Editing Franz Kafka (section)

=== Literary and cultural influence ===
[[File:Kafka statue Prague.jpg|thumb|upright=.6|[[Jaroslav Róna]]'s bronze ''[[Statue of Franz Kafka]]'' in Prague|alt=The statue is a man with no head or arms, with another man sitting on his shoulders]]
Unlike many famous writers, Kafka is rarely quoted by others. Instead, he is noted more for his visions and perspective.{{sfn|Hawes|2008|p=4}} Kafka had a strong influence on [[Gabriel García Márquez]],<ref>Hannelore Hahn ''The Influence of Franz Kafka on Three Novels by Gabriel García Márquez'', P.Lang 1993</ref> [[Milan Kundera]]<ref>[https://doaj.org/article/6b1543563313457f8102cd5a307c948b Lenka Žehrová "Sur les traces de Franz Kafka dans l’œuvre de Milan Kundera // In the footsteps of Franz Kafka in the work of Milan Kundera"]</ref> and the novel ''[[The Palace of Dreams]]'' by [[Ismail Kadare]].<ref>Peter Morgan ''Ismail Kadare: The Writer and the Dictatorship 1957–1990'' Routledge 2017, p. 229</ref> Shimon Sandbank, a professor, literary critic, and writer, also identifies Kafka as having influenced [[Jorge Luis Borges]], [[Albert Camus]], [[Eugène Ionesco]], [[J. M. Coetzee]] and [[Jean-Paul Sartre]].{{sfn|Sandbank|1992|pp=441–443}} A ''[[Financial Times]]'' literary critic credits Kafka with influencing [[José Saramago]],{{sfn|''Financial Times''|2009}} and Al Silverman, a writer and editor, states that [[J. D. Salinger]] loved to read Kafka's works.{{sfn|Silverman|1986|pp=129–130}} The Romanian writer [[Mircea Cărtărescu]] said "Kafka is the author I love the most and who means, for me, the gate to literature"; he also described Kafka as "the saint of literature".{{sfn|Mareş|2014}}

Kafka has been cited as an influence on the Swedish writer [[Stig Dagerman]],<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://litteraturbanken.se/f%C3%B6rfattare/DagermanS |title=Stig Dagerman (1923–1954) |author=Lotta Lotass |publisher=litteraturbanken.se |language=sv}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.dn.se/kultur/aris-fioretos-som-en-hund-slet-stig-dagerman-kottet-fran-knotorna/ |title=Som en hund slet Stig Dagerman köttet från knotorna |author=Aris Fioretos |publisher=Dagens Nyheter |date=14 July 2023 |language=Swedish }}</ref> and the Japanese writer [[Haruki Murakami]], who paid homage to Kafka in his novel ''[[Kafka on the Shore]]'' with the namesake protagonist.<ref>Masaki Mori
''Haruki Murakami and His Early Work: The Loneliness of the Long-Distance Running Artist'', Rowman & Littlefield 2021</ref>

[[File:David-Černý,-Franz-Kafka,-opposite orientation-2014).jpg|thumb|left|upright|[[David Černý]]'s ''[[Head of Franz Kafka]]'' sculpture in Prague]]
In 1999 a committee of 99 authors, scholars, and literary critics ranked {{lang|de|Der Process}} and {{lang|de|Das Schloss}} the second and ninth [[Best German Novels of the Twentieth Century|most significant German-language novels of the 20th century]].{{sfn|LiteraturHaus|1999}} [[Harold Bloom]] said "when he is most himself, Kafka gives us a continuous inventiveness and originality that rivals [[Dante]] and truly challenges [[Proust]] and [[James Joyce|Joyce]] as that of the dominant Western author of our century".{{sfn|Bloom|2010|page=[https://books.google.com/books?id=sc-uMRsLwR0C&pg=PA8 8]}} Sandbank argues that despite Kafka's pervasiveness, his enigmatic style has yet to be emulated.{{sfn|Sandbank|1992|pp=441–443}} Neil Christian Pages, a professor of German Studies and Comparative Literature at [[Binghamton University]] who specialises in Kafka's works, says Kafka's influence transcends literature and literary scholarship; it impacts visual arts, music, and popular culture.{{sfn|Coker|2012}} Harry Steinhauer, a professor of German and Jewish literature, says that Kafka "has made a more powerful impact on literate society than any other writer of the twentieth century".{{sfn|Steinhauer|1983|pp=390–408}} Brod said that the 20th century will one day be known as the "century of Kafka".{{sfn|Steinhauer|1983|pp=390–408}}

