The Chaotic Freedom Fighter : Anonymous as the Trickster of Cyberculture

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Authors

VALENTOVÁ Eva

Year of publication 2015
Type Article in Periodical
Magazine / Source New Directions in Folklore (NDiF)
MU Faculty or unit

Faculty of Arts

Citation
Web https://scholarworks.iu.edu/journals/index.php/ndif/article/view/20035
Field Mass media, audiovision
Keywords trickster; Anonymous; hacktivist; troll; cyberculture
Description This article explores the connections between the hacktivist movement Anonymous and the mythical trickster figure. It takes up the features identified by scholars such as Lewis Hyde and William J. Hynes as typical for the trickster and examines them in the context of hacktivist culture. While Anonymous shows many of the core trickster characteristics, it differs from mythical tricksters in two important aspects: its plural nature and the fact that it is a real world entity. However, the cultural role they play is the same: they question rules, challenge assumptions and test limits, preventing stagnation. The article then offers a new perspective of studying the trickster: as a symbolic expression of an important social function.
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