Analyzing Literature-to-Film Adaptations: A Novelist's Exploration and Guide

by Mary H. Snyder

Overview

The majority of scholarly treatments for film adaptation are put forth by experts on film and film analysis, thus with the focus being on film. Analyzing Literature-to-Film Adaptations looks at film adaptation from a fresh perspective, that of writer or creator of literary fiction. In her book, Snyder explores both literature and film as separate entities, detailing the analytical process of interpreting novels and short stories, as well as films. She then introduces a means to analyzing literature-to-film adaptations, drawing from the concept of intertextual comparison. Snyder writes not only from the perspective of a fiction writer but also as an instructor of writing, literature, and film adaptation. She employs the use of specific film adaptations (Frankenstein, Children of Men, Away from Her) to show the analytical process put into practice. Her approach to film adaptation is designed for students just beginning their academic journey but also for those students well on their way. The book also is written for high school and college instructors who teach film adaptations in the classroom.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781441168184
Publisher:	Bloomsbury Academic
Publication date:	01/20/2011
Pages:	320
Product dimensions:	6.00(w) x 8.90(h) x 0.90(d)

About the Author

Mary H. Snyder teaches introductory to advanced writing, literature, gender studies, and film adaptation courses at the college level. In addition to her creative and nonfiction writing pursuits, she maintains scholarly interests in British and women's literature.For more information visit http: //www.maryhsnyder.net/.

Table of Contents

Introduction 1

Part 1 The Creation and Study of Literature 19

1 Premeditation 21

2 On Literary Creation 25

3 Before the Beginning: Understanding the Study of Literature to Understand the Role of Literature in Our Lives 31

4 Literary Criticism/Analysis: Putting Theory into Practice 39

5 The List 73

6 A First Close Reading-Maria: The Injustices of Being a Woman 77

7 Beginning Maria, Beginning Sentences, Beginning Literary Creation 81

8 Critics on Women's Creations 87

9 Women Writers and Strategy 95

10 Deconstruction and Monsters 111

11 The Multiplicitous Nature of Intertextuality: Maria and Sentences 121

Part 2 On Literature Becoming Film 135

12 My Novel as a Film 137

13 A Marriage of Media? 143

14 Attempts at a Screenplay 151

Part 3 The Creation and Study of Film 155

15 My History with, and an Abbreviated History of, Film 157

16 Film Production 171

17 The Elements of Film 177

18 Film Analysis 183

Part 4 The Literature-to-Film Adaptation Conundrum 195

19 Approaching Literature-to-Film Adaptation 197

20 The Conundrum in Practice 201

21 Twelve Observations about Literature-to-Film Adaptation Studies: A Disgruntled Novelist's Perspective 239

22 Literature-to-Film Adaptation Analysis: Charting Some New Territory 243

23 Why Teach Literature-to-Film Adaptation Analysis? Why Learn It? 261

Appendix A1 "The Bear Came Over the Mountain": Formalist Questions for a Close Textual Reading of the Story 265

Appendix A2 Questions to Ask of Film-Away from Her 267

Appendix A3 Questions of Away from Her (and its source text)-To Discuss in Class 269

Appendix A4 Intertextual Comparison of a Literature-to-Film Adaptation 271

Appendix A5 Grade Sheet for Intertextual Comparison Paper 275

Appendix A6 Sample Paper One Olga Roque 277

Appendix A7 Sample Paper Two Kara Welch 281

Appendix B ENG 260: Lit, Flicks, and Chicks 285

Appendix C Sample Academic Essay: A Study in Intertextual Comparison 289

Bibliography 301

Index 311

Editorial Reviews

Snyder shows how the act of adaptation is a psychological process, a strategy by which individuals come to make sense of the world and their relationship to it. This represents a significant departure from current thinking in adaptation studies...A fascinating text written by a practicing novelist, a personal odyssey through the minefield of adaptation theory that emphasizes the psychological aspects of the adaptive act.

This is a wise and wonderful book, which among other things provides a novelist's eloquent insider's perspective on the transformation of one of her books into a film. Thirty years ago Stanley Cavell published The World Viewed: Reflections on the Ontology of Film, which opened up an intellectual highway between philosophy and cinema. Now at long last Mary Snyder's book accomplishes a parallel clearing of the way between film making, the art of the novel, and literary and critical theory. Every page is bubbling with creative, theoretical, and pedagogical insights. Her intertextual readings of a score of literature-to-film adaptations are priceless in themselves. I only wish that the title of the book had been taken from her chapter, "The Fascination Never Ends." --Michael Payne, Professor of English Emeritus, Bucknell University

From the Publisher