Michel-André Bossy writes that Kafka created a rigidly inflexible and sterile bureaucratic universe. Kafka wrote in an aloof manner full of legal and scientific terms. Yet his serious universe also had insightful humour, all highlighting the "irrationality at the roots of a supposedly rational world".{{sfn|Bossy|2001|p=100}} His characters are trapped, confused, full of guilt, frustrated, and lacking understanding of their surreal world. Much post-Kafka fiction, especially science fiction, follows the themes and precepts of Kafka's universe. This can be seen in the works of authors such as [[George Orwell]] and [[Ray Bradbury]].{{sfn|Bossy|2001|p= 100}}

The following are examples of works across a range of dramatic, literary, and musical genres that demonstrate the extent of Kafka's cultural influence:

{| class="wikitable plainrowheaders sortable" style="text-align: center; margin-right: 0;"
|-
! scope="col" | Title
! scope="col" | Year
! scope="col" | Medium
! scope="col" class="unsortable" | Remarks
! scope="col" class="unsortable" | Ref
|-
| [[Ein Landarzt (opera)|''Ein Landarzt'']]
| 1951
| opera
| style="text-align: left;" | by [[Hans Werner Henze]], based on Kafka's story
| {{sfn|Henze|1951}}
|-
| [https://www.newyorker.com/magazine/1968/11/23/a-friend-of-kafka "A Friend of Kafka"]
| 1962
| short story
| style="text-align: left;" | by Nobel Prize winner [[Isaac Bashevis Singer]], about a Yiddish actor called Jacques Kohn who said he knew Franz Kafka; in this story, according to Jacques Kohn, Kafka believed in the [[Golem]], a legendary creature from [[Jewish folklore]]
| {{sfn|Singer|1970|p=311}}
|-
| ''[[The Trial (1962 film)|The Trial]]''
| 1962
| film
| style="text-align: left;" | the film's director, [[Orson Welles]], said, "Say what you like, but ''The Trial'' is my greatest work, even greater than ''[[Citizen Kane]]''"
| {{sfn|Adams|2002|pp=140–157}}{{sfn|Welles Net|1962}}
<!-- -|-
| ''The Chrome Plated Megaphone of Destiny''
| 1968
| music
| style="text-align: left;" | composer [[Frank Zappa]], in the liner notes of the [[Mothers of Invention]] album [[We're Only in It for the Money]], suggests reading the short story [[In the Penal Colony]] before listening to this track.
| <ref>Mothers of Invention, We're only in it for the money.</ref> – -->
|-
| ''[[Watermelon Man (film)|Watermelon Man]]''
| 1970
| film
| style="text-align: left;" | partly inspired by ''[[The Metamorphosis]]'', where a white bigot wakes up as a black man
| {{sfn|Elsaesser|2004|p=117}}
|-
|Colony
|1980
|music
|style="text-align: left;"| by English rock band [[Joy Division]], inspired by the Kafka story ''[[In the Penal Colony]]''  
|<ref>{{Cite web |last=Conrad |first=Anna |date=14 July 2020 |title=How Joy Division made Closer: 'We were really tight as a band; there was a lot of telepathy going on' |url=https://www.gq-magazine.co.uk/culture/article/joy-division-closer-album |access-date=22 August 2024 |website=British GQ |language=en-GB}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |date=3 May 2021 |title=How Franz Kafka inspired one of Joy Division's underrated gems - Far Out Magazine |url=https://faroutmagazine.co.uk/joy-division-ian-curtis-inspired-by-franz-kafka-for-colony/ |access-date=22 August 2024 |website=faroutmagazine.co.uk |language=en-US}}</ref>
|-
| [https://www.laphil.com/musicdb/pieces/2133/kafka-fragments ''Kafka-Fragmente, Op.&nbsp;24'']
| 1985
| music
| style="text-align: left;" | by Hungarian composer [[György Kurtág]] for soprano and violin, using fragments of Kafka's diary and letters
