Jane Austen in HollywoodLinda Troost, Sayre Greenfield University Press of Kentucky, 14 déc. 2000 - 248 pages In 1995 and 1996 six film or television adaptations of Jane Austen's novels were produced—an unprecedented number. More amazing, all were critical and/or box office successes. What accounts for this explosion of interest? Much of the appeal of these films lies in our nostalgic desire at the end of the millennium for an age of greater politeness and sexual reticence. Austen's ridicule of deceit and pretentiousness also appeals to our fin de siècle sensibilities. The novels were changed, however, to enhance their appeal to a wide popular audience, and the revisions reveal much about our own culture and its values. These recent productions espouse explicitly twentieth-century feminist notions and reshape the Austenian hero to make him conform to modern expectations. Linda Troost and Sayre Greenfield present fourteen essays examining the phenomenon of Jane Austen as cultural icon, providing thoughtful and sympathetic insights on the films through a variety of critical approaches. The contributors debate whether these productions enhance or undercut the subtle feminism that Austen promoted in her novels. From Persuasion to Pride and Prejudice, from the three Emmas (including Clueless ) to Sense and Sensibility, these films succeed because they flatter our intelligence and education. And they have as much to tell us about ourselves as they do about the world of Jane Austen. This second edition includes a new chapter on the recent film version of Mansfield Park. |
Table des matières
Revising Texts and History to Sell Films | |
Austen Class and the American Market | |
Jane Austen Film and the Pitfalls of Postmodern Nostalgia | |
Pemberley as Fetish and Commodity | |
Privileging the Female Gaze | |
Translating Austens Ironic Narrator to Film | |
Emma Thompsons Sense and Sensibility as Gateway to Austens Novel | |
Postfeminist Intervention in Sense and Sensibility | |
Feminist Implications of the Silver Screen Austen | |
Men Women and Courtship in Two Film | |
Patricia Rozemas Mansfield Park | |
Appendix Austen Adaptations Available on Video | |
Contributors | |