stefan Zweig or something else entirely. – AFP