| {{sfn|Opera Today|2010}}
|-
| ''[[A Letter to Elise]]''
| 1992
| music
| style="text-align: left;" | by English rock band [[The Cure]], was heavily influenced by ''[[Letters to Felice]]'' by Kafka
| <ref>{{Cite web|date=31 March 2021|title=Robert Smith's Reading List|url=https://radicalreads.com/robert-smith-favorite-books/|access-date=30 June 2021|website=Radical Reads|language=en-US|archive-date=9 July 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210709181709/https://radicalreads.com/robert-smith-favorite-books/|url-status=live}}</ref>
|-
| ''[[Kafka's Dick]]''
| 1986
| play
| style="text-align: left;" | by [[Alan Bennett]], in which the ghosts of Kafka, his father Hermann and Brod arrive at the home of an English insurance clerk (and Kafka aficionado) and his wife
| {{sfn|Times Literary Supplement|2005}}
|-
| ''Better Morphosis''
| 1991
| short story
| style="text-align: left;" | parodic short story by [[Brian W. Aldiss]], where a cockroach wakes up one morning to find out that it has turned into Franz Kafka
| <ref>Aldiss, Brian W. (1991). ''Better Morphosis'', in ''[[The Magazine of Fantasy and Science Fiction]]'', June 1991. Subsequently reprinted in the Aldiss collections ''Bodily Functions'' and ''A Tupolev Too Far and Other Stories''.</ref>
|-
| ''[[Kafka (film)|Kafka]]''
| 1991
| film
| style="text-align: left;" | stars [[Jeremy Irons]] as the [[:wikt:eponym|eponym]]ous author; written by [[Lem Dobbs]] and directed by [[Steven Soderbergh]], the movie mixes his life and fiction providing a semi-biographical presentation of Kafka's life and works; Kafka investigates the disappearance of one of his colleagues, taking Kafka through many of the writer's own works, most notably ''[[The Castle (novel)|The Castle]]'' and ''[[The Trial]]''
| {{sfn|Writer's Institute|1992}}
|-
| ''[[Das Schloß (opera)|Das Schloß]]''
| 1992
| opera
| style="text-align: left;" | German-language opera by [[Aribert Reimann]] who wrote his own [[libretto]] based on [[The Castle (novel)|Kafka's novel]] and its dramatization by Max Brod, premiered on 2 September 1992 at the [[Deutsche Oper Berlin]], staged by [[Willy Decker]] and conducted by [[Michael Boder]].
| {{sfn|Herbort|1992}}
|-
| ''[[Franz Kafka's It's a Wonderful Life]]''
| 1993
| film
| style="text-align: left;" | short comedy film made for [[BBC Scotland]], won an [[Academy Awards|Oscar]], was written and directed by [[Peter Capaldi]], and starred [[Richard E. Grant]] as Kafka
| {{sfn|''New York Times''|1993}}
|-
| ''[[Bad Mojo]]''
| 1996
| computer game
| style="text-align: left;" | loosely based on ''The Metamorphosis'', with characters named Franz and Roger Samms, alluding to [[Gregor Samsa]]
| {{sfn|Dembo|1996|p=106}}
|-
| ''[[In the Penal Colony (opera)|In the Penal Colony]]''
| 2000
| opera
| style="text-align: left;" | by [[Philip Glass]], to a libretto by [[Rudy Wurlitzer]]
| {{sfn|Akalaitis|2001}}
|-
<!--| ''[[In the Penal Colony (film)|In the Penal Colony]]''
| 2006
| film
| style="text-align: left;" | award-winning short film by [[Sibel Guvenc]]
| {{sfn|Kybele Films|2006}}
|- no reference-->
| ''[[Kafka on the Shore]]''
| 2002
| novel
| style="text-align: left;" | by Japanese writer [[Haruki Murakami]], on ''[[The New York Times]]'' 10 Best Books of 2005 list, [[World Fantasy Award]] recipient
| {{sfn|Updike|2005}}
|-
| ''[[Statue of Franz Kafka]]''
| 2003
| sculpture
| style="text-align: left;" | an outdoor sculpture on Vězeňská street in the Jewish Quarter of Prague, by artist [[Jaroslav Róna]]
| <ref>{{cite journal |last1=Thomas |first1=Alfred |title=Kafka's Statue : Memory and Forgetting in Postsocialist Prague |journal=[[Revue des études slaves]]|date=2015 |volume=86 |issue=1/2 |pages=157–169 |jstor=43493528 |doi=10.4000/res.677 |doi-access=free }}</ref>
