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Scarfolk

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This is an old revision of this page, as edited by Chrubble (talk | contribs) at 12:43, 14 October 2014 (Added link to wikipedia page for the public information film referenced in quote. The film itself is available here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=slJyhOEo-SY&feature=youtu.be - I'm not sure if it should be linked.). The present address (URL) is a permanent link to this revision, which may differ significantly from the current revision.

Scarfolk
File:Scarfolklogo1.png
Created byRichard Littler
URLwww.scarfolk.blogspot.com

Scarfolk is a fictional northern English town created by writer and designer Richard Littler, who is sometimes identified as the town mayor.

Description

Scarfolk, which is forever locked in the 1970s, is a satire not only of that decade but also, by extension, contemporary events. It touches on themes of totalitarianism, suburban life, occultism & religion, school & childhood, as well as social attitudes such as racism and sexism, and it frequently blurs the lines between fact and fiction, horror and comedy.

Scarfolk was initially presented as a fake blog which purportedly releases artefacts from town council's archive. Artefacts include public information literature, out-of-print books, record and cassette sleeves, advertisements, television programme screenshots, household products, and audio and video, many of which suggest brands and imagery recognisable from the period. Additionally, artefacts are usually accompanied by short fictional vignettes which are also presented as factual and introduce residents of Scarfolk. The public information literature often contains what has become something of a catchphrase: "For more information please reread."

"I was always scared as a kid, always frightened of what I was faced with. … You’d walk into WHSmith... and see horror books with people’s faces melting. Kids’ TV included things like Children of the Stones, a very odd series you just wouldn’t get today. I remember a public information film made by some train organisation in which a children’s sports day was held on train tracks and, one by one, they were killed [ The Finishing Line ]. It was insane. … I’m just taking it to the next logical step. … What if people learned that it was a good idea to have your legs removed, or wash your children’s brains? I’m pushing reality into absurd horror but, because life was already absurd and terrifying, it only takes a nudge.

Anorak.co.uk 25 April 2014[1]

Book Release

A book called "Discovering Scarfolk," which tells the story of a family trapped in the town, is due for publication in October 2014 by Ebury Press.[2][3]

Media Controversy

Scarfolk artefacts have been praised for their true-to-life detail, and several images, including a faux Penguin Books publication called 'Children & Hallucinogens: The Future of Discipline',[4] went viral, believed by some to be genuine.[citation needed] On 31 January 2014 the newspaper London Evening Standard published an article[5] by Charles Saatchi which accidentally included the cover of a Scarfolk book called "Eating Children: Population Control & The Food Crisis" instead of the intended Jonathan Swift publication A Modest Proposal (1729).

Reception

Scarfolk has a cult following and has received positive reactions from the public and media in the United Kingdom and abroad.

GQ Magazine called it one of "The 100 Funniest Things in the History of the Internet".[6]

By the summer of 2014, the site had received 1 million page views since its launch in early 2013.[citation needed] Scarfolk reviews and interviews with Littler have appeared in publications such as Creative Review,[7] The Independent,[8] The Telegraph,[9] Stylenoir,[10] and The Honest Ulsterman[11]; and have been featured by popular online sites such as Boing Boing[12] and Dangerous Minds.[13]

Design Week called Scarfolk "a queasy, unsettling provincial place".[14]

References

  1. ^ Anorak (25 April 2014). "Inside Scarfolk: An Interview With The Mayor Of Dystopia UK, Richard Littler". Anorak.co.uk. Retrieved 2014-10-14.
  2. ^ Caroline Carpenter (25 November 2013). "Ebury to publish Scarfolk story". The Bookseller. Retrieved 2014-10-14.
  3. ^ Neil Bennett. "Discovering Scarfolk is a mock 70s guidebook with creepy, funny posters and book covers". Digital Arts. Retrieved 2014-10-14.
  4. ^ About me (4 February 2013). "Children & Hallucinogens: The Future of Discipline". Scarfolk. Retrieved 2014-10-14.
  5. ^ "Saatchi is Scarfolked - Imperica - arts, technology, and media magazine". Imperica. 30 January 2014. Retrieved 2014-10-14.
  6. ^ Jeff Johnson, David Roth, Drew Magary, Mark Byrne, Andrew Richdale, John Surico, Alex French, Jennifer Schwartz, and Lu Fong (May 2013). "The 100 Funniest Things in the History of the Internet". GQ Magazine. Retrieved 2014-10-14.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link)
  7. ^ Mark Sinclair (27 March 2013). "Creative Review - Have you been to Scarfolk?". Creative Review. Retrieved 2014-10-14.
  8. ^ Simon Usborne (17 April 2013). "How to wash a child's brain: Designer Richard Littler creates fictional world based on terrifying public service films - Features - Films - The Independent". The Independent. Retrieved 2014-10-14.
  9. ^ Beverley Turner (25 April 2013). "It's time to toughen up kids. Start terrifying them 'Scarfolk' style - The Telegraph". The Telegraph. Retrieved 2014-10-14.
  10. ^ Stylenoir (10 June 2014). "Check out Scarfolk Council if you haven't already. - Stylenoir Magazine". Facebook. Retrieved 2014-10-14.
  11. ^ Darran Anderson (June 2014). "The Creeping Terror Of Childhood". The Honest Ulsterman. Retrieved 2014-10-14.
  12. ^ Cory Doctorow (23 April 2013). "Wyndhamesque missives from Scarfolk, an English horror-town trapped in a 1969-79 loop - Boing Boing". Boing Boing. Retrieved 2014-10-14.
  13. ^ Martin Schneider (23 April 2013). "Welcome to Scarfolk, the most twisted English village of the 1970s". Dangerous Minds. Retrieved 2014-10-14.
  14. ^ Angus Montgomery (6 October 2014). "We Like: Discovering Scarfolk". Design Week. Retrieved 2014-10-14.
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