Carnivalesque Theory and Social Networks

Carnivalesque theory has been used as a model and a structure in the works carried out in many fields such as communication, literature, and sociology. In fact, Carnivalesque appears in many environments/areas, particularly in the social networks, which are the manifestation of social life. This chapter examines social networks in the context of carnivalesque theory to reveal facts of carnivalesque in Twitter. Content analysis technique was used in the research. Research data came from 10 Twitter accounts which have a maximum number of followers in Turkey. These data were analyzed and examined in terms of grotesque, dialogism, carnival laughter, upside-down world, marketplace, and marketplace speech belonging to the carnivalesque theory. According to the findings, the structure of Twitter, which is one of the most popular social networks in Turkey, is largely similar to the structure of the carnival and features of carnivalesque theory.