Scarfolk

Scarfolk, which is forever locked in the 1970s, is a satire not only on that decade but also on contemporary events. It touches on themes of totalitarianism, suburban life, occultism and religion, school and childhood, as well as social attitudes such as racism and sexism.

Scarfolk was initially presented as a fake blog which purportedly releases artefacts from archive of the fictional town council, Scarfolk Council. 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 that are also presented as factual and that introduce the town's residents. The public information literature often ends with the strapline: "For more information please reread."

The aesthetic is utilitarian, inspired by public sector materials in the United Kingdom such as public information films and posters issued by the Central Office of Information and British Transport Films during the 1970s. Digitally altered photographs and illustrations parody publicity campaigns of the period such as Protect and Survive, Charley Says and The Finishing Line, as well as contemporary Penguin and Pelican paperback book covers and children's toys, such as Action Man. Images are altered to convey a sinister or potentially violent message and are deliberately distressed to appear worn and dog-eared.[3][2][4][5]

Writing in The Daily Telegraph author Richard Littler stated that his Scarfolk style was the product of several influences, including George Orwell, television programmes such as Monty Python's Flying Circus and The League of Gentlemen, satirist Chris Morris, and the work of cartoonists Gerald Scarfe and Ralph Steadman. Littler considers Scarfolk as part hauntology, an aesthetic movement that draws on "the darker aspects of the 1970s".[3] Littler also drew on the satirical 2002 television science series Look Around You.[4]

Littler has said "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. It was insane. … I’m just taking it to the next logical step."[6]

In January 2014, the London Evening Standard published an article[7] 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).

In July 2018, a parody Scarfolk poster was mistakenly featured in the UK government's in-house magazine Civil Service Quarterly as part of a serious article about the history of government communications. The inclusion of the poster, which bore the slogan "If you suspect your child has RABIES, don't hesitate to SHOOT", attracted some media attention.[8][9]

Scarfolk 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".[10] Reviews and interviews with Littler have appeared in publications such as Creative Review,[11] The Independent,[2] The Telegraph,[12] Stylenoir,[13] and The Honest Ulsterman,[14] and have been featured by popular online sites such as Boing Boing[15] and Dangerous Minds.[4]

Design Week called Scarfolk "a queasy, unsettling provincial place".[16]

• Welcome to Night Vale

• Official website
• Scarfolk on YouTube