Ghost Stories of TV, Old and New: A Comparison between Ringu and “TV People”

DOI: 10.5176/2251-3566_L317.83

Authors: Masaki Mori

Abstract: Both “TV People” by Murakami Haruki and Ringu by Nakata Hideo are predicated on the TV-saturated lifestyle at the end of the twentieth century. As ghost stories, however, they each address a different kind of technophobia. While Nakata’s films inspire traditional fear of the supernatural with postmodern attributes, Murakami’s short story explores the technologically compromised space between reality and simulacrum.

Keywords: Ringu, Nakata Hideo, TV People, Murakami Haruki, television, TV, ghost, technophobia, telecommunication