Creepypasta is, at first blush, user-generated horror fiction on the internet. However, I was reflecting that some of the better creepypasta is actually a distinct art form of participatory art. Moreover it's actually quite a complex phenomena that would only really be possible on the internet. Some things that fascinate me about it:
- It's participatory - consumers of the fiction are involved in the story, not passively consuming it - they don't know in many cases if they are consuming a story, or discovering a dark or scary truth
- It's collaborative - people build on the stories and reshare
- It's viral - a lot of the best creepypasta is creepy because it's not presented as a story - the viral nature of social media is used to amplify and build the story
- It's subtle - the best creepypasta is creepy because it's JUST ABOUT believable - you sort of know it's fake, but you aren't 100% sure
In short I think it's a distinct form of art, and one that's 'social network native' - it couldn't really exist in the same way before social media. It harnesses social media, and I would love to find ways to also create art that harnesses and exploits social media as part of the art, not just as way of spreading.
No comments:
Post a Comment