|-
| ''Kafka's Trial''
| 2005
| opera
| style="text-align: left;" | by Danish composer [[Poul Ruders]], based on the novel and parts of Kafka's life; first performed in 2005, released on CD
| {{sfn|Ruders|2005}}
|-
| ''[[Kafka's Soup]]''
| 2005
| book
| style="text-align: left;" | by [[Mark Crick]], is a literary [[Genre parodies|pastiche]] in the form of a [[cookbook]], with recipes written in the style of a famous author
| {{sfn|Milner|2005}}
|-
| ''Kafka the Musical''
| 2011
| radio play
| style="text-align: left;" | by [[BBC Radio 3]] produced as part of their ''Play of the Week'' programme. Franz Kafka was played by [[David Tennant]]
| {{sfn|BBC|2012}}
|-
| ''Sound Interpretations{{snds}}Dedication To Franz Kafka''
| 2012
| music
| style="text-align: left;" | HAZE Netlabel released musical compilation ''Sound Interpretations&nbsp;– Dedication To Franz Kafka''. In this release musicians rethink the literary heritage of Kafka
| {{sfn|HAZE|2012}}
|-
| [[Google Doodle]]
| 2013
| internet culture
| style="text-align: left;" | Google had a sepia-toned doodle of a roach in a hat opening a door, honoring Kafka's 130th birthday
| {{sfn|Bury|2013}}
|-
| ''The Metamorphosis''
| 2013
| dance
| style="text-align: left;" | Royal Ballet production of ''The Metamorphosis'' with [[Edward Watson (dancer)|Edward Watson]]
| {{sfn|Rizzulo|2013}}
|-
| ''Café Kafka''
| 2014
| opera
| style="text-align: left;" | by Spanish composer Francisco Coll on a text by Meredith Oakes, built from texts and fragments by Franz Kafka; Commissioned by [[Aldeburgh Music]], [[Opera North]] and [[Royal Opera House|Royal Opera Covent Garden]]
| {{sfn|Jeal|2014}}
|-
| ''[[Head of Franz Kafka]]''
| 2014
| sculpture
| style="text-align: left;" | an outdoor sculpture in [[Prague]] by [[David Černý]]
| <ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.prague.eu/en/object/places/1886/statue-of-kafka |title=Statue of Kafka |website=Prague.eu |date=2 March 2017 |access-date=5 April 2017 |archive-date=6 April 2017 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170406110733/http://www.prague.eu/en/object/places/1886/statue-of-kafka |url-status=live }}</ref>
|-
| ''[[Forest Dark]]''
| 2017
| novel
| style="text-align: left;" | by [[Nicole Krauss]]; partly based on the conceit that Kafka staged his death and funeral in Austria; he moved to Palestine (later Israel), where he lived out his life under an assumed name, working as a gardener, dying in 1958
|-
| ''VRwandlung''
| 2018
| virtual reality
| style="text-align: left;" | a virtual reality experience of the first part of ''[[The Metamorphosis]]'', directed by [[Mika Johnson]]
| <ref>{{cite news |url=https://www.economist.com/books-and-arts/2018/03/08/is-literature-next-in-line-for-virtual-reality-treatment |title=Is literature next in line for virtual-reality treatment? |newspaper=The Economist |date=8 March 2018 |access-date=24 June 2020 |archive-date=8 March 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210308031515/https://www.economist.com/books-and-arts/2018/03/08/is-literature-next-in-line-for-virtual-reality-treatment |url-status=live }}</ref>
|-
| ''[[The Glory of Life (2024 film)|Die Herrlichkeit des Lebens (The Glory of Life)]]''
| 2024
| film
| style="text-align: left;" | biographical film directed by [[Judith Kaufmann]] and Georg Maas
|-
| ''[[Franz (2025 film)|Franz]]''
| TBA
| film
| style="text-align: left;" | Upcoming biographical film directed by [[Agnieszka Holland]]<ref>{{cite web |last1=Kudláč |first1=Martin |title=Agnieszka Holland braces to shoot Kafka biopic Franz |url=https://cineuropa.org/en/newsdetail/421418/ |website=Cineuropa |date=20 December 2023 |access-date=3 June 2024}}</ref>
